720th National Day: Swiss consulate holds poster competition

There is abundant talent among the youth of Karachi and this is demonstrated by the posters submitted by 20 students of Karachi University and Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture to celebrate the 720th National Day of Switzerland. The Swiss Consul General Didier Boschung said this at the prize distribution ceremony to judge the submitted works, all of which are to be displayed at the National Day reception of Switzerland to be held later this week.
The Consulate General of Switzerland in Karachi organised a poster competition among students as part of the Swiss Confederation's 720th anniversary celebration. The Consulate invited Karachi University and Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture students to participate in the competition. Students of graphic design departments of both institutes submitted 21 posters inspired by a painting of the late Jean Tinguely, the famous Swiss artist who was commissioned in 1991 to create an image to depict the felicitous occasion of Switzerland's 700th National day.
The winners of the competition are first prize Naveen Shahzad Khan, first runner up Hiba Tameem Akhtar of Karachi University, second runner up Ms Viviana of Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. Three winners were awarded with cash prizes and shields while certificates of appreciation were given to all participants.
Swiss Consul General Didier Boschung thanked the participants of the competition and said he was glad to observe that there were many women in Karachi who were interested in art and it was amazing that all three prize winners were girls. He added that this showed that art and design was in the safe hands of ladies in Pakistan.
The poster competition was adjudicated by a panel of five experts comprising an art critic, a gallery owner, an art collector, the Swiss Consul General and two other diplomats.
The Swiss Consul General said it was a very difficult choice to select three works as all the entries were very good. In fact when the Swiss Ambassador and his wife were in Karachi recently and were shown the works, they spent a long time admiring and appreciating the works.
Art critic Nafeesa Rizvi in her concluding remarks said she really appreciated the budding talent, saying some of the submitted works were brilliant. She lauded all the artists and wished them all success in the future. Master of Ceremony Janat Soomro of the Swiss Consulate conducted the proceedings.
The participating students who had turned up in large numbers for the prize distribution ceremony appreciated the Swiss Consulate for holding what they said was a unique competition that promoted young talent and provided them a platform besides giving them a voice and encouraging their endeavours-PR