JK Guv inaugurates 9th Annual Contemporary Art Show-Concourse

Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra today inaugurated an eight-day mega exhibition '9th Annual Contemporary Art Show-Concourse' here in which 60 Kashmiri artists from across the world have come together for the first time in 66 years, an official spokesperson said.

The exhibition has been curated by artists Veer Mushi and Syed Mujtaba Rizvi, he said.

The spokesperson said Minister for Culture Naeem Akhtar was present on the occasion.

Welcoming the artists to the Valley, the governor congratulated Munshi and Rizvi for organising the exhibition which is particularly significant as it seeks to revive artistic traditions of the Valley after a gap of several decades, he said.

The spokesperson said Vohra recalled that during his visits to the Valley in the earlier years, he had the opportunity of meeting many eminent artists, sculptors and painters, locals and outsiders who were frequently visiting Kashmir to seek inspiration from its people and enchanting scenic beauty.

The governor noted that the post 1990s turmoil in the Valley has done "irreparable" damage to the art and culture.

Responding to the efforts made by artists Munshi and Rizvi to organise the exhibition in the Old Silk factory, which was declared an unsafe building, the governor observed that this historical premises could be redone to provide a permanent art gallery for attracting the Kashmiri Pandit artists and others who were compelled to leave their homes, the spokesperson said.

The minister stressed the importance of such initiatives being organised regularly so that Kashmiri diaspora could connect to their roots and enrich the artistic scene here.