ISLAMABAD, Nov 24: The Nomad Art Gallery on Wednesday launched a major art exhibition, Looking for Freedom, displaying works of renowned artist Nahid Raza.

The exhibition, which is open to art-lovers till December 10, is part of the "16 days of activism against gender violence...stop violence against women" campaign.

Nahid Raza has exhibited her works in various international solo and group shows around the globe as well as in Pakistan. Ms Raza's specific focus on woman, her strengths and her qualities is the message clearly sent out in her 31 works put on display.

"My paintings are the voice of a woman. A woman is, in fact, more than her status given to her in male-dominated societies. She is strong in spirit and independent in her mind. In my paintings, she seeks freedom from the shackles of societal norms," said Ms Raza.

Using acrylic paints on canvas, Ms Raza uses a positive combination of red, orange, brown, yellow and blue to convey her massage. "There is energy and passion in the red and orange I have used. The blues give depth and the brown is very earthy and brings out those qualities.

The yellow is for light. Putting these colours together to portray various images of the woman, I have shown her strengths and she wants to express herself in a society that allows her little chance to speak," said Nahid Raza.

"Nahid Raza is a feminist-artist and has interesting perspectives. The colours she uses such as red, brown and blues are symbolic and represent a woman's feminism and the strength of her gender," Director Nomad Gallery, Nageen Hyat said.

She said the Nomad Gallery had selected her works to be included into the "16 days of activism against gender violence, stop violence against women". "Since 1991, individuals and organizations, world wide, have been sponsoring activities to mark this event that has become an international phenomenon.

The 16 days are celebrated from November 25 to December 10 to raise awareness of all forms of violence against women in their communities," Ms Hyat said. Ms Hyat said activists had used these 16 days to foster a solidarity movement that raised awareness around gender-based violence as a human rights abuse and called for its elimination.

"We are attempting to raise awareness in student, local, national and regional communities through two major art exhibitions and an international film festival on human rights. The emphasis would be that all forms of violence, whether perpetrated in the public or private sphere, were a violation of human rights."

Nomad Gallery is also inaugurating "Fragmentation" - an exhibition of paintings and drawings - depicting 'the politics of stress in society' by psychiatrist and artist Dr Syed A Wasif on December 10.

Dr Wasif is a student of Sadequain and a documentary based on his works reflecting the realities of the third world will also be presented. The 3rd Annual Nomad Film Festival on human rights, in collaboration with Amnesty International, Vancouver, Canada, will also begin on December 10, the Human Rights Day, organised at the gallery. Films will showcase human rights issues, challenges and champions.