Exhibition of paintings in different mediums inaugurated at RAC
Woman nature is blessed with aesthetics and beauty: Nahida Raza
Ali Bhai Kamran
Rawalpindi: An exhibition of over 70 paintings in different mediums by 43 senior and young female artists inaugurated Monday evening at the Rawalpindi Arts Council. The week-long exhibition is organized by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) in connection with the 6th National Women at Work Festival, an annual flagship event to mark the International Women’s Day.
The participating artists have expressed their creative flair in all media including oil-on-canvas, watercolours, charcoal, acrylics and drawings in pen-and-ink. From figurative to expressionistic, abstract and impressionistic, and realistic and surrealistic, landscapes and still-life, the artists have touched every flavour of the aesthetics.
Well-known senior artists Nahida Raza, Riffat Ara Baig, Zehra Shamail Khan and Syeda Nadia Raza attended the event as guests of honour. Speaking on the occasion, Nahida Raza said woman nature is blessed with aesthetics and beauty therefore the art skills could help them groom their talent make the households more disciplined and worth living. Art has also become economically viable option for the women especially, she said adding, and the women can earn handsome while working at their leisure.
Riffat Ara Baig has put on display 11 paintings expressively depicting the woman agony including teenage pregnancy, violence against women, and workplace harassment without compromising the art values and creativity. The simpler technique using crayons in abstract form, treated with a black crayon after which a drawing can be etched onto the paper using a blunt pointed object is usually taught to children in schools. However, Baig who has been using the technique managed to instruct the workshop to effectively create paintings with more finesse.
Nadia Raza has painted the roadside dhabas and old architecture in impressionistic style with all vibrant colours in oil-on-canvas. The bold expression catches the eye of the art lovers. Zehra Shamail plays creatively with masks in vibrant pallet. The masks deal with a variety of contemporary human behaviours. Artistically done these lively masks speaks of skilfulness and nature flow of brush strokes.
Speaking on the occasion, Munir Ahmed the Executive Director Devcom-Pakistan and founder of the National Women at Work Festival urged the families to encourage their wives, daughters and sisters to take part in the professional work. A professionally educated and groomed woman can contribute much better way to the economic sustainability of the household and society.
He said the Festival was launched six years back to recognise, appreciate and encourage women’s work in all fields to inspire other womenfolk and men of their families to allow women to work in the field of their interest. Pakistan has significantly low percentage of working women, and we shall put every effort to increase the number for the economic sustainability of households and our society too.
Munir Ahmed said art is a very attractive sector for the women where they can play very well. The authorities shall provide suitable environment so that their creative pieces could get right appreciation and market to make their creative flair commercially viable too.
Resident Director Rawalpindi Arts Council said the council was providing all best opportunities to the students to learn art and make it a profession for themselves. Despite of meagre resources, the Council has provided basic art and craft education to several hundred girls, and many of them practicing their skills.
