Naeem Tahir takes charge as director general PNCA

Naeem Tahir here on Monday took charge as Director General, Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA). The founder of National Art Gallery (NAG), Naeem Tahir had already served as DG, PNCA for three years till April 18, and now he has been re-appointed for a period of one year.
During his past tenure, he initiated 18 projects to promote art and culture in the country including establishment of National Theatre, Film Academy, National Archives, Culture Centres in Gilgit, Quetta, Peshawar, National Centre for Performing Arts, National Puppet Theatre, and overseas cultural centres at USA, UK and China.
Talking to APP, Naeem Tahir said that the project of National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) focussing theatre, music, dance and film and National Puppet Theatre (NPT) is on top priority for PNCA.
The government has allocated 7 acres land at Shakarparian for the project of NCPA and its groundbreaking ceremony will be held soon, while PNCA would introduce new technologies and advance training at the NPT, Liaquat Bagh, he added. "Culture is our touchstone and identity and we need a political will to maintain this identity for showcasing our creative face to the world," Naeem Tahir said.
About the upcoming events at PNCA, he said that a visual art show featuring the work of Hanif Ramey is scheduled in August with a display of over 250 paintings and calligraphic art pieces. The PNCA cinema would be started regularly with a focus on movies highlighting social references, he added. Naeem Tahir is the author of more than 38 creative theatre, television and literary works and received 30 various public and critic awards for drama related works.
Among his 20 creative research works, the latest is the 9 years researched book titled "8000 years of the People of Pakistan on Archaeology, Anthropology and History" that is based on Indus Valley Civilisation and pre-history. His central achievement during the past 3-year tenure was the acceleration of the construction and human resource development of the National Art Gallery, a project that remained dormant for 20 years.