Painting exhibition, play highlight need for social change
Saturday, May 10, 2014
From Print Edition
Islamabad
Hunerkada College of Visual and Performing Arts and Rastay joined together in a creative collaboration on Friday to present a unique blend of a painting exhibition and a theatrical play highlighting the importance of social change and commitment in the face of stigma and taboos damaging our social fabric.
While welcoming the guests, Chairman of Hunerkada and eminent artist Jamal Shah said that creative collaborations can open up new panoramas for fresh approach and strong commitment towards social change. President of Rastay Faiza Khan said that creative collaborations can go a long way in developing an inclusive, tolerant and progressive society through critical engagement of the community with traditional and contemporary art forms.
Both stressed the need for using art as a tool for awareness and education in all segments of society without any prejudice, to create an environment where everything can be questioned and redefined.
The show comprised of an Art Exhibition displaying paintings by Mahboob Ali and a short Theatrical Performance by Rastay Team. Faiza Khan, President of Rastay produced the play ‘Daagh’ and also curated the exhibition while the play was directed by Vice President of Rastay Alina Chaudry and Art Director Rastay Zainab Dar.
Dr. Saeed Ilahi, Chairman of Pakistan Red Crescent Society, was the chief guest on the occasion while Dr. Dan Tidten, Head of Press and Cultural section of the German Embassy in Islamabad was the guest of honour.
The Play ‘Daagh’ (Stigma) was a short bilingual symbolic comedy play, having different characters sailing in a ship but they were all perfect strangers to each other. Each character has an individual story, problem, illness and destination. The ship gets stuck in the sea for many days, creating frustration among the passengers and slowly they came to know of one another’s problems and weaknesses. It is revealed that each of them wants to go to a different destination. The question arises that where is the ship going exactly. Another bad news was revealed that it was a ship without a captain. The theme of the play symbolised our socio-political scenario and concludes by defining the real origin and cause of social ailments.
The play is produced by Faiza Khan and directed by Alina Chaudry and Zainab Dar. The cast includes Hammad Rasheed as painter, Tabish Khalil as a gay fashion designer, Maaz Ahmad Maghazi as Christian representing minorities in our society, Shahzad Ahmed as butler, Zainab Dar as dadi amma, Mahdame Abbas as a small girl who lost his parents and Alina Mehmood as a dancer.
The featured artist of the exhibition Mahboob Ali graduated from National College of Arts (NCA) Lahore in 1972. He has worked as an artist in many different media. Mahboob is Pakistan’s only artist who created extensive works as a print maker for four decades. He has invented new techniques, modified and researched on technical variation and colour combinations in wood cut printing. Today, Mahboob Ali is considered to be the only Pakistani wood cut print maker who has introduced fifty two hues in one print. He devoted his career to this fifty thousand years old technique to bring modern variations and innovations to it. His infinite patience, devotion, commitment, hard work and labour have elevated the scope and creative horizon of this particular art form to an unprecedented height. Students for many years have benefited from his innovations in wood cut printing.
Faiza Khan describes Mehboob Ali’s work as wonders in layers, the first and the foremost layer is the dream of peace that he conveys through his content. He presents a mythical bird called “Huma” as a symbol of strength and richness. Huma along with images of women symbolizes liberty and prosperity of thought. The artist yet in another layer is talking to women, those who have been oppressed and endured violence against them spanning over centuries. Their eyes, in his work, resemble Horus’s eyes, an ancient Egyptian god, provoking one to think how these represent their commitment, determination and strength to take up the challenges of discrimination against them. Faiza says that the artist seems to be in dialogue with the aspirations of millions of marginalized that we commonly portray as “Women”. This dialogue in symbols at various levels and layers makes his work unique and totally engaged with reality though through the depiction of mythological characters.
From Print Edition
Islamabad
Hunerkada College of Visual and Performing Arts and Rastay joined together in a creative collaboration on Friday to present a unique blend of a painting exhibition and a theatrical play highlighting the importance of social change and commitment in the face of stigma and taboos damaging our social fabric.
While welcoming the guests, Chairman of Hunerkada and eminent artist Jamal Shah said that creative collaborations can open up new panoramas for fresh approach and strong commitment towards social change. President of Rastay Faiza Khan said that creative collaborations can go a long way in developing an inclusive, tolerant and progressive society through critical engagement of the community with traditional and contemporary art forms.
