The inaugural ceremony for the 9th SAARC Artist Camp and Exhibition of Paintings 2019 took place at the National Art Gallery today. The Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage Yumna Maumoon, officials from the SAARC Cultural Center and officials from the Ministry of Art, Culture and Heritage joined the chief guest for the ceremony, Minister of Economic Development Uz Fayyaz Ismail.
The Director of SAARC Cultural Center, D. K. R. Ekanayake noted the main objective of the event during her welcoming remarks, which is to promote regional unity. She further pointed out the role of the camp in enabling the artists to showcase the heritage of the member states, as well as serving as a platform to share experiences and knowledge while creating meaningful relationships.
The Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage, Yumna Maumoon in her speech, spoke on the importance of art as a medium of expression, and the governments dedication towards the development of the industry. She also thanked the chief guest for announcing their initiative to have a shop that will sell local art and crafts in each resort in the Maldives. Further requesting the minister to create more opportunity for local artists.
Addressing the gathering, Minister for Economic Development Uz Fayyaz Ismail also highlighted the effectiveness of art as a form of communication. He further stressed the importance of mobilizing the immense potential of the people. The Minister also spoke on the importance of existence of economically and financially viable mechanisms for trade in order for the artist to survive and announced the opening of an art center in Male’ next year.
As the host country for the Artist Camp and Exhibition of Paintings 2019, Maldives welcomed the artists participating in the event and the SAARC Cultural Center Officials to the Maldives on the 22nd of this month. They will be based in Hulhumale’ where the camp will be held, going on until the 27th of September 2019.
During this time participants will create artworks on the themes, “Oceans, a binding treasure of South Asia” and “Cultures and confluences of creativity.” Each participant will create two paintings that will be exhibited at the Exhibition of Paintings along with their other artworks. A total of 29 artists from the member states of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka are taking part in the Artist Camp and Exhibition of Paintings this year.