Pakistani artists unite in powerful show of solidarity to raise funds for Gaza
ISLAMABAD: Around 150 Pakistani artists gathered in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad to participate in a eight-day humanitarian art camp to raise funds for people affected by Israeli military offensive in Gaza, a the head of Silk Road Culture Center said this week, in a remarkable show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
The camp, 'Art for Life – Art for Gaza,' brought together musicians, writers and performers from across Pakistan who presented series of multidisciplinary performances and visual art displays to raise funds for the war-torn people of Gaza.
The event began on April 30 and ended on May 7, amid renewed Israeli strikes on the Palestinian enclave. Israeli's 18-month war against Hamas has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, Palestinian officials say.
'The idea [behind the event] was to empathize with the suffering people of Palestine,' Jamal Shah, chairman of the Silk Road Culture Center, told Arab News on Wednesday, without sharing details of the total funds raised.
A wide range of artworks, including paintings, sculptures, calligraphy, origami and mixed media, were created, exhibited and sold at the event, according to Shah. Many of the pieces are still up for auction, with proceeds pledged to the Palestinian embassy in Pakistan to support humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza.
The participating artists engaged in dialogue around the Palestinian cause and expressed their reflections through paintings, sculptures, theater, music and film at the event.
'My depiction shows their flag and different elements. The golden color represents pain and the Al-Aqsa Mosque,' said Atif Ayub, a contemprary artist from Lahore, describing his installation that combined symbolic imagery focusing on the year 1988 that marked the establishment of the State of Palestine.
'It's all about shared humanity and emotion.'
The final two days featured live painting sessions, with artists painting silhouettes of performers in real time. These sessions were accompanied by musical performances, skits and poetry readings.
Pakistani singers and musicians such as Arieb, 360 Degrees, Maddy and Sam performed original pieces dedicated to Palestine, contributing to the emotional tone of the event.
Zeeshan Usman Khattak, a filmmaker from the northwestern city of Peshawar, said their collaborative work was a visual metaphor for the crisis in Gaza.
'There was a live performance behind the canvas and we were capturing the shadows,' Khattak said of their live performance. 'Those movements reflected the dance of life and death, the aggression, the loss.'
Wednesday's closing ceremony was attended by ambassadors from Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Yemen, Qatar, Syria and Romania, along with cultural attachés from China and Iran as well as representatives from the French film community.
Summera Jawad, a professor who teaches fine arts at Lahore's Punjab University, highlighted the community-driven nature of the initiative.
'Artists are not just performing or creating here, they're also contributing to the exhibition and donating their artworks for the cause,' she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Bella Hadid turns spotlight onto powerful Ms. Rachel poem
DUBAI: American Dutch Palestinian supermodel Bella Hadid has shared a powerful poem by popular children's educator and YouTuber Rachel Griffin Accurso, known globally as Ms. Rachel, amplifying its message of hope and solidarity with Gaza. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ The poem, titled 'The People Were Brave,' went viral on social media for its stirring call to action urging people to show bravery and use their voices for good. A post shared by Ms Rachel (@msrachelforlittles) 'The leaders were mostly silent. They were scared of what they might lose. The celebrities were mostly silent. They were scared of what they might lose. The media was mostly silent. They were scared of what they might lose. But the people were not silent. They were brave,' the poem begins. 'So never stop speaking up for those in need. Never wait for the world. It was ordinary people that became extraordinary. And changed everything. And moved us all. And saved us all,' it ends. Last week, Ms. Rachel made headlines when she said she was willing to jeopardize her career to advocate for Palestinian children suffering under the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. She said she had been targeted by online campaigns and faced calls for government investigation after voicing support for children affected by war in Gaza and elsewhere. Despite growing criticism from some pro-Israel groups and conservative media, in a recent interview with WBUR, a Boston-based public radio station, she said she remained defiant. 'I would risk everything — and I will risk my career over and over to stand up for children,' she said. 'It's all about the kids for me. I wouldn't be Ms. Rachel if I didn't deeply care about all kids.' A post shared by Ms Rachel (@msrachelforlittles) The YouTube star added a recent meeting with Palestinian mothers whose children remain trapped in Gaza had had a profound effect on her: 'When you sit with a mother who's FaceTiming her boys in Gaza who don't have food, and you see that anguish, you ask yourself: What more can I do?' A former teacher in New York, Ms Rachel said her work had always been rooted in the principle that all children, regardless of nationality or background, deserved dignity, safety, and access to basic needs. 'That's the basis of everything for me — children are equal,' she said.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Pakistan-origin Mahnoor Qazi wins James Baldwin award for fiction