Both stressed the need for using art as a tool for awareness and education in all segments of society without any prejudice, to create an environment where everything can be questioned and redefined.
The show comprised of an Art Exhibition displaying paintings by Mahboob Ali and a short Theatrical Performance by Rastay Team. Faiza Khan, President of Rastay produced the play ‘Daagh’ and also curated the exhibition while the play was directed by Vice President of Rastay Alina Chaudry and Art Director Rastay Zainab Dar.
Dr. Saeed Ilahi, Chairman of Pakistan Red Crescent Society, was the chief guest on the occasion while Dr. Dan Tidten, Head of Press and Cultural section of the German Embassy in Islamabad was the guest of honour.
The Play ‘Daagh’ (Stigma) was a short bilingual symbolic comedy play, having different characters sailing in a ship but they were all perfect strangers to each other. Each character has an individual story, problem, illness and destination. The ship gets stuck in the sea for many days, creating frustration among the passengers and slowly they came to know of one another’s problems and weaknesses. It is revealed that each of them wants to go to a different destination. The question arises that where is the ship going exactly. Another bad news was revealed that it was a ship without a captain. The theme of the play symbolised our socio-political scenario and concludes by defining the real origin and cause of social ailments.
The play is produced by Faiza Khan and directed by Alina Chaudry and Zainab Dar. The cast includes Hammad Rasheed as painter, Tabish Khalil as a gay fashion designer, Maaz Ahmad Maghazi as Christian representing minorities in our society, Shahzad Ahmed as butler, Zainab Dar as dadi amma, Mahdame Abbas as a small girl who lost his parents and Alina Mehmood as a dancer.
The featured artist of the exhibition Mahboob Ali graduated from National College of Arts (NCA) Lahore in 1972. He has worked as an artist in many different media. Mahboob is Pakistan’s only artist who created extensive works as a print maker for four decades. He has invented new techniques, modified and researched on technical variation and colour combinations in wood cut printing. Today, Mahboob Ali is considered to be the only Pakistani wood cut print maker who has introduced fifty two hues in one print. He devoted his career to this fifty thousand years old technique to bring modern variations and innovations to it. His infinite patience, devotion, commitment, hard work and labour have elevated the scope and creative horizon of this particular art form to an unprecedented height. Students for many years have benefited from his innovations in wood cut printing.
Faiza Khan describes Mehboob Ali’s work as wonders in layers, the first and the foremost layer is the dream of peace that he conveys through his content. He presents a mythical bird called “Huma” as a symbol of strength and richness. Huma along with images of women symbolizes liberty and prosperity of thought. The artist yet in another layer is talking to women, those who have been oppressed and endured violence against them spanning over centuries. Their eyes, in his work, resemble Horus’s eyes, an ancient Egyptian god, provoking one to think how these represent their commitment, determination and strength to take up the challenges of discrimination against them. Faiza says that the artist seems to be in dialogue with the aspirations of millions of marginalized that we commonly portray as “Women”. This dialogue in symbols at various levels and layers makes his work unique and totally engaged with reality though through the depiction of mythological characters.
Pictures from the Exhibit "In the Name of Honour"
July 14th, 2011
July 14th, 2011
Interactive exhibition to highlight honour killings
Schezee Zaidi
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 Islamabad
In a symbolic and novel initiative to highlight the peril of honour killing and express solidarity with the victims of social injustice and discrimination, ‘Rastay’, a non-governmental forum, is organising an interactive exhibition titled ‘In the Name of Honour’ opening at the Jharoka Art Gallery on Thursday.
Participated by over 35 artists and other creative persons, the exhibition showcases display of paintings, video presentations, installations, poetry recital, skits, musical performances, speeches, meet the affected family session and an interactive dialogue among the participants.
Talking to ‘The News’, ‘Rastay’ founder and president Faiza Khan said that the organisation is strongly committed to socio-political issues that plague society and this exhibition is organised in honour of Sobia Khanum, who was raped, killed and mutilated, ‘in the name of honour’ a few weeks ago.
Faiza Khan further said that this exhibition is to condemn honour killings by raising awareness and inception of a collective dialogue among artists, activists and citizens. Faiza Khan said that it is indeed discrimination and denial to close our eyes and ears just because we are not directly linked to these killings. It is against humanity to let the tongues dry by remaining silent and shut ourselves away from many more Sobias facing the same ordeal around us.
