Prepared by artists Sushma Rajbhandari, Bhim Prasad Sharma, Aruna Hingmang, and Nar Bahadur BK after their participation in the SAARC Artists' Camp held in Bamiyan and Band-e-Amir, Afghanistan last August, the exhibition has been aptly titled 'Memory of Afghanistan.'The artists had prepared paintings during the course of the workshop, too, but most of them were left behind in Afghanistan. Most of the artworks currently being exhibited at the Council have been created by the artists upon their return to the country.
Artist Sushma Rajbhandari, who was also the coordinator of team Nepal, has included two of the paintings she made during the workshop in 'Memory of Afghanistan.' Speaking of her experience, she said, "I'm really proud to use such a popular world heritage site as the subject of my paintings. The geographical as well as cultural aspects of Afghanistan were new to us, and that made the painting process so exciting."
Artist Bhim Prasad has even used Afghanistan's soil and sand to create two of his paintings. "It adds value and sensitivity to my art."
In the five-day camp organized by SAARC Cultural Center, artists from SAARC member countries except India and Pakistan had participated. The artists said that the workshop helped them understand the issues and status of art in the SAARC region.
Opened by the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ananda Prasad Pokhrel on January 4, 'Memory of Afghanistan' will conclude on January 10.
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