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Talented Pakistani art students helped spread the
excitement of the 2012 London Games onto the roads of Rawalpindi, by
painting a bus using traditional Pakistani ‘truck art’.
The British High Commission (BHC) in Islamabad and the National College
of Arts in Rawalpindi jointly organised the project to celebrate the
diverse and interlinking cultures of Pakistan and the UK.
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Speaking about the painted bus, National College of Arts coordinator,
Khalid Ibrahim, commented: “Here in Pakistan, the brightly coloured
trucks and buses are customised to show where the vehicle and driver are
from, or to pay homage to a famous movie star or a well-known military
leader. Some trucks may be adorned with quotes from movies or verses
from poems. We have adopted this tradition to express some thoughts and
links that comes to one’s mind when we think of the UK and its
connections with Pakistan.”
According to BHC, the event helps highlight the London 2012 Cultural
Olympiad, which will take place alongside the 2012 London Olympics. The
London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the
history of modern Olympics. The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad is
the London 2012 Festival, which will provide over 10 million people
throughout the UK a chance to watch the mega sports event.
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London 2012 is the first Olympics to offer an international sporting
legacy, connecting over 12 million young people through sports in 20
countries through the International Inspiration Programme.
Thousands of young people in Pakistan have been inspired to take part in
sports and physical education in the past year. Pakistan is the 17th
country in the world to join this programme and has committed to
register over 1 million Pakistani children in the programme.
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British High Commissioner Adam Thomson congratulated the students of
National College of Arts and the truck artists who supported blending
the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with Pakistani traditions.
The BHC in a statement said, “2012 is an exciting year for the UK. We
have been working hard behind the scenes to make this a magnificent year
for everyone. The Olympics and Paralympics mean the spotlight of the
world will be on the UK – what a great time to show how dynamic and
culturally diverse we are. Leading artists from all over the world,
including from Pakistan, are coming together this summer in the UK’s
biggest ever nationwide arts festival – a chance for everyone to get
into the spirit of London 2012 through dance, music, theatre, the visual
arts, film and digital innovation.” |
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