Karachi: The second Bank Alfalah Premier Nigaah Art Awards presented by Arif Habib Group was held on 21st January at Mohatta Palace Museum, Karachi to honour and acknowledge the artists of Pakistan.
Tauqeer Muhajir, Editor and Publisher of Nigaah Art Magazine in his welcome address stressed on the significance of recognizing the talent of Pakistani artists and promoting art through such programmes. The Jury members including Dr. Prof Rahat Naveed Masud, R.M Naeem, Noorjehan Bilgrami, Tauqeer Muhajir and Dr. Arjumand Faisel were present at the occasion. Notable names from the art fraternity also graced this programme. Art patrons, art gallery owners, painters, sculptors, photographers and other artists were present forthe art awards. The sponsors included VM Art Gallery, ArtKaam Gallery, Fly Jinnah Airline, Zulfiqar and Fatima Foundation and Business Recorder and Aaj TV.
The programme entertainment segments started with an enlightening discussion between Prof Salima Hashmi and Hameed Haroon on 75 years of art in Pakistan. The other performances included Sitar and Tabla performance by Ustad Imdad Hussain and his son Waqas Hussain along with Mehmood Ali Khan on the tabla, live painting by artist Saeed Kureshi and auction of paintings, the proceeds of which will be used to provide scholarships to art students, dance performances by PNCA titled as ‘Aaj Rung Hai’ and a spectacular fire dance.
This year’s Nigaah Prize was given in a total of 15 categories of work in public domain during 2018 to 2022. Other than these, the Lifetime Achievement Awards were given to Saeed Akhtar, Ahmad Khan and Mansur Rahi for their tremendous contribution for art in Pakistan.
The winning artists across different genres were:
- Landscape Painting: Mughees Riaz
- ArtKaam Still Life Painting: Akram Spaul
- Contemporary Painting: Shiblee Muneer
- Miniature Painting: Waseem Ahmed
- Portrait/figurative Painting: Ali Kazim
- 3D Sculptural Work: Affan Baghpati
- Drawing Category: Saba Qizilbash
- Modern Calligraphy: Shah Abdullah Alamee
- Traditional Khatati: Irfan Qureshi
- Photography: Humayun Memon
- VM Art Gallery Emerging artist (Female): Rabia S. Akhtar and Syeda Unab Sumble
- VM Art Gallery Emerging artist (Male): Ahmad Javed
- Art Critic: Zohreen Murtaza
- Curatorial Work: Adeel-uz-Zafar
- Print Making: Atif Khan
