ISLAMABAD, Nov 10 (APP):The grand opening ceremony of 13-day long International Islamabad Art Festival 2019 (IAF-19) would be held on November 18 at National Art Gallery of Pakistan, National Council of the Arts (PNCA).
President and Chief Curator IAF-19 Jamal Shah told APP that IAF-19 aims to bring artists from Pakistan and across the world together on one multi-disciplinary platform with a global outreach.
He said Islamabad Art Festival was built upon the foundation of cultural diversity that was so deeply embedded in Pakistan.
“Art has a unique capability of enabling people to engage intimately with their natural and cultural heritage in a creative and critical manner”, he said.
Jamal Shah said the spirit of creativity and innovation brings people together and strengthens society as a whole.
“Powerful civilizations, including Mehrgarh, Harappa and Moenjodaro of the Indus Valley and Gandhara have thrived in this land,” he said.
He said many layers of history were visible in the culture, religions, and languages that this land had seen over thousands of years.
“At IAF-19, local artists will create, exhibit and perform right alongside their foreign counterparts and catapult Pakistani art to new heights worldwide,” he said.
Renowned artist Jamal Shah said emerging artists would have an opportunity to interact with established and highly-respected artists and exhibit their work together on this collaborative platform.
He said the aim of the festival was to celebrate diversity and creativity in all forms of visual and performing arts.
He said thematic focus of IAF-19 was a “Dialogue between Tradition and Modernity”.
“This will be explored across cultures and identities in an inclusive way, thinking about both differences and similarities,” he said.
He said IAF-19 would specifically probe the question of identity through the following manifestations of the main curatorial theme: Indigenous vocabulary and contemporary expression, Crush on modernity, affair with classicism, Identity and contemporary challenges and my tradition verses your modernity.