If you ever came across an Urdu digest, the most intriguing part of it would be the cover illustration for each story. Over the years I have seen my parents buying Jasoosi Digest, Dosheeza, Khawateen Digest, and Akhbar-e-Jahan, and I always admired the work by those artists. Looking at this art has also made me wonder why their work remains in those monthly digests only and is not exhibited in public to be able to viewed by a larger audience.

For the first time that I know of, an exhibition of artworks by six artists titled ‘Urdu digest illustrated’ opened at ArtChowk. Artists Imran Zaib, Inam Raja, Shahid Hussain, Shaista Momin, Zakir Hasan Chishti and Zulfiqar Azeen displayed their work with women being the central character of the show, transporting the spectators to the land of films, heroines and detectives.

The exhibition will run everyday at Art Chowk, excluding Sundays, between 11am and 7pm until January 12. (Text and photos by Eefa Khalid)

Address:  Suite#102,1st floor, Clifton Centre, Schon circle, Service Lane, Karachi, Pakistan