Art and creativity should not be limited to become merely an artist but it must allow a child to explore their vision and to solve problems in a different way and contribute to the workforce, society, and humanity in the days to come. The Little Art in collaboration with UNICEF Pakistan conducted a Visual Arts contest on Child Rights Theme in four provincial capitals, i.e. Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta.
50 students gathered in each city to participate in the contest, involving 200 children from the 4 cities. The participants came from public and private schools and children in shelter homes (in collaboration with child protection organizations). Schools that took part included:
From Lahore: The Trust School, Amir Town Boys Campus, Amir Town Girls Campus, Wapda Town Campus, Green Town Campus and Thokar Niaz Baig Campus.
From Peshawar: Bacha Khan Model School, Government Girls Higher and Secondary School Hayatabad, and Bacha Khan School Charsada.
From Karachi: Social Bond School, Karachi Vocational Training Center (Special Education), Akber Public School, Government and ALP Center Children
From Quetta: ALP (UNICEFF), Army Public School, Government Secondary School for Boys, Government Secondary School for Girls.
5 schools were selected from each provincial capital. From each school, 10 children participated in the art contest. 50 children along with teachers from 5 schools were present in Four Point by Sheraton in Lahore, Beach Luxury Hotel in Karachi, Shelton Hotel in Peshawar, and Boy’s Scout Hotel in Quetta for the contest. The children were provided with art materials to take part in the contest. The art kit included:
- A set of colour pencils
- A set of colour crayons
- A set of colour markers
- Plastic foot ruler
- Drawing lead pencil
- Eraser
- Sharpener
- Drawing chart
Transportation and lunch were also provided to every child and teacher.
By the end of the day, we collected the art works from children and presented it to the jury to select 30 best artworks. The selected works will be displayed in Islamabad on November 20th, 2019 on Universal Children’s Day. The winners will receive prizes from UNICEF.
Creativity is usually hidden and unintentional. Participating in art related activities helps children to gain the tools necessary for understanding human experience, adapting to and respecting others, ways of working and thinking, developing creative problem-solving skills, and communicating thoughts and ideas in a variety of ways. In today’s Pakistani society, art is needed by our young people more than ever as a forum for self-expression, communication, exploration, imagination, and cultural and historical understanding. So, give your child every opportunity to express with colours and put their thoughts and opinions on paper!
