Culture of Lahore - Arts and Architecture

Arts and Architecture

Art of Lahore has a strong bearing upon the Mughal period. The historical monuments and buildings of Lahore stand as the specimen of Mughal art and architecture. However, the heritage also has a touch of Aryans, Arabs, Persians, British, Sikhs and Greeks.

Lahore Fort, Badshahi Mosque, Shalimar Gardens, Nur Jehan's Tomb, Tomb of Jahangir, Anarkali Bazaar, The Lahore Museum, Chauburji or Char Minar and Bagh-e-Jinnah are some the major architectural works found in Lahore. The palaces/havelis, forts, madrassas and mosques make the Lahore art known among the rest of the world. The art galleries of Lahore also display a number of artefacts belonging to the Mughal period. Many contemporary artworks are also exhibited in the art galleries of the city.

In modern days, parts of Bahria Town Housing Scheme in Lahore are themed on ancient Egyptian culture. There are many other architectural notables, including themes for different locales that make Bahria a very interesting and well conceived scheme to visit and live in.

The World Performing Arts Festival is held every autumn (usually in November) at the Alhambra cultural complex, a large venue consisting of several theatres and amphitheatre. This ten-day festival consists of musicals, theatre, concerts, dance, solo, mime, and puppetry shows. The festival has an international character, with nearly 80 percent of the shows performed by international performers. On average 15–20 different shows are performed every day of the festival.

Lahore is also the centre of Pakistan's puppetry industry. Although not economically viable as a business, the Peerzada family has been arranging puppetry festivals for more than a decade, at one point even bringing the biggest festival in the world to Lahore.

Lahore's biggest contributor to the art scene is undoubtedly the National College of Arts, the country's, most prestigious art college, which has produced some of the country's most famous painters, writers, actors and musicians. There are also several art galleries throughout the city which hold exhibitions regularly among which the Drawing Room Art Gallery is the most popular.

Read more about this topic:  Culture Of Lahore

Famous quotes containing the words arts and, arts and/or architecture:

    For me, the principal fact of life is the free mind. For good and evil, man is a free creative spirit. This produces the very queer world we live in, a world in continuous creation and therefore continuous change and insecurity. A perpetually new and lively world, but a dangerous one, full of tragedy and injustice. A world in everlasting conflict between the new idea and the old allegiances, new arts and new inventions against the old establishment.
    Joyce Cary (1888–1957)

    No performance is worth loss of geniality. ‘Tis a cruel price we pay for certain fancy goods called fine arts and philosophy.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    All architecture is great architecture after sunset; perhaps architecture is really a nocturnal art, like the art of fireworks.
    Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)