The paintings put on display by various artists, including Faiza Khan herself, highlights the horrid tales of torture and agony faced by women and girls in the name of honour. Where government initiatives continue to be pushed under the table by political and bureaucratic hindrances, it is indeed a great effort by ‘Rastay’ to mobilise creative community to raise an issue that needs to be addressed with full commitment.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 Islamabad
In a symbolic and novel initiative to highlight the peril of honour killing and express solidarity with the victims of social injustice and discrimination, ‘Rastay’, a non-governmental forum, is organising an interactive exhibition titled ‘In the Name of Honour’ opening at the Jharoka Art Gallery on Thursday.
Participated by over 35 artists and other creative persons, the exhibition showcases display of paintings, video presentations, installations, poetry recital, skits, musical performances, speeches, meet the affected family session and an interactive dialogue among the participants.
Talking to ‘The News’, ‘Rastay’ founder and president Faiza Khan said that the organisation is strongly committed to socio-political issues that plague society and this exhibition is organised in honour of Sobia Khanum, who was raped, killed and mutilated, ‘in the name of honour’ a few weeks ago.
Faiza Khan further said that this exhibition is to condemn honour killings by raising awareness and inception of a collective dialogue among artists, activists and citizens. Faiza Khan said that it is indeed discrimination and denial to close our eyes and ears just because we are not directly linked to these killings. It is against humanity to let the tongues dry by remaining silent and shut ourselves away from many more Sobias facing the same ordeal around us.
The paintings put on display by various artists, including Faiza Khan herself, highlights the horrid tales of torture and agony faced by women and girls in the name of honour. Where government initiatives continue to be pushed under the table by political and bureaucratic hindrances, it is indeed a great effort by ‘Rastay’ to mobilise creative community to raise an issue that needs to be addressed with full commitment.
Expressing solidarity with victims of honour killing
Schezee Zaidi
Friday, July 15, 2011 Islamabad
The interactive art exhibition titled ‘In the Name of Honour’, organised by Rastay in collaboration with Jharoka Art Gallery opened here on Thursday.
Inaugurated by Dr. Marilyn Wyatt, wife of the US ambassador in Pakistan, the huge turnout from government and private sector along with eminent artists appreciated the unique exhibition raising awareness about the important social issue like honour killing.
Along with display of paintings, theatre and musical performance, poetry recital, video presentation, animated movie, dialogue session, and interactive fact sharing with the family and relatives of honour killing victim made the exhibition deliver the message in a stronger way that there is no honour in killing.
Dr. Marilyn Wyatt, while speaking on the occasion, appreciated the efforts of Rastay in promoting a social cause. Talking to the artists, she said that art is a vibrant medium that can be used as a tool for social change. Marilyn also had a close interaction with the honour-killing victim’s family and offered her sympathy and support. She also took a keen interest in the display of paintings.
Artists present on the occasion agreed that the exhibitions on social issues need to be interactive so that they can be more affective in bringing about positive changes.
Painters who participated included the local artists as well as from other cities. Among the senior most artists who encouraged the initiative are Mobina Zubeiri, Saeed Akhtar, Hajra Mansoor, Mansoor Rahi, and Kaleem Khan. Among others are Ahmed Iqbal Qureshi, Altaf Ahmed, Aqsa Majeed, Arjumand Awan, Arif Khan,Ayesha Hassan, Faiza Khan, Farah Adnan, Hasda Majeed, Haleem Khan, Humera Ghaznavi, Hussain Chandio, Iqra Ahmed, Kausar Iqbal, Maggie Neale, M H Sulehri, Nadeem Noor, Nahida Raza, Natalia Kakar, Naqsh Raj, Noor ul Ain, Rabia Dawood, Saba Saleem, Sharon Zappha Barfoot, Tabassum Rizvi, Tariq Kakar, Tashfeen Majeed, Umna Nabi and Zahra Kazmi.
The exhibition opened with a mime performance conceived by Alina Chaudry, playing the role of a girl victim with her patriarchal brother, played by Nasir Shah. Orchestra Art Academy lead by Malik Faiz Bashir gave their best performance to add bring a lively musical touch to the evening. Flute was played skilfully by Salman Adil, ‘sitar’ by Arsalan Nizami, violin by Imran Khan and Aamir Hussain was on ‘tabla’.
