Art teachers paint Margalla Hills National Park in oil on canvas

Islamabad: As many as 20 art teachers from twin-cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad participated in a live painting competition in the Margalla Hills National Park. The objective of the activity was to capture the beauty and the biological diversity of mountain environment.
The participants had second and final session of on-the-spot painting on Friday that began on Tuesday. The competition was organised by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) with the support of UNDP Pakistan in connection with the 7th Pakistan Mountain Festival. Briefing about the painting competition, Devcom-Pakistan Director Munir Ahmed said, “The competition was a rare opportunity for the very busy female art teachers who hardly find time to continue exploring their own creative passion. Most of the time, they are teaching and grooming their students and taking care of their families.
On-the-spot painting for art teachers was a creative retreat and continuity of their expression for the projection and mainstreaming of the mountains ecosystems. I believe that art can be used in multiple ways to enhance aesthetics in society leading to conservation and protection of nature to cleansing of the social environment.” He said, “Environmentally sensitised teachers especially those teaching art can give a push to the environmental conservation efforts through aesthetically enriched visuals. There is need to engage and sensitise teachers their active role in the conservation efforts. A sensitised teacher is more effective than anyone else in the society because of the social status that a teacher enjoys in the society.”