FOR over a hundred years, all international art galleries and museums of repute have followed management and service laws which include collecting policy bylaws that set in place guidelines and policies surrounding the borrowing or acquisition of artwork for temporary exhibition or their permanent collection. When an exhibition travels to any art destination, which is an art gallery, a registrar manages the logistics of the moving artwork, documentation of each art piece on the gallery’s information management system, preparation for display and the post-exhibition logistics of the outgoing art pieces.

In Pakistan, since its inception in 1973, the Pakistan National Council for the Arts (PNCA) has not followed effective practices in this regard owing to lack of professional capacity. The prevailing scenario is not much different, as underlined by recent happenings related to the matter of Shemza’s paintings; a matter dating as far back as 1985.

It is high time the relevant ministry reviewed practices at the PNCA and ensured scholarships for the enthusiastic emerging artists and art historians to train them abroad in the field of art management in the modern age.

Amin ur Rehman
Toronto

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2020