"Art From The Heart" Goes On Display

Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) unveiled a solo exhibition "Art from the Heart", by Naela Chohan who uses the medium of visual arts to counter narratives against Islam, Pakistan and women in general by Muslim women in particular here Tuesday

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Mar, 2023 ) :Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) unveiled a solo exhibition "Art from the Heart", by Naela Chohan who uses the medium of visual arts to counter narratives against islam, Pakistan and women in general by Muslim women in particular here Tuesday.

Ms. Chohan is one the Pakistani woman artists who dedicated herself for gender inequality issues. The artist is deeply inspired by Mrs. Samina Alvi, First lady of Pakistan 's commitment to creating awareness about Breast cancer which is serious issue globally.

First Lady, Samina Alvi inaugurated the show and shared the work done under the patronage of President Alvi and herself in the social sector, especially on breast cancer awareness, inclusion, and rights of persons with disabilities, and issues related to mental health.

"Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer mortality and morbidity in Asia with 90,000 cases reported annually and more than 40,000 deaths. Due to the low health literacy, delay in the detection of early breast cancer is a serious growing concern for Pakistani women.

Cognizant of the issue, on our directions a structured country-wide mass awareness raising campaign was conducted through print, electronic and social media with the objective to sensitize women and girls about the early symptoms and to urge them to conduct monthly breast self-examination.

We were successful in our endeavors as a recently conducted study, by a screening centre in a public sector hospital revealed that 32% of the respondents mentioned that media was their prime source of information on breast cancer and the reason for getting themselves screened," she said.

A career diplomat and women's rights advocate, Naela Chohan is an artist who has strived to create awareness about various social and humanitarian issues, particularly women's issues, around the world, including at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.

Starting her career at Pakistan permanent mission at United Nations, New York, Naela realized the commonality of the women's problems which were specific to neither any race nor any religion.

Being a Pakistani and a Muslim woman, she was determined to use soft power ,in addition to her diplomatic training, to promote the image of her country and her religion through medium of visual art.

Although essentially a science student, Naela started her art training in Paris, France.She used this opportunity to do several courses.

A seasoned and veteran Foreign Service Officer, Naela has assumed a leadership position in eight different Pakistani diplomatic missions on five different continents.

She was the first civilian and a woman to head the Pakistan National Authority on implementation of the Chemical Weapons' Convention and had been the unanimously elected chairperson for three consecutive years of Asia Pacific Development Centre (APDC), Kuala Lumpur. She retired as Special Secretary Foreign Affairs.

Naela Chohan is an alumnus of Government college/University for Women, Quaid-e-Azam University and the Kennedy school of Government, Harvard University.

She speaks the language of art to create a realisation of universality of women's issues, which are social and humanitarian in nature.

Naela Chohan has done presentations as well as art exhibitions in different parts of the world. She donates one painting from each exhibition to charity, to help women around the world, and to promote the soft image of her beloved country, Pakistan.

The show will be open for general public till 9th March, at National Art Gallery of PNCA.

During his welcome note, Director General, PNCA, Ayub Jamali said PNCA is dedicated to promote Pakistani Art on local and international scale. Our elevate and unique programs that present the traditional and contemporary art practices we reflect upon the excellence and cultural diversity of Pakistan as well as support professional development of the artist.

PNCA is committed to promoting significant aspects of the country and encourages community participation in gallery activities, fostering curatorial practice to artist's own understanding of their work and encourages a healthy and sustainable local arts industry. PNCA has maintained a range of regionally focused visual arts exhibitions featuring both nationally and internationally recognized artists.