Young talent: Beaconhouse Model Town student wins live painting contest

‘Students should have been made to compete against grade-fellows’.

LAHORE: Hundreds of students showed their artistic talent at an art exhibition and a live painting competition held at Beaconhouse Newland on Thursday.

The exhibition of pre-submitted artwork was titled: Young Canvas. The live art competition was titled: Musawwir.

The exhibition received 250 entries, out of which 127 were put on display. Students from class 7 to A level took part in the competition. The live competition had 135 students from class 6 to A level.

Both events were judged by artists RM Naeem, Sadaf Naeem and Ayesha Durrani.

“We will be giving out more prizes than we originally planned, as the work is very good. We are so impressed that we have even bought some of the work,” said RM Naeem.

“The spontaneity of the work is very good. The teachers have played an important role in this,” Sadaf Naeem said.

Ayesha Durrani was also very happy. “The work is very versatile. The range of the imagery and the quality are exceptional. The students have exceeded expectations. These students are being exposed to art at a very young age,” she said.

Arooj Awan, the Beaconhouse corporate communications assistant manager, said that they had organised a similar competition last year. “We invited schools from all over Pakistan to participate in the live competition,” she said.

Shireen Bano, the Beaconhouse regional coordinator for arts, said: “We had again contacted schools in these countries to take part in the exhibition. However, the entries from Bangladesh were all we received from abroad,” said Bano.

Sawera Shahid, a class 8 student from Beaconhouse Sialkot campus, said it was her first time at the competition. “I really enjoyed it. I drew a mother-and-child. The mother represents the sunset and her child the sun,” she said.

Ismara Zahid, an art teacher from The City School who accompanied the students, said: “I think that the work should have been judged grade-wise. The O level students might not be as technically strong as the A level students,” she said.

Fatima Hammad from the Beaconhouse 78 AI Model Town received the first prize in the live competition.

Aisam Haroon from Beaconhouse Faisalabad Canal Campus and Rida-i-Fatima from Beaconhouse Sheikhupura campus jointly received the first prize in the exhibition.

Winners received shields, certificates, art supplies and the opportunity to attend a three-month training workshop at RM Naeem’s studio.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2015.