Lahore in recent days has seen many cultural activities as a number of artistes and skilled souls have poured in for capacity-building tasks in different spheres of art.

A Sesame Street team is on a visit to the city as part of an ongoing US-funded TV project being run in collaboration with the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop.

A French embroider, Elisabeth Roulleau is to land in the city for an inimitable workshop at the French Cultural Center. The Alliance Française de Lahore will hold a two-day (May 21-22) professional embroidery workshop. She was trained at the LESAGE Art Embroidery School for Haute Couture and Decoration in France. She teaches embroidery techniques at the fine arts school and at the textile museum of Lyon.

She has conducted numerous embroidery workshops abroad. The programme will consist of initiation to the use of the Lunéville crochet hook, laying of beads, tubes and sequins (spangles), lying of silver braided cord, use of the gold thread for the creation of a haute couture flower, and also the traditional embroidery stitches such as stem stitch or the installations of ‘jewellery’ and work over the gold metal for the technique of ‘vermicelli’.

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Fashion designer Mina Hasan’s spring/summer 2012 collection ‘Rania’ was launched amidst a rich gathering of fashion fraternity and people from the entertainment world last week. The collection according to fashion gurus is getting a huge response in Lahore and Karachi at the flagship stores.

It exudes sedate glamour combining a variety of colours, embroidery and embellishments. It resonates with radiant colours of
the spring season with each outfit aiming to give a royal feel. As it plays on neutral, earthy shades the collection beautifully
incorporates sharp colours in the form embroidery, embellishments and piping.

Mina Hasan, the daughter of the late Nur Jehan, was naturally exposed to the world of fashion at an early age. She grew up adorning her mother’s famous sari’s and attributes the first and most important influence on her fashion and style education to her mother.

According to Ms Hasan, the design philosophy guiding her label is to create clothes that are, put simply, glamorous and unapologetically regal. Ornate aesthetic brings luxury and extravagance, cut in classic silhouettes, embellished with embroidery in a myriad of colours and styles which make each piece a unique work of art.

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A rare exhibition of artworks by distinguished painter Iqbal Geoffrey will open at Zahoorul Akhalq Gallery, National College of Arts, on May 23.

Geoffrey is a Pakistani abstract painter whose work is based on a fusion of ancient eastern and modern western traditions. A number of art fanciers are expected on the occasion.

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Lollywood brand ambassador Syed Noor has once again taken the director’s chair. Amidst rolling cameras and spotlights he is currently shooting a new Punjabi flick ‘Sharika’. To the dismay of many filmgoers the heroine of the film is Saima. The rosy side of the story is that films are still being made in the otherwise stagnant Pakistani cinema industry.

Noor believes that his upcoming movie will be a strong hit on the social clichés of society as the name suggests.

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A solo exhibition of paintings titled ‘Journey’ by Karachi-based artist Mashkoor Raza opened at the Revivers Galleria in Gulberg last week. Over 50 canvasses were on display in the art show. The artist had specially flown in Lahore for the exhibition.

Mashkoor Raza has been painting for several years and has a number of solo and group exhibitions within Pakistan and in various foreign countries to his credit.

On this occasion, besides inauguration of the solo art show, a book written by known art critic Nadeem Zuberi on and about the artist ‘Mashkoor Raza’s Journey’ was launched.

The exhibition would remain on display for two weeks.

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Celebrating Traditions, a two-day selling exhibition, was held on 12th and 13th of May at Sukh Chen Wellness Club, Gulberg II.

The exhibition showcased hand embellished products produced by home-based rural woman artisans.

The exhibition was an outcome of Pathways & Purse Strings Project, a four-year Value Chain initiative supported by MEDA and
CIDA (Mennonites Economic Development Associates and Canadian International Development Agency).

The project has been designed to improve livelihoods of home-based woman embellishers by offering market access and an embedded package of services to improve product delivery, design and quality.

Kaarvan’s experience in this project has highlighted a lack of networking and information as a critical constraint for developing and strengthening market linkages. Women embellishers reside in rural low-income communities and are isolated from buyers and business support providers in the business environment.