Lahore Chitrkar is a registered non-profit, non-commercial organization founded in 2001 by a group of painters, dancers, musicians, architects and writers.
From 2001-2010 the primary activity of the Lahore Chitrkar centered around a working studio and gallery where artistic skills are learnt, shared and exhibited. The programs include 12 art, music, yoga and dance classes taught by renowned professionals. A three week art, music & theater workshops for children was held each summer. At present the former instructors are conducting classes privately and the contact info is available in classes section.
Monthly classical music concerts (100+ concerts), lectures/discussions on art making, training workshops for both children & adults, and art exhibitions were a permanent feature of the Chitrkar cultural calendar. 145 events have been organized to date.
The Chitrkar audio recording studio has produced more than 130 recordings of contemporary classical musicians, literary readings and lectures on music and art. A 26 hour recording of complete Heer Waris Shah is ready for release.
Lahore Chitrkar attaches great value to awareness of our cultural heritage as a part of art training. Tradition is valued not as convention and formula but as an artistic response structured in a local body of expressions and forms. This artistic heritage provides a formal reference and context for further exploration and artistic innovation.
At present we do not have a premises and all classes are discontinued, however we do organize events occasionally. A dance performance by USA based Bharat Natyum dancer Threema Mitha (2010), exhibition of works by Shahid Mirza (2011) and recent screening of 'Annay Ghorray Da Daan' an internationally acclaimed Punjabi feature film by Gurvinder Singh (January 2012) were some of the events organised by Chitrkar.