OUR STAFF REPORTING LAHORE - A seminar and an exhibition titled 'Lacquer Art Sillanwali, aimed at the promotion of the cultural crafts of the Punjab, was held at the Alhamra Art Centre on Wednesday. Adviser to chief minister Begum Zakia Shahnawaz was the chief guest, who appreciated the work, saying we have best talent in every field but it needs proper forum. The event was a part of the Punjab Small Industries Corporations Sillanwali scheme which aim at developing and promoting the lacquer art of Sillanwali and the socio-economic uplift of the artisan community. A large number of people including businessmen, artisans and students of arts attended the seminar and visited the exhibition wherein wooden jars, candy jars, and vases, crafted furniture and others decoration pieces were displayed. Punjab Secretary Industries, Commerce and Investment Dr Shujaat Ali, Dr Saifur Rehman Dar, Prof Saeed Akhtar, Dr Ejaz Anwar, Khursheed Alam Gauhar Qalam, PSIC Director Handicrafts & Designs Nazir Ahmad and PSIC Managing Director Farhan Aziz Khawaja also spoke on the occasion. The speakers shared the view that after the independence in 1947, wooden handicraft business developed persistently and became the main source of income at Sillanwali. They said Muslims who migrated to this area after the partition mostly belonged to the Sheikh and Mughal families and were engaged in the wonderful work of lacquer on wood and they continued to spread that art in Pakistan. They said the project was aimed at introduction of new shapes in the products of lacquer art is an effort to change the monotony items being made at Sillanwali. These new shapes include pitchers, candy jars, and vases. They informed that the project team tried to bring variations in the motives and colors in the of lacquer including introduction of blue pottery colors on wood, changing the thick and dark colors to light and bright, decreasing the number of colors applied to simple and graceful and changing the designs of motives. The introduction of calligraphy in the lacquer art is a hallmark of the project. This job was applied on many a product including large candy jars, souvenir plates, etc. With this new avenue of insertion of calligraphy especially on plates, it changed the status of its placement from corner tables to walls. Many new products were introduced in the lacquer art craft. These products are partition screens, drawer knobs, and wooden tops. The use of materials other than wood was also tried at Sillanwali successfully including plastic bins, electric fan body, they added. They further said, During the course of the project artisans of the area benefited through product development and free-of-cost designs provided to them. It also helped in the preservation of heritage through revival of traditional items and development of creative and new items during the project. The quality of life of the artisans improved because of products developed by them.