ISLAMABAD: Mahnoor Qazi, a Pakistani-origin high school student in the US state of California, has won the inaugural James Baldwin Award for Fiction, the organizers announced this week. The James Baldwin Award for Fiction is one of six creative writing awards given by Penguin Random House, touted as the world's largest trade book publisher, as part of their signature Creative Writing Awards (CWA) program. The award is named after Baldwin, a novelist, essayist, playwright, poet and critic. Qazi, an aspiring writer who attends Golden Valley High School in California, is dedicated to connecting the art of literature with the deepest human emotions. Her entry 'Eternity' won the first-place prize of $10,000. 'As his niece, it has been an honor to select the recipient of the James Baldwin Award for fiction. Traveling the creative landscape of students with insightful narrative voices has been inspiring,' Baldwin's niece Darlene Burnett said. 'They continue to demonstrate that the power of words can inform minds, fuel the imagination, and construct narratives that compel us to read and to feel. They are the literary architects of the future.' Other categories included the Freedom of Expression Award, Michelle Obama Award for Memoir, the Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry, and the Maya Angelou Award for Spoken Word. Since 1993, the Penguin Random House CWA program has awarded more than $2.9 million to public high school students for their original compositions. In addition to scholarships, the publisher hosts a virtual development week for the CWA winners each summer that includes networking workshops, a panel about career opportunities in publishing, and fireside chats with Penguin Random House authors.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Arab News
As goats get pricier, Pakistan's capital turns to falooda dessert to keep Eid Al-Adha spirit alive
ISLAMABAD: With sacrificial goats commanding million-rupee price tags this Eid Al-Adha, many in Pakistan's capital are seeking solace not in the livestock markets, but in a humbler tradition: a chilled bowl of falooda — a silky, rose-scented dessert layered with ice cream, nostalgia, and just enough sweetness to lift a heat- and inflation-weary soul. A dessert with Persian roots, falooda made its way to South Asia during the Mughal era, evolving from a frozen, rose-infused noodle pudding in Iran to the vibrant, multi-textured treat beloved across Pakistan today. At its best, falooda is an edible symphony, a tangle of thin vermicelli swimming in cold milk, softened basil seeds (tukhmalanga) floating like miniature pearls, and a generous scoop of vanilla or kulfi ice cream crowning the glass. The final touch is a fragrant pour of rose syrup, turning the whole concoction into a pink-hued celebration of summer — and now Eid. Nowhere is this more evident than at Bata Kulfi Falooda, a small, family-run dessert shop in Islamabad's bustling I-8 Markaz marketplace. There, amid the clatter of spoons and the hum of Eid shoppers, customers line up for what's become a seasonal staple, the shop's signature Matka Falooda, served in traditional clay bowls that keep the dessert ice-cold, even under the blazing June sun. 'We first opened in Peshawar [northwestern city] in 1962,' said Shah Faisal, the shop's manager, as he rushed between customers to take orders. 'In 2015, we brought the same taste to Islamabad. Nothing has changed. The ingredients, the method, even the feel of it, it all comes from Peshawar.' During Eid week, Bata Kulfi Falooda's signature Matka Falooda becomes more than a dessert. It's a celebration in a bowl. 'It's a memory in every bite,' said Muhammad Kamil, a 27-year-old student who had just returned from a livestock market, saying he was stunned by the jaw-dropping prices. 'Right at the entrance, we saw a goat priced at Rs1.5 million [$5,350]. A little further in, there was a sheep for Rs2 million [$7,140],' Kamil said as he waited for his bowl of falooda. 'After seeing a goat worth Rs1.5 million, only ice cream could cool us down, otherwise it would've been hard to keep the spirit of sacrifice alive.' Determined to celebrate in his own way, Kamil turned to falooda, at a far more palatable Rs450 ($1.60) per bowl. What drew him in, he said, was the comforting presentation: the cold earthen bowl, the soft noodles slicked with syrup, and the melting scoop of ice cream sinking slowly into the milky depths. He's even considering gifting bowls of it to friends this Eid. Indeed, with families across Islamabad and beyond rethinking how to celebrate Eid this year, it may not be the size of the goat that sets the mood but rather the shared sweetness of something simple, familiar, and deeply rooted in tradition. So, while this Eid may see fewer families walking home from markets with goats in tow, many are still finding ways to savor the spirit of the season with a humble bowl of falooda, which is doing more than just cooling people down — it's lifting spirits, one spoonful at a time. According to shop manager Faisal, falooda easily outpaces even their famous kulfi in popularity during the Eid holidays. 'In this heat and with everything getting so expensive, people still want something festive,' he said. 'And falooda brings joy that doesn't cost a fortune.'
