National College of ArtsNational College of Arts Lahore , usually referred to by its acronym NCA, is a famous old college in Lahore, Pakistan.
Like all old institutions, the National College of Arts, has a historical tradition. Much of its present tone was set long ago when it was known as the Mayo School of Arts. Gazetteers written about the city of Lahore in 1915 describe the work being done at the school as one of the cultural highlights of the urban center.
History Founding
The Mayo School of Industrial Art was set up to commemorate Lord Mayo, the British Viceroy of India, assassinated in 1872. A teacher of painting and sculpture Lockwood Kipling, working then in Bombay in a Parsi School, was appointed its first Principal parallel to his charge of the Curator of the Lahore Museum.
The Museum and the School were conceived together. Funds were raised through a special levy on the population of the Punjab province for the Jubilee of the British Queen in 1887. The flooding of the Punjab with British goods from Manchester bankrupted the local industry by the turn of the century. Popular taste was weaned from its cultural roots, which resulted directly in the death of art and craft. 40,000 cotton workers and 900 weavers became jobless. Cotton printing from this city and once prized in far-off Switzerland and Holland, was badly hit by the shoddy machine-made varieties from Manchester. Cottage industry in woolen and silk cloth was deliberately wiped out.The object was a British institution with a museum, a library and lecture rooms for teaching indigenous crafts to celebrate the Queen's jubilee.
The Mayo School was to be a technical college in the fullness of time. Lockwood Kipling the curator/principal merged the functions of the museum and the school in a creative manner. Together with his more illustrious,if racist son, Rudyard Kipling, he arranged the Museum to reflect the archaeological and traditional crafts of the Punjab.
The Mayo School became a haven for representative professionals from all the industries. European designs in building and furniture and the rise of the furniture firms brought bad times for the Punjabi carpenter once, reputed among the cleverest in the world. The vogue of photography and printing produced a great demand for lithographers and the school set up a process department for the production of line, half tone and color blocks for illustrating purposes.
1882-1947
Lockwood Kipling turned his attention to the School more exclusively when it acquired its separate building in 1882 consisting of six rooms. Temporary additions were made to it in 1881 to house an exhibition of the Punjab Crafts. In 1891, these temporary structures were made permanent in accordance with a design prepared by the Principal.
Now the school had proper workshops equipped with tools and machines. In 1902 four large machine workshops and photolithographic studio were already functioning. By 1911, nearly a lakh of rupees worth of machinery and tools were being operated in the school for such diverse crafts as jewellery, cotton-printing, book-binding, cabinet making, light-metal work, carpentry and blacksmithy. By 1915, the work done at the school was recognized all over India and also in England. The principal works executed by its craftsmen were thus located:
Wood-carving, plaster-work and interior in Barnes Court, Simla; Government House, Lahore; Circuit House, designs for amphitheatre at the Delhi Burbar; execution of decorative work including carpets and shamianas of gold thread and repusse metal work and designs for the Law and Oriental Colleges, Lahore; design and decorative work in plaster for the new Railway Theatre, Lahore; a carved console table for Government House, Lahore; Punjab carving for the Billiard Room of Bagshot Park, England for the Duke of Connaught; an eight canon stalls for the Lefroy Memorial in Lahore Cantonment’s Church.
Upgrading to National College of Arts
In 1958, the school was upgraded by the then West Pakistan Government into the National College of Arts. The craft and industry oriented structure of the school, which had provided much-needed early nurturance to such diverse occupations as carpentry, lacquer-work, blacksmithy, goldsmithy, silversmithy, pottery, needlework, architectural draftsmanship, sanitation, plumbing civil engineering and commercial art, was updated and confined to three departments Fine Arts, Design and Architecture.
The changed structure of the College allowed proper focus on Fine Arts. The departments began to train new talent in modem and traditional painting, graphic art and sculpture. The Department of Design began to turn out professionals in Textile Design, Publicity Design, Product Design and Ceramics. The rapidly growing demand in the building sector for architects began to be met by the College, together with other professional universities of the country.
