KARACHI: It is always nice to see teenagers taking an interest in fine art. Why not? Pakistan has been regularly producing excellent artists and their exceptional works are acknowledged internationally. But the young ones’ interest has to be harnessed and nurtured. In this context, it’s heartening to see a three-day workshop held by the Crescent Art Gallery that began on Friday at Bagh-i-Jinnah, Frere Hall in which students from different parts of Pakistan are taking part.

Giving details of the event to Dawn, chairman of the gallery Nasir Javed said, “My team and I were of the view that such [large scale] activities didn’t exist in Pakistan — I’m talking about art workshops. There is not enough promotion of art, especially regarding those who live in far-flung areas. We have approximately 3,000 students registered with us. They’re from all over the country. We invited them to come here and also provided them with accommodation.”

Three-day art workshop for around 3,000 students get under way

He said that the whole exercise aimed to provide scholarships to talented children. Those who would do quality work at the workshop would get prizes by the end of the event, he said.

“There are senior artists such as Chitra Pritam and Qamar Siddiqui, who are guiding and training these kids. The reason for focusing on the young ones is because of their incredible talent, and in my opinion, those who live in villages especially gets neglected,” added Mr Javed.

The boys and girls scattered all across the park had their easels set up at different spots. Most of them were sketching the rear side of the iconic Frere Hall building that was smack in front of them. And they were doing a pretty decent job.

The Grande Culture and Art Workshop has been organised with the collaboration of Defence Housing Authority, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Sindh Police, Federal Board of Revenue, Arts Council and the Sindh culture department.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2022