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    Nageen Hyat: Making a Difference through Art

    Written by: Sarah Khan
    Posted on: June 26, 2014 | | 中文

    Nageen Hyat

    Nageen Hyat is a rights activist, documentary-maker, curator and founder-director of the Nomad Art Gallery. Established in 1984 in Islamabad, Nomad’s mission is to promote the rich heritage of Pakistan through art and culture, crafts development, human rights, and peace. Nageen has had quite a journey. She started off with a small interior and structural design firm through which she won major projects, including Lok Virsa’s handicrafts venture, and began to make her mark. Her firm went into backward integration and worked with villages to promote local crafts and revive aesthetic traditions, which remains her passion till today. “South Asian culture has a wonderful flare. Traditions must be preserved and contemporized at the same time,” she maintains.

    Nageen Hyat: Making a Difference through Art

    Aman Cafe

    Nageen is multi-dimensionality incarnate and she feels strongly about everything she does. Her gallery has successfully reached its thirty years milestone this year. She admits that there are security concerns as well as economic challenges in running a gallery independently; the overheads are high and it is not easy to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously, but she does not shy away from taking new challenges every day. “My work doesn’t tire me because it’s my commitment; I find it spiritual and I go beyond myself to do it with a passion.” Working through her gallery, Nageen focuses on going to grassroots to bring about economic empowerment generated through skills enhancement and transmission. Nomad’s program “Art for Social Change” has made major contributions in creating awareness and providing skills training and income generation schemes for artists and members of various communities. The gallery has worked with more than 150 partners and is now seeking to expand its operations for which it is setting up a trust for donations, and opening up to further collaborations. Nomad is not just an art gallery; it is also a training centre with a unique eatery called Aman Café and a lively ambiance. Nageen maintains that she does not believe in hard selling, rather her idea is to make people feel welcome.

    More than just that, Nageen is also a brilliant photographer; what fascinates her about photography is that she believes it’s a thrilling way to present the beauty of Pakistan to the world. She treats her portraits as symbol of life, and not just as mere products.

    Nageen Hyat: Making a Difference through Art

    Bags and handicrafts

    Apart from her interest in art and running a gallery, Nageen has a keen activist streak which is evident in the social ventures she has so far undertaken. She has been recognized by Amnesty International for her services as a volunteer for Human Rights. She was a founding member of the Women’s Action Forum (WAF) Islamabad-Rawalpindi Chapter, and has served there for many years. Nageen maintains that during the military dictatorship when women were greatly constrained, she thought it was crucial to fight back through art, culture and empowerment.  “Art is very crucial in the spiritual emancipation of people,” she opines “Art is about roots; it’s not just about pretty things.” She laments that some people have brought a bad name to our country; but Nageen does not feel hopeless. Her work, she believes, is an effort to wipe away all the negativity and reclaim our space. “It is very easy to criticize,” she says “it’s hard to account for what we are giving. I always look within myself to find the answers.”

    Nageen’s philanthropic pursuits also deserve special mention. She, with a team of volunteers, worked with the earthquake affectees in Balakot, and also supported 120 internally displaced families (IDPs) from Maloot Village. Her gallery arranged to provide rations, and conducted art therapy workshops for psychologically affected children and medical camps for women. Nageen highlights that art heals by giving cathartic expression to emotions suppressed in the subconscious. 

    Nageen Hyat: Making a Difference through Art

    Artwork at the gallery

    Documentary-making: Nageen takes special pride in her program “Shanaakht – A Nomad Forum for the Arts,” a voluntary group involved in fund-raising, art workshops, film screenings, talks, and presentations that offer a platform for fledgling artists, poets and writers. Recently, Nageen produced and directed a documentary titled “Women in the Elections - 2013” in partnership with UN-Women, highlighting the plights, social and traditional pressures and hurdles faced by women to perform their role in the democratic process. Nageen also produced “Shanaakht: Mein Houn Zindagi,” (“Identity: I Am Life”), a 13 episode program that focuses on women, professions, culture and taboos. Launched in 2009 by PTV, the program has been aired both in Pakistan and abroad. For this, Nageen interviewed teachers, artists, policewomen etc. and learnt a great deal from their problems and challenges. She is currently working on the documentary, “Rediscovering Greater Chitral,” which focuses on the culture, festivals and lifestyle of the people of Chitral and Kalasha Valleys in Northern Pakistan.

    Coming back to her interest in art, Nageen adores abstract impressionistic art, which has a symbolic value for her, more than realistic work. Among old masters she termed Chughtai to be her favourite artist, who she deems an idealist like herself. Among contemporary artists, Nageen has great regard for the works of Rashid Raana, Imran Qureshi and Shahzia Sikander.

    Her advice to upcoming artists: “Make the most of your creative talent; you must have guts to experiment and to push boundaries. Don’t paint for the market; paint for what comes from within you.”


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021