LAHORE: A good number of art fanciers and people, who have interest in environment and conservation, attended an exhibition titled ‘Art for Change – International Child Art Exhibition and Competition at Alhamra Art Gallery, The Mall, on Wednesday.

The exhibition was inaugurated by renowned artist and educationist Shahnawaz Zaidi.

Discovering New Artists (DNA) had partnered with Lahore Arts Council and Goldfish to launch the 5th Art for Change exhibition.

The exhibition featured over 175 breathtaking artworks under the theme of ‘Save the earth and water conservation’ by school children aged 4-15 from 12 cities across Pakistan.

The pieces on display were in mix media and were reflective of young artists’ approach towards society especially conservation issues. The themes painted by the artists gave inspiration to students, teachers and parents to talk about the water crisis.

Hassan Mujtaba Zaidi, the founder and director of DNA, told Dawn that normally the exhibition organisers would every year receive some 3,000 entries. But this year the turnout was high and there were over 4,800 entries for the exhibition and competition. “Every year more than 150 art works are selected to be displayed in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi. DNA has also exhibited students work at New York University, USA, and aims to take it to other parts of the world every year,” he said.

Thirty winners were given cash prizes, certificates and medals and 175 runner-ups were given medals at the opening ceremony at Alhamra.

DNA is a non-profit youth-run initiative that channels artistic and creative initiatives like Art for Change to generate funding for underprivileged schools in Pakistan. The exhibition will continue till Thursday ( today).

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2019