We the Peoples, We the Arts is a competition aimed at involving young artists to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through visual arts. It is a joint initiative of the Embassy of Switzerland, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC).

First launched in 2016, We the Peoples, We the Arts involved students of leading art schools across Pakistan. The students produced sculptures, paintings and miniature paintings, highlighting the theme of Zero Hunger, the second of 17 SDGs. Twenty-three finalists participated in the award ceremony held in Islamabad in November 2016. International contemporary experts including Alexie Glass-Cantor, Executive Director of Artspace Sydney and Curator of Encounters Art Basel Hong Kong; Priyanka Mathew, Principal Partner at Sunderlande New York; Karin Seiz, Co-Director of Galerie Urs Meile in Beijing and Lucerne; and Heike Munder, Director of Migros Museum for Contemporary Art in Zurich selected three winner from among the finalists. The jury also included representatives from the Swiss Embassy and the United Nations. Artworks from all the 23 finalists were featured in a high-end catalogue (http://bit.ly/2gamj46) and have been exhibited throughout Pakistan. To build on the success of this initiative, partners have decided to launch a second edition and expand participation and thematic areas of the competition.

We are pleased to invite currently enrolled fine arts students to participate in We the Peoples, We the Arts 2018. The deadline for registration is 15 December. If you need more information, please feel free to Ishrat Saleem at [email protected].

For information, visit: http://bit.ly/2zDvm9n