In 1963, the Government recognized the College as a premier arts institution in Pakistan, was taken away from the Department of Industries and placed under the Education Department with its own Board of Governors. The new policy in 1972 further recognized the achievements of the college and planned its development into a center of Excellence in the Visual Arts. A high-powered Board of Governors was constituted to ensure a measure of autonomy under the Federal Ministry of Education.
Due to its distribution as the only arts institution in Pakistan, entrance to it has become competitive. Around 450 students from all provinces study in the College (out of which nearly 40 percent are girls) and is taught by a teaching staff of 40. There is a high rate of employment for its diploma-holders in a number of important organizations in the country: Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan National Council of the Arts, University Grants Commission, Security Printing Press of Pakistan, National Book Foundation, and the Department of Films and publications. Apart from the various urban development authorities, its graduates are absorbed in the private sector by a large number of advertising agencies, architectural consultancies, industrial and publishing houses.
Lockwood Kipling’s preoccupation with indigenous art and his effort to save its tradition from becoming polluted with a cheap imitation of British Victorian fashions set the tone of the Mayo School and later, of the college itself. Two great Pakistani painters, Abdur Rahman Chughtai and Shakir Ali, both associated with the College, were a kind of culmination of this inspiration. Chughtai represented the revival and development of the Mughal tradition while Shakir Ali constituted a link between the Pakistani sensibility and the world of international art.
Haji Muhammad Sharif, once the miniature painter at the court of Maharaja of Patiala, gave a firm foundation to the teaching of the dying art of miniature. After him, Sheikh Shujaullah carried on the miniature tradition, leaving behind at his death his pupils like Bashir Ahmad who is today the prized representatives of the art.
The influence of Abdur Rahman Chughtai, a scion of me family of Behzad, took the Mughal art out of its narrow miniature framework and gave it the dignity of modern dimension. He effectively transplanted to canvases and to book illustration me lyricism of the Mughal and Pahari miniature.
If Chughtai was difficult to emulate because of his persistence in traditional subjects and highly stylized treatment, the modernism of Shakir Ali gave rise to a whole generation of Pakistani painters, most of them his pupils at the College and still employed as teachers there.
The College specializes in production a certain kind of artistic sensibility, which at once satisfies the creative demands of a work of art and the more pragmatic requirements of a profession. One of the leading architects of Pakistan, Nayyar Ali Dada, an old student and a member of the Board of Governors of the College combines the talents of an architect with facility of drawing.
This capacity of the College graduates to apply art to specific projects has allowed them to take on projects in various fields. They have helped design primary school buildings and produce new building material for construction. They prepared a visual study of the indigenous architecture of Pakistan for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture ceremonies, Lahore.
Since 1963 when the present college was invested with a new arts structure, it has carried courses in three departments, Architecture, Fine Arts and Design. All these courses are professional and enable the graduate to relate his talent to the job market.
In 1985, through an ordinance the college has been granted the status of an autonomous degree awarding institution and now awards Bachelor Degrees in Fine Arts, Design and Architecture. The ordinance also empowers the institution to institute postgraduate programmes in the field of Visual Arts. Some of these programmes have taken off. An MA (Hons) in Visual Arts and M Phil leading to PhD in Communication and Cultural Studies were initiated in 1999. In the same year, a research and publication center was established at the college which has produced a number of books on history, art history and other disciplines of social sciences and humanities. A project for Restoration and Conservation of Archival Records of (previously known as) Mayo School of Arts, Lahore which later matured in the form of NCA Archives. Acknowledging the necessity of excelling in the field of Information Technology, the college initiated another post-graduate programme in Multimedia Arts in September 2001. The college is also offering Masters Degree in Interior Design.
Rawalpindi Campus
The Rawalpindi Campus of the NCA is envisaged as a second campus to enable larger enrollment for students in the arts and to provide greater geographical access to students from the northern reaches of Pakistan. The old hostel building in Liaqat Bagh was handed over to the NCA primarily for its refurbishment and adaptive reuse as an appropriate location for the Rawalpindi Campus. As this building was insufficient for purposes of the Campus, the entire Liaquat Bagh Complex including the Auditorium has been made available to the NCA to enable further physical development. The Rawalpindi/Islamabad area has an active body of professionals, many of whom are NCA graduates, as well as other groups who have been examining and working towards the setting up of art schools. Their resources will be utilized