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Prof. Salima Hashmi gives Delhiites and students a glimpse of art and art education in Pakistan

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News IIC, Delhi, India - 9th November 2017


Pakistani among Indians: Salima Hashmi at the India International Centre, New Delhi
Pakistani among Indians: Prof. Salima Hashmi (First Left) at the India International Centre, New Delhi before her talk.

A lecture series in Delhi by the renowned Pakistani artist Prof. Salima Hashmi provided some interesting insights in the Pakistan art educations sphere.

 

Her talk on ‘Contemporary Arts of Lahore’ organised by Dalmiya Foundation on the evening of Nov. 2, 2017, hosted by Vasundhara Dalmiya, took place at the India International Centre, a known hub of culture and philosophical endeavour. People thronged the auditorium, which was packed to capacity. In fact, latecomers had to stand as the seats filled up.

Salima Hashmi responding to a question-answer session at the end of her workshop at Ambedkar University, Delhi Prof. Hashmi gave a detailed presentation on Lahore’s thriving art and cultural scene, supplemented by lovely visuals. She started her presentation from the 1980s, when state depression in Pakistan catalysed “persuasion arts”. Artist, led by the students and faculty at the prestigious National College of Arts (NCA) in Lahore struggled to reclaim their space. A torchbearer as the seat of creative arts education in Pakistan, NCA remained the focal point and a central driving theme of her presentation. The college became a source of inspiration behind the formation of Pakistan’s first ever liberal arts higher education institution, the Beaconhouse National University (BNU), also in Lahore.




Jam-packed auditorium even before the talk: Visible in the front row — Political Counsellor of Pakistan in India Tariq Karim (right) and newly appointed High Commissioner of Pakistan in India, Sohail Mehmood (second from right).

Prof. Hashmi gave a detailed presentation on Lahore’s thriving art and cultural scene, supplemented by lovely visuals. She started her presentation from the 1980s. A torchbearer as the seat of creative arts education in Pakistan, NCA remained the focal point and a central driving theme of her presentation. The college became a source of inspiration behind the formation of Pakistan’s first ever liberal arts higher education institution, the Beaconhouse National University (BNU), also in Lahore.

 

  Salima Hashmi leading a workshop on Contemporary Art Education in Pakistan, with students at Ambedkar University, Delhi

Among other dignitaries that evening Pakistan's new High Commissioner to india, Sohail Mehmood, accompanied by his wife and the Political counsellor at the Pakistan embassy Tariq Karim and Prof. Sasanka Perera, Vice-President of the South Asian University in Delhi, seen quietly enjoying Salima Hashmi’s talk with his students from SAU.

The following afternoon, Salima Hashmi conducted a workshop with students at Ambedkar University on Contemporary Arts Education in Pakistan. She also spoke about the evolution of Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture (IVSAA), Karachi, besides National College of Arts and Beaconhouse National University in Lahore. IVSAA was primarily envisaged to be established on the lines of NCA, but it has forged its own distinct path in arts education, and still evolving.