Artwork on "zero hunger" in Karachi

Artwork on "zero hunger" exhibited in Karachi

Al-Bab Report

Karachi: An exhibition highlighting the art pieces of young artists from five arts schools, qualified in the “We the Peoples, We the Arts” competition across Pakistan, was opened during the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) at the Beach Luxury Hotel Karachi.

“We the Peoples, We the Arts” is an initiative organized by the Swiss Agency for Devel-opment and Cooperation (SDC) and the Embassy of Switzerland in partnership with the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), to mark the 50th year of SDC's cooperation with Pakistan and to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Students were invited to develop sculptures, miniature paintings and paintings on the theme of “Zero Hunger”, SDG #2.

Phillipe Crevoisier, Consul General of Switzerland in Karachi and chief guest at the open-ing ceremony expressed his views about the exhibition. “Through this exhibition, my coun-try joined hands with the United Nations to promote zero hunger, the second most im-portant goal for the United Nations efforts to achieve sustainable development by 2030,” he said.

“Switzerland and Pakistan enjoy long, strong, and cherished bilateral relations. Thanks to this excellent relationship, SDC efficiently works in close cooperation with the relevant Pa-kistani ministries, all major global partners such as the United Nations as well as with local and international NGOs,” the Consul General informed.

Benedikt Hürzeler, Deputy Head of Cooperation SDC highlighted the importance of the competition during his talk. “Switzerland, through this art competition, aims to bring in limelight the creative, artistic and innovative skills of the Pakistani youth. For this purpose we had invited Swiss and international art experts to the jury of this competition."

"This provides important exposure to the talented young artists by facilitating their access to the international, especially the Swiss art and culture markets and networks. We hope that these artists will make use of the opportunities, experiences, recognition, financial support and professional contacts that this competition will provide," Benedikt added.

Aline Rumonge, head of the World Food Programme (WFP)office in Sindh expressed her pleasure on the successful completion of the competition. “We are happy to present the work of young Pakistani artists who are helping to promote the theme of zero hunger as we aim to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030,” he maintained.

“Young people are innovative and creative problem solvers and they are the key to help-ing communities and improving the long-term wellbeing of all citizens. We must continue to encourage initiatives that engage and empower youth as they are a source of social cohesion that will help Pakistan navigate difficult times and achieve a better future for all,” Aline Rumonge added.

A jury comprising Swiss and international art experts, the Embassy of Switzerland and the United Nations selected a winner for each category. A total of 64 art pieces were received for this competition out of which 23 were selection for the final exhibition, which aims to provide Pakistani students a unique opportunity to gain visibility at the international level.

Gina Gul (Karachi University) won the award for the miniature painting. Tooba Ashraf (NCA Lahore) was declared winner in the ‘painting’ division while Haseebullah Zafar (NCA Lahore) claimed award for crafting the winning sculpture.

Background:

We the Peoples, We the Arts is an art competition aiming at involving young art-ists in promoting the Sustainable Devel-opment Goals (SDGs) through visual arts. It is a joint initiative of the Swiss Agency for Development and Coopera-tion (SDC) and the United Nations Infor-mation Centre (UNIC). First launched in 2016, We the Peoples, We the Arts in-volved students from arts schools across Pakistan who produced artwork highlight-ing the theme of Zero Hunger, the second of 17 SDGs, through sculptures, paintings and miniature paintings. Three winners were selected by international contempo-rary experts including Alexie Glass-Cantor, Executive Director of Artspace Sydney and Curator of Encounters Art Basel Hong Kong; Priyanka Mathew, Principal Partner at Sunderlande New York; Karin Seiz, Co-Director of Galerie Urs Meile in Beijing and Lucerne; and Heike Munder, Director of Migros Muse-um for Contemporary Art in Zurich. The jury included also representatives from the Swiss Embassy and the United Na-tions. Artworks from all the 23 finalists were featured in a high-end catalogue and are currently being exhibited throughout Pakistan.

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC):

SDC is Switzerland’s international coop-eration agency within the Federal De-partment of Foreign Affairs and is re-sponsible for the overall coordination of development cooperation and humanitar-ian aid delivered by the Swiss Confedera-tion. In 2016, the SDC marked 50 years of cooperation in Pakistan. Switzerland and Pakistan signed their first agreement on technical and scientific cooperation in 1966. For the last 50 years, the SDC has contributed to alleviating poverty in Paki-stan and empowering people by strengthening governance, and enhanc-ing rural development and livelihoods.

UN Information Centre (UNIC):

UNIC Islamabad is the office of commu-nications for the United Nations in charge for promoting the activities of the UN System in Pakistan. It also sup-ports the public information efforts of specialized UN Agencies and programs.  It work on promoting the values of the UN and empowering the youth to promote the Sustainable Devel-opment Goals (SDGs), the blueprint for development for the next 15 years.

Sustainable Development Goals:

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets are global in nature and universally applicable, taking into ac-count different national realities, capaci-ties and levels of development and re-specting national policies and priorities. The 193 Member States of the United Nations reached consensus and formu-lated an agenda contains 17 goals and 169 targets for development. World lead-ers have officially adopted this agenda to spur actions that will end poverty and build a more sustainable world over the next 14 years.

The winning art pieces

Winner: Miniature Painting

Construct or deconstruct

Source               

Gina Gul, 22

Department of Visual Studies, University of Karachi

Using oil paints and acrylics, my piece shows factories and buildings that are causing destruction in the environment. Factories are rising instead of natural habitats. Like my painting has two differ-ent views, the situation can also be turned around.

Winner: Painting

Enlightenment

Tooba Ashraf, 22

National College of Arts, Lahore

Time and time again, the cry for “ilm” can be heard reverberating throughout Paki-stan, yet the groans of empty stomachs and painful cries for bread seem to be unheard. It is foolish to constantly try to enforce education and zero hunger in a state where even the most basic human need is considered luxury. The growl of an empty stomach drowns out other is-sues and reduces man to a state of an animal. It is crucial for us to first and foremost eliminate all forms of hunger from this world to achieve a healthy popu-lation which can be effectively educated and become more productive than ever possible before.

Winner: Sculpture

Unwanted scraps

Haseeb Ullah Zafar, 22

National College of Arts, Lahore

Little bits and pieces fuse together to make something monumental, something solid, something concrete. If putrid flesh did not decay and vanish from the street but instead sat forever in front of our eyes, a constant reminder of our careless indulgence, the world would be a bit dif-ferent. Would we maybe be a bit more cautious of picking up another knife, slit-ting yet another throat? The world in my view is in need of a mother, one who will not let anyone get up without finishing their meals, vegetables and all. One who won’t stand for scraps being thrown un-der the table, because someone, some-where needs every little bit. My work is about waste and how it builds up in to something so much more than itself.