Toopistan’s Art and Books Exhibition: Exploring the Realms of Creativity

Art depicts the culture and tradition of a society. For instance, many of the great civilizations, such as Romans, Indus valley, and Mughals are imprinted in one’s mind through their extraordinary art activities. In the same manner, most of the European states organize art exhibitions to show their culture to the whole world by means of their artistic paintings. Recently, a similar sort of exhibition took place in Peshawar, organized by a group of social activists by the name, “The Order of  Pen (TOOP)”  at National Incubation Center (NIC). In the event, along with a few book sellers, around 30 artists participated. The majority of the participants, including the books sellers, were students of different schools, colleges, and universities. However, their displayed splendour artworks and inspirations shared during interviews proved them to be accomplished artists. Likewise, the diversity of the artists and  their brilliant skills showcased at the exhibition is evidence that the soil has enough talent which could make a bigger impact in future regarding the development and propagation of art.

One of the most inspirational artworks in the exhibition was that of Fazal Amin, a student of Art and Design at Peshawar University. During his interview, he expressed his great love towards painting. He said that he got inspiration from Mughal art and is working for the cause of reviving older Muslim art again through his perfectionist paintings. Also, his ideas about the Pashto literature was amazing and expressed that painting without Pashto poetry is even impossible. One of his paintings that was inspired from the  verses of Pashto legendry poet, ‘Hamza Baba’ was an eye catching spot in the whole event. 

 

In addition, another artist by the name Afaq Afridi displayed his macro photography skills through different photographs that he captured of different birds and natural plants. While sharing his experiences, he expressed that his love towards nature and environment compelled him to work in this field. Concerned about the welfare of society, Afaq mentioned that he also shares half of his profit with a welfare organization, named Ranra. 

 

Moreover, school children of Peshawar also showed their glaring interest in paintings by displaying it to a wide variety of audience. Among them, Ayesha, a student of class 10, said that she paints creatively and to become an artist is her dream. She also said that her family provides full assistance to her in this matter and if given the chance, she would like to display it to the world audience. 

 

Additionally, the paintings of College students were worth seeing. For instance, Habiba of Jinnah College and Haseeba of Homic Ecnomics said that painting is their hobby and if they were given an opportunity by state or provincial government, they would certainly take it forward by working for the development of art in this region. 

 

Further, University of Peshawar’s students were in majority whose paintings were spread like an ocean in the event and were very attractive. Hafsa Gul, a student of graphic designing, showed intense interest in calligraphy and abstract painting.  She advocated that in future, she would paint to display the social problems of the community and would like to create awareness among the youth through her paintings. Next, Roshana of Peshawar university took painting as a therapy to reduce and relieve stress. In addition, Zainab Ahsan, a dentist, displayed her imaginations, stories, and thoughts in the form of paintings which were appreciated by the people a lot. Moreover,  other university students who participated in the event were Rinad and Husna of KMU, Maryam IM sciences, Yumna Shereen Jinnah Law College. 

 

Furthermore, the professionals of Peshawar also made their appearance in the event by displaying their marvelous artworks. Among them, Asfandiyar Khan, a tax consultant, expressed that to be an artist and a job holder at the same time can be tiresome. However, he always saves some free time for art activities. In the beginning it was just a hobby but it took him 6 years to reach this level. He also said that he would do more hard work to compete with the locals of Peshawar in near future. Similarly, Syed Faraz Hussain Shah, a lawyer by profession, said that he got inspiration from Sadaqain. He asserted that the first painting he made was the name of ALLAH. His words greatly touched our hearts when he said that the sole purpose of his paintings is the love of Almighty ALLAH and not for profit making incentives. Moreover, Sanaullah, an employee of Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), made similar remarks. He advocated that he would contribute towards the development of art if such events are regularly conducted by the local social activists of Peshawar.

In short, the event organized by TOOP was a great opportunity for young artists of Peshawar to display their skills. As mentioned by the Artists themselves, such events hold immense importance for the youth to interact and share their experiences and productive thoughts. Nevertheless, it was the schools, colleges, and university students that dominated the whole event through their amazing artworks which added to the beauty of the event.  

 

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