ISLAMABAD: The Little Art announced the results of the ArtBeat - National Child Art Competition and Exhibition 2014 held at the Hunerkada College of Visual and Performing Arts.

With 30 winners from across Pakistan receiving cash prizes and two young artists selected to participate in the Sharjah International Biennial for Children's Arts, the results were eagerly anticipated by proud parents and participants.

The young artists faced stiff competition as The Little Art received close to 4,000 pieces of art from 190 schools and 25 organisations working with disadvantaged children.

Director of The Little Art Shoaib Iqbal said: "We worked with children and young adults from varying socio-economic backgrounds. The competition brought together schoolchildren, street children, children with special needs as well as children in shelter homes."

He said the response and quality of artwork received was overwhelming. In the team's discussions about last year's ArtBeat we felt that children and young adults in Pakistan have a strong desire to express themselves.

"It is important to develop their cognitive skills, and educate them about their rights and responsibilities," he said.

This year's theme was 'Landscapes and Portraits', with the participants drawing portraits of those around them or choosing to create landscapes.

The jury of ArtBeat featured renowned artist and professor at the National College of Arts (NCA) R.M. Naeem, painter and educationist Risham Hosain Syed, painter and teacher Sadaf Naeem, Zamania Aslam and Shahzeb Ahmed. Geytee Ara was the chief guest at the event.

Winners included Musa Raza from Beaconhouse School, Umer Azeem from Beaconhouse School, Syeda Urooj Zahra from The City School, Mahnoor Nadeem from Beaconhouse School, Rija Ahmad from Lahore Grammar School, Ayesha Nauman from LACAS, Nauman Mahmood from Fountain House, Habibullah from Fountain House, Rehmat Ullah from Bostan-e-Ilm, Sikandar from Bacha Khan School and Abdullah Jaan from Bacha Khan School.

ArtBeat was initiated in 2012 with the idea of promoting visual culture, developing an understanding of social issues among young people and celebrating children as artists.

As ArtBeat becomes bigger each year, renowned artists have been extending their support for the initiative.

"This year as part of the project, R. M. Naeem, one of Pakistan's most prominent painters and art teachers, offered art workshops to children selected through ArtBeat.

During the summer of 2014, Sadaf Naeem led a workshop of 20 children," Shoaib Iqbal said.

—Photos by Tanveer Shahzad

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2014