Thirty oil-on-canvas paintings, each created by a young female artist from the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan, were put on display in an exhibition about the beauty, biodiversity and indigenous cultural heritage of the high mountains of Pakistan. The exhibition, titled ”Mountain landscape and culture”, was organized by the Development Communications Network (DEVCOM-Pakistan) and Safa Gold Mall in the main atrium of the Safa Gold Mall in Islamabad.
“‘Mountain landscape and culture’ is an exhibition of selected paintings by 30 young female artists from the twin cities who have participated in different live painting competitions organized by DEVCOM-Pakistan in connection with its globally recognized Pakistan Mountain Festival,” said Munir Ahmed, DEVCOM-Pakistan Executive Director and founder and Director of the Pakistan Mountain Festival.
Ambassador of the Republic of Poland Piotr Opalinski, Ambassador of Tunisia Adel Elarbi, and senior diplomat from the embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan Samir Guliyev were the guests of honour on 16 February 2018 for the launch of the exhibition, which they also jointly inaugurated. ”Mountain landscape and culture” remained open at the Safa Gold Mall through 18 February.
Each 24x18-inch canvas depicted the young artists’ creative flair. The flow of colours added rhythm and spontaneous movement to the static images of mountains and their surrounding environments. The paintings also captured the indigenous peoples and their local cultures.
Ahmed added, “Well-aware youth that are sensitized to issues of environmental sustainability are the last hope to protect the mother planet through conservation and development initiatives. The damage done by the older generation is irreparable, but still there is hope to slow down the process of degradation by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, eliminating indiscriminate deforestation and taking steps for inclusive and integrated afforestation”.
DEVCOM-Pakistan has engaged different segments of society in policy advocacy and awareness-raising on the environment, sustainable mountain development, climate change, gender and health for the last 15 years. Youth have been the backbone of every initiative that DEVCOM-Pakistan has launched since its inception in 2002.
