ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Virtual aur extended reality art ke safri festival VXR ne Jumme ko apne Islamabad edition ka aaghaz kiya, jis mein Pakistani aur ghair mulki fankaron ke headsets aur immersive fan paare subah Rawalpindi mein art ke talaba aur shaam ko Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) mein sifarat-karon aur fan ke shaiqeen ke saamne pesh kiye gaye.
"Between the Prompts v2" ke unwan se yeh edition Lahore mein festival ke aik hafte ke silsile ke baad ho raha hai. Yeh hafte ke aakhir tak Alliance Francaise d'Islamabad mein jari rahega aur phir Karachi jayega. Lahore Digital Arts Festival ki team ke zer-e-ehtimam VXR ka koi mustaqil maqam nahin aur ise shehar shehar safar ke liye tarteeb diya gaya hai.
Din ka aaghaz Rawalpindi mein National College of Arts mein aik nishist se hua jis mein America se Asma Kazmi, Pakistan se Faqeha Nadeem aur Zarin Gul, Spain se Lola Zoido, aur France se Sandrine Daumier aur Marie Lienhard shareek thin. Fatima Jinnah Women University aur doosre idaron ke talaba ke ilawa Muskan Orphanage House ke bachon ne bhi shirkat ki.
Faransisi safeer Jean-Noel Poirier ne PNCA mein shaam ki numaish ka iftitah kiya, jahan council ke director general Ayoub Jamali ne mehmanon ka khairmaqdam kiya. Faransisi cultural attache Zakaria Haffar bhi maujood the.
Festival director Dr Najam Ul Assar ne kaha, "Extended reality aam tor par hum tak aik tayyar shuda product ki soorat mein pohanchti hai, jo kahin aur banti hai aur yahan bechi jati hai. Yeh edition yeh sawal uthata hai ke jab Rawalpindi, Lahore, Paris, Madrid, aur Berkeley ke fankar is medium ko apne haath mein lein aur headset sirf istemal ki cheez ke bajaye yaad, tanqeed, aur khel ki jagah ban jaye to kya hota hai."
Unhon ne kaha, "Subah NCA mein art ke talaba aur shaam ko PNCA mein sifarat-karon ko unhi fan paron mein qadam rakhte dekh kar humein andaza hua ke yeh sawal yahin ka hai."
Co-curator Sarah Rajper ne kaha ke festival ke raaste ka har shehar numaish ko shakal deta hai. Unhon ne kaha, "Hum jis shehar mein bhi jaate hain woh curatorial guftagu ka hissa ban jata hai. PNCA mein hum chahte the ke Islamabad ke nazireen immersive art ko kahin aur se dar-aamad shuda cheez ke tor par nahin balke aik mushtarka jagah ke tor par dekhein, jahan yahan aur beroon-e-mulk ke fankar yaad, maujoodgi, aur wabastagi ke sawalat ko khojte hain."
Assar aur Rajper ki jaanib se assistant curator Zainab Amir ke saath tarteeb diye gaye is festival mein taqreeban 70 fankar shamil hain. Alliance Francaise d'Islamabad ki Tulin Khalid ne is programme ko technology ki "satron ke darmiyan" dekhne ki dawat qarar diya.
