A Hymn in Colours Calligraphy Exhibition at Coopera Art Gallery

A group exhibition of calligraphy titled “A Hymn in Colours” featuring the works of 34 artists opened at the Coopera Art Gallery, The Mall, on Friday.

It was the ‘biggest’ art activity in the city in which artists, students, art collectors and a number of other people came. Seventy art works were on display depicting different styles of calligraphy.

The art works were a lively and lovely combination of traditional, contemporary and experimental calligraphy. Among the artists who put on display their works are Munawarul Islam, Abdul Wahid Nadirul Qalam, Mehboob Ali, Rana Riaz Ahmed, Muhammad Javed, Arif Khan and Ustad Irfan Ahmed Khan.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Information and Culture Department’s Additional Secretary Syed Tahir Raza.

The curator, Muhammad Javed made a brief speech in which he proposed that an art village should be established. Mr Javed said like other foreign countries, there should be an art village in Pakistan, which should have studios and residency programmes for the promotion of fine arts in general and calligraphy in particular.

He urged the government to highlight and patronise the art of calligraphy along with other art forms because over the years calligraphy had not been given its due status by the art institutions.

He also highlighted the plight of those artists associated with fine arts, who were facing financial issues or having bad health and proposed that the government support such artists by giving them international exposure without middlemen.

The additional secretary said a formal proposal should be submitted to the government in this regard. He said the Punjab government was keen to patronise art and solve the problems of artists.

The works will remain on display till Dec 15.

(Dawn)