ISLAMABAD: An exhibition of paintings that were vandalised in India last year will open at the Gallery6 here on Wednesday. The show, ‘Resilient ambassadors’ has been organised in collaboration with the International Creative Art Centre (ICAC), Mumbai.

On August 16, 2013, the ICAC organised an exhibition of 47 paintings by 16 Pakistani artists at the Ni Gufa Art Gallery in Ahmedabad to promote Pakistani art India. However, activists of the anti-Pakistan Bajrang Dal attacked the exhibition and ransacked the paintings.

The exhibition showcased a wide variety of artworks based on heritage, social discourses, cubism, psychedelic narratives, miniature, female figures, aesthetics, landscapes, photo realistic images and compositions with silver oxidation.

The participating artists included Abid Hasan, Abrar Ahmed, Aqeel Solangi, Arjumand Faisel, Hajra Mansoor, Irfan Gul Dahri, Mussarrat Nahid Imam, Mughees Riaz, Mutaib Shah, Mansoor Rahi, RM Naeem, Sana Arjumand and Wahab Jaffer.

On the review day on Tuesday, Dr Faisal Arjumand, the curator of the exhibition, explained how the anti-Pakistan activists barged into the art gallery and damaged several paintings.

“They were protesting against holding of the exhibition because they believed that Pakistani troops were committing ceasefire violations and killing Indian soldiers on the Line of Control,” explained Dr Arjumand.

Discussing the return of the paintings, Dr Arjumand said: “These have returned home after intensive efforts. The ICAC cut off links with Pakistan after the incident. Connections in India, Dubai, UK and East West Centre, Hawaii, pushed for the return of the artworks to their home country.”

Out of the 47 paintings that had been sent for the exhibition, 30 survived with or without bruises, 14 were badly damaged and three went missing. The 30 paintings survived because the display was on a rotational basis and most of the paintings were in storage at the time of the attack.

The curator explained how since the incident till the return of the paintings in December all the artists showed remarkable tolerance, not knowing which painting had survived and which had been destroyed.

The present exhibition is to celebrate the resilience of these goodwill ambassadors. Talking about the Ahmedabad incident, Mansoor Rahi, one of the senior artists, said: “We want our relationship with India to be friendly. There is a mafia creating hate between our people.

And artists must resist them by their artistic endeavours.” Director Visual Arts at the National Art Gallery Mussarrat Nahid Imam said artists must continue supporting similar initiatives.

RM Naeem, a faculty member at the National College of Arts, Lahore, added that it was about time both the countries moved towards peace. The exhibition will continue till January 19.