During the poetry recital session, Ata Turab, a local poet and TV host recited Urdu poetry while English poetry was contributed by Shaheen Sultan Dhanji, a social development expert and a writer based in Canada.
The exhibition focuses more on the solutions in the form of law reforms and legislation along with changing the mindset of society through such initiatives. The exhibition also aims to protest against the brutal death of Sobia Khanum a week back. She was killed by her perpetrator who was her former husband — he learnt through their children that Sobia’s parents were planning to get her remarried. Her former husband sent a message through one of their children for Sobia to meet him under the pretence he wished to marry her again. Innocently Sobia fell under the trap and met him the next day. She was driven off by her former husband and few men, who then took her away from Pindi Ghaib village to a remote area and she was raped by those men, killed and her body was mutilated.
Upon hearing this heinous crime against a woman, Faiza Khan probed for information relating to what had occurred. She said, “I contacted artists and decided to collaborate into an interactive exhibition condemning honour killings. Immediately I contacted the victim’s family and invited them to speak at the inauguration for ‘In the Name of Honour’. Relatives and family of the victim were also present at the exhibition to share their grief and experience with the guests and participants.
A short video presentation was shown by Faiza Khan, highlighting the problem of honour killings in Pakistan, defining the term as acts of murder in which a woman is killed for her actual or perceived immoral behaviour. The average annual number of reported honour killings was estimated to be more than 10,000 per year in Pakistan. The presentation highlighted the legislation regarding the killings and how ineffective it has been on the ground level. Females in the family supported the attacks most of the times, as it is a community mentality.
HRCP’s statistics on honour killings show that they have been increasing despite of legislation. Faiza Khan boldly brought to light that honour killings has become an ‘industry’, involving tribes people, police and tribal mediators, which provides many opportunities to make money or obtain a woman in compensation. Reports about men who have killed other men in murders not connected with honour issues who then kill a woman of their own family and camouflage the murder as an honour killing. Numerous cases go unreported and almost all go unpunished. It is a thousand years of tradition supported by tribes, communities and influential people in the society.
A unique animated film on ‘Karo Kari’ was also screened at the exhibition by Saeed Mangi, a faculty member of NCA. The film was an eye opener on the issue. Discussions followed the performances and presentations that lead to many important decisions and ideas about upcoming projects of RASTAY. The organization announced on this occasion the new team members. Nahida Raza, who is also the curator of Jharoka Art Gallery was announced to be the new Art Director of Rastay, Islamabad Chapter and the artist Arif Khan was chosen as the Director of Communication and Media section. Faiza Khan and Shaheen Sultan continue to serve as President and Vice President of RASTAY respectively and Malik Faiz Bashir contributes as the director of environment sector of Rastay.
Friday, July 15, 2011 Islamabad
The interactive art exhibition titled ‘In the Name of Honour’, organised by Rastay in collaboration with Jharoka Art Gallery opened here on Thursday.
Inaugurated by Dr. Marilyn Wyatt, wife of the US ambassador in Pakistan, the huge turnout from government and private sector along with eminent artists appreciated the unique exhibition raising awareness about the important social issue like honour killing.
Along with display of paintings, theatre and musical performance, poetry recital, video presentation, animated movie, dialogue session, and interactive fact sharing with the family and relatives of honour killing victim made the exhibition deliver the message in a stronger way that there is no honour in killing.
Dr. Marilyn Wyatt, while speaking on the occasion, appreciated the efforts of Rastay in promoting a social cause. Talking to the artists, she said that art is a vibrant medium that can be used as a tool for social change. Marilyn also had a close interaction with the honour-killing victim’s family and offered her sympathy and support. She also took a keen interest in the display of paintings.
Artists present on the occasion agreed that the exhibitions on social issues need to be interactive so that they can be more affective in bringing about positive changes.
Painters who participated included the local artists as well as from other cities. Among the senior most artists who encouraged the initiative are Mobina Zubeiri, Saeed Akhtar, Hajra Mansoor, Mansoor Rahi, and Kaleem Khan. Among others are Ahmed Iqbal Qureshi, Altaf Ahmed, Aqsa Majeed, Arjumand Awan, Arif Khan,Ayesha Hassan, Faiza Khan, Farah Adnan, Hasda Majeed, Haleem Khan, Humera Ghaznavi, Hussain Chandio, Iqra Ahmed, Kausar Iqbal, Maggie Neale, M H Sulehri, Nadeem Noor, Nahida Raza, Natalia Kakar, Naqsh Raj, Noor ul Ain, Rabia Dawood, Saba Saleem, Sharon Zappha Barfoot, Tabassum Rizvi, Tariq Kakar, Tashfeen Majeed, Umna Nabi and Zahra Kazmi.
The exhibition opened with a mime performance conceived by Alina Chaudry, playing the role of a girl victim with her patriarchal brother, played by Nasir Shah. Orchestra Art Academy lead by Malik Faiz Bashir gave their best performance to add bring a lively musical touch to the evening. Flute was played skilfully by Salman Adil, ‘sitar’ by Arsalan Nizami, violin by Imran Khan and Aamir Hussain was on ‘tabla’.
During the poetry recital session, Ata Turab, a local poet and TV host recited Urdu poetry while English poetry was contributed by Shaheen Sultan Dhanji, a social development expert and a writer based in Canada.
The exhibition focuses more on the solutions in the form of law reforms and legislation along with changing the mindset of society through such initiatives. The exhibition also aims to protest against the brutal death of Sobia Khanum a week back. She was killed by her perpetrator who was her former husband — he learnt through their children that Sobia’s parents were planning to get her remarried. Her former husband sent a message through one of their children for Sobia to meet him under the pretence he wished to marry her again. Innocently Sobia fell under the trap and met him the next day. She was driven off by her former husband and few men, who then took her away from Pindi Ghaib village to a remote area and she was raped by those men, killed and her body was mutilated.
Upon hearing this heinous crime against a woman, Faiza Khan probed for information relating to what had occurred. She said, “I contacted artists and decided to collaborate into an interactive exhibition condemning honour killings. Immediately I contacted the victim’s family and invited them to speak at the inauguration for ‘In the Name of Honour’. Relatives and family of the victim were also present at the exhibition to share their grief and experience with the guests and participants.
A short video presentation was shown by Faiza Khan, highlighting the problem of honour killings in Pakistan, defining the term as acts of murder in which a woman is killed for her actual or perceived immoral behaviour. The average annual number of reported honour killings was estimated to be more than 10,000 per year in Pakistan. The presentation highlighted the legislation regarding the killings and how ineffective it has been on the ground level. Females in the family supported the attacks most of the times, as it is a community mentality.
HRCP’s statistics on honour killings show that they have been increasing despite of legislation. Faiza Khan boldly brought to light that honour killings has become an ‘industry’, involving tribes people, police and tribal mediators, which provides many opportunities to make money or obtain a woman in compensation. Reports about men who have killed other men in murders not connected with honour issues who then kill a woman of their own family and camouflage the murder as an honour killing. Numerous cases go unreported and almost all go unpunished. It is a thousand years of tradition supported by tribes, communities and influential people in the society.
A unique animated film on ‘Karo Kari’ was also screened at the exhibition by Saeed Mangi, a faculty member of NCA. The film was an eye opener on the issue. Discussions followed the performances and presentations that lead to many important decisions and ideas about upcoming projects of RASTAY. The organization announced on this occasion the new team members. Nahida Raza, who is also the curator of Jharoka Art Gallery was announced to be the new Art Director of Rastay, Islamabad Chapter and the artist Arif Khan was chosen as the Director of Communication and Media section. Faiza Khan and Shaheen Sultan continue to serve as President and Vice President of RASTAY respectively and Malik Faiz Bashir contributes as the director of environment sector of Rastay.
- Art gallery opens an interactive exhibition of paintings, a 2D documentary, skits and a musical programme
The exhibition was a serious attempt to keep the memory of victims of Karo Kari alive via art and dialogue and seek justice for the victims whose murder outraged the nation. As many as 41 art pieces of paintings, and video presentations, as well as community dialogue on the practice of honor killings in Pakistan were the feature of the event. The wife of US ambassador to Pakistan, Dr Marilyn Wyatt, was the chief guest on the occasion.
Talking to reporters on the occasion, Dr Marilyn Wyatt said that Pakistani women should be encouraged to meet challenges. She said that the concept of women as property, honor and reward is so deeply entrenched in the social, political and economic fabric of Pakistan that daring to defy the traditions in a ‘man’s world’ could lead to an atrocious ending. She said that highlighting honor killings through art is a peaceful attempt to positive change in society regarding that issue.
She said that it was the state’s responsibility to provide women with relief in a society dominated by men. Featuring over 41 paintings, the exhibition highlights the honor killing issue through landscapes, cityscapes, abstract, sketch-work, figurative imagery, miniatures and collage. The documentary was produced by Faiza Khan, who is also a prominent painter.
Works of 35 Pakistani artists including, Ahmed Iqbal Qureshi, Alina Chaudry, Altaf Ahmed, Aqsa Majeed, Arjumand Awan, Arif Khan, Ata Turab, Ayesha Hassan, Faiza Khan, Farah Adnan, Hajra Mansoor, Hasda Majeed, Tariq Kakar, Tashfeen Majeed, Umna Nabi, Yousuf Sheikh, Zahra Kazmi and other talented artists were displayed. The artists stressed the need to strengthen social structures to end the crimes against women.
They suggested building shelter homes to provide refuge to these women who become victims of crimes in the name of honour. Jhoraka Art Gallery Director Naheeda Raza said that, as a curator, she felt that it was her core responsibility to create an opportunity for both known and undiscovered artists to highlight this issue in different ways.
“The masses should be aware of the peril of violence against women and Karo Kari is the worst form of it. Through these paintings, the documentary and the skit, we have tried to expose the nefarious act of murder of innocent women,” she said.
Jharoka showcases plight of ‘honor killing’ victims
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Dedicated to the victims of the brutal honor killings, an interactive exhibition of paintings titled ‘In the name of honor: making visible buried truth’ by various artists opened at the Jharoka Art Gallery on Thursday to condemn honor killings.
The event was jointly organized by RASTAY, a non-profit organization, to promote art and culture, and cultivate pluralism in the society. The interactive art exhibition gave a portrayal of 44 paintings and installations followed by various sessions including
theatrical performances, musical performance, animated movie on karokari, video presentation on honour killings, speeches, dialogue and poetry recital, skits, meet the affected families and dialogues.
The wife of US ambassador, Dr Marilyn Wyatt was the chief guest on the opening day who addressing on the occasion said that Pakistani women should be encouraged to meet challenges. She said that the concept of women as property, honor and reward is so deeply entrenched in the social, political and economic fabric of Pakistan that daring to defy the traditions in a ‘man’s world’ could lead to an atrocious ending. She said that highlighting honor killings through art is a peaceful attempt to positive change in society regarding that issue. She said that it was the state’s responsibility to provide women relief in a society dominated by men.
Featuring over 44 paintings with different titled of killing in the name of honor, the exhibition showcased honor killing issues through landscapes, cityscapes, abstract, sketch-work, figurative imagery, miniatures and collage.
The work of 35 Pakistani artists including, Maqbool Ahmed, M H Sulehri, Mohammed Ali Bhatti, Nadeem Noor, Nahida Raza, Natalia Kakar, Naqsh Raj, Noor ul Ain, Orchestra Music Academy, Rabia Dawood, Saeed Akhtar, Saeed Mungi, Shaheen Sultan Dhanii, Sharon Zappha Barfoot, Tabassum Rizvi, Tariq Kakar, Tashfeen Majeed, Umna Nabi, Yousuf Sheikh, Zahra Kazmi, Mansoor Rahi, Maggie Neale, Kausar Iqbal, Kaleem Khan, Iqra Ahmed, Ibrahim Khan, Hussain Chandio, Humera Ghazanvi, Haleem Khan, Hasda Majeed, Hajra Mansoor, Farah Adnen, Faiza Khan, Bilal Sayal, Ata Turab, Arif Khan, Arjumand Awan, Aqsa Majeed, Altaf Ahmed, Alina Chaudry and Ahmed Iqbal Qureshi
The artists said that that there was a dire need to strengthen social structures to end the crimes against women. They suggested that shelter homes should be built to provide refuge to these women who become a victim of crimes in the name of honor. They said that our society emphasize the criminal nature of the murders carried out in the name of honor to give a ‘legitimate’ cover to crimes of greed and family feuds, to strengthen the constitutional status of women as free and equal citizens of the country with a right to get protection and justice. Jhoraka Art Gallery Director Naheed Raza talking to Daily Times said that as a curator, I felt that it was my duty to create an opportunity for both known and undiscovered artists to highlight this issue in different ways. She said that the art is a symbolic way to strongly condemn the honor killing in country. She said that the main theme of exhibition is highlights the horrid tales of torture and agony faced by women and girls in the name of honor.
Besides this in exhibition, the 2-D animation film titled ‘Honor Killing’ was also displayed at the gallery. The short stage play titled ‘Karo Kari’ staged in gallery hall and traditional music program also performed in gallery. The exhibition will continue at Jhoraka Art Gallery till last week of July.
SUCCESS OF CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION 2011 by RASTAY
The Contemporary Art Exhibition by RASTAY has been a huge success in terms of turn out, organizing, sale, media coverage and response from many social groups.
The Contemporary Art Exhibition by RASTAY has been a huge success in terms of turn out, organizing, sale, media coverage and response from many social groups.
PRESS COVERAGE AND PREVIEWS
THE NEWS
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=39914&Cat=6&dt=4/5/2011
ASSOCIATED PRESS OF PAKISTAN
http://app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=135745&Itemid=2
DAWN
http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/06/works-of-150-artists-on-display-at-nag.html
PAKISTAN OBSERVER
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=85054
ISLAMABAD DIARY
http://pakistan-i.blogspot.com/2011/04/art-exhibition-features-work-of.html
PICTURES FROM THE EXHIBIT "UNITED - IN THE AGE OF DIALOGUE"
BY RASTAY
APRIL 5TH 2011
BY RASTAY
APRIL 5TH 2011
PRESS RELEASE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION
RASTAY - Department of Communications
RASTAY PRESENTS A PALATIAL CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION BY 150 PAKISTANI ARTISTS.
Artists' share their work to initiate dialogue with citizens to create awareness in eliminating prejudices and to ignite a space for pluralism.
RASTAY presents: United - in the Age of Dialogue, a contemporary exhibition exploring the ingenious process through the medium of art, featuring a medley of art work by meritorious Pakistani artists. The exhibition focuses on the vital theme of igniting dialogue in an age of clash civilization and to enhance pluralism through art discourse. It is to eradicate invisibility, to provide a platform for artists and to make visible the outstanding works of numerous Pakistani artists who strive to achieve a presence in an often marginalized society. The emphasis to dialogue is strengthened by art, for it is this medium that serves as a great catalyst in resolving conflicts, creating avenues to advocate one's own view peacefully and to empower social harmony by constructing spaces for manifestation of art and by exploring cultural diversity to promote and encourage civil participation in addressing challenges that continue to plague the nation.
The four-day exhibition features grand collection of authentic artworks, in the mediums of: paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture and photography. The exhibition also traces the evolution of subject matter, from the specific context of diversification in the range of human conditions, the cultural history and expanding social issues. United- in the Age of Dialogue explores art as a powerful means for developing communication.
PROGRAM:
'United - in the Age of Dialogue' shall be inaugurated by: Engr. Shaukat Ullah - Federal Minister of SAFRON & Sports
Date: Inauguration on April 5th, 2011 - (5:00 - 8:00 p.m)
Exhibition continues till the 8th of April, 2011
Venue: National Art Gallery, PNCA, Islamabad
ABOUT RASTAY
Founded by the artist, Faiza Khan, in 2010, is a non-political, non-partisan, non-religious and not-for-profit organization operating from Islamabad, Pakistan. RASTAY is a forum to promote and encourage the Government of Pakistan and civil society to strengthen the nation by creating avenues for dialogue, participation through art & cultural forums, educational, social development initiatives and through creative resolutions to eliminate challenges. Our mandate is to cultivate dynamic space and platform for leaders and civil society to play a vital role in building Pakistan as a nation that is strong and embraces unity in the age of dialogue.
SPONSORSHIP:
This project is made possible from the generous support by the Ministry of SAFRON
PUBLICATION:
Insider / Outsider Art is a catalogue initiated by RASTAY's President Faiza Khan. The publication focuses on art and artists of Pakistan to promote and discourse on creative subjects. It is to educate the young generation and some communities that are uninformed, unexposed to art. Through Insider / Outsider Art, the aspiration is to enhance and fortify creative talent by encouraging a pluralist space to manifest ideas and concepts. The first edition reveals the participating artists in this exhibition.
PRESS CONTACT:
Email: rastay.association@gmail.com
Website: www.RASTAYNGO.com