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The Mohatta palace, history and architecture, a beautiful venue, coupled with a beautiful evening (the true Karachi evening with a slight nip in the air) and topping it off with an elegantly curated event, made for an all fabulous setting for the Nigaah Awards, which honour and acknowledge the artists of Pakistan. The event was opened by Tauqeer Muhajir, Editor and Publisher of Nigaah Art Magazine. In his welcome address, he stressed on the significance of recognising the talent of Pakistani artists and promoting art through such programmes.
The programme’s entertainment segment started with an enlightening discussion between Prof Salima Hashmi and Hameed Haroon on 75 years of art in Pakistan.
When questioned about her views on the art scene in Pakistan, Salima said: “It is commendable when business houses promote art, magazines become sophisticated, events like biennale, museum shows take place, its then art has arrived.”
A mesmerising juggal bandi performance by Ustad Imdad Hussain and Waqas Hussain on the sitar and tabla while in the background a live painting of the ayat ‘Kun fa ya kun’ by artist Saeed Kureshi enthralled the audience. The painting, along with other paintings, were auctioned at the end of the show. The proceeds of the auction will be used to provide scholarships to art students.
As the event flowed, the awards continued. In the category of landscaping and figurative painting, the award was given to Mughees Riaz by NoorJehan Bilgrami and Shahab Zubairi. Badar Munir and Mohammad Zeeshan gave the award to Humayun Memon and Waseem Ahmed in the category of photography and miniature painting. In the category of print making, figurative/portrait painting and drawing awards were presented to Atif Khan, Ali Kazmi and Saba Qazalbash respectively. These awards were presented by Hafra Masood and Arjumand Faisal.
In the category of ‘Art Kaam Still Life’ painting and curatorial work, the awards were presented to Akram SPaul and Adeel-uz-Zafar by Junaid Hamid and Asma Ibrahim.
Shahrukh Hasan presented the award to Zohreen Murtaza for art critic. He also gave away the award for the VM Art Gallery Emerging artist (female) to Rabia S. Akhtar and Syeda Unab Sumble.
R M Alameen gave the award for traditional Khatati to Irfan Qureshi, while Professor Rahat Masood and Jimmy Engineer gave the award to Affan Baghpati in the category of 3D Sculptural Work and to Shah Abdullah Alamee for Modern Calligraphy.
The following artists received lifetime achievement awards: Mansur Rahi, Ahmad Khan and Saeed Akhtar. It was a celebration of all the art and dedication these gentlemen had contributed in this field.
Awards were interspersed by different performances, including sitar and tabla, along with Mehmood Ali Khan on the tabla, dance performances by PNCA titled as ‘Aaj Rung Hai’ and a spectacular fire dance.
Other recipients of the awards were in the category of contemporary painting Shiblee Muneer, and VM Art Gallery Emerging artist (male) Ahmad Javed. The jury members including Dr. Prof Rahat Naveed Masud, R.M Naeem, Noorjehan Bilgrami, Tauqeer Muhajir and Dr Arjumand Faisel were present at the occasion. The evening came to an end with a lovely dinner.
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