LAHORE: The Punjab Council of Arts (PCA) will establish ‘Punjab Culture Park’ near the Liberty Market, Gulberg, at the site of (now closed) Liberty Cinema.

PCA Executive Director Dr Syed Bilal Haider told Dawn the objective of the proposed ‘culture park’ is to advance the Punjab government’s vision to preserve the cultural heritage of the province for our future generations and promote cultural tourism.

He says that at present, Lahore doesn’t have any dedicated cultural centre, whereas almost all the metropolises of the world essentially have such spaces to promote their cultural identity, history, heritage, crafts and arts.

He says the Liberty Market has adequate visitors’ footfall and is surrounded by Central Business District, Gaddafi Sports and Art Complex, restaurants at MM Alam Road, and commercial centres on the Main Boulevard, Gulberg, adding that the location suits to house such a facility in the heart of the town.

The cinema building was in the possession of the Punjab Cooperative Liquidation Board (PCLB), however, the open space around it had been leased out for parking purposes to a restaurant, he said, adding that as lease period expired in February, the board handed the premises over to the PCA. He says the culture park has been conceived and designed on the model of similar facilities world over, such as Moskvich Cultural Centre, Moscow, Russia, Sara Cultural and Artistic Complex, Tehran, Iran and Ata Turk Cultural Centre, Istanbul, Turkiye.

He says the new facility will have spaces for commercial and parallel theatre, corporate cultural and art events, live artisans at work, Craft Bazaar, Punjab Folk Museum, a commercial art gallery, restaurants offering continental and traditional cuisines of Punjab, an auditorium for performing arts, and a centre for cultural exchange.

The cultural park will also serve as an anchor for the inter-provincial, national, bilateral, and multilateral cultural exchanges, the PCA head added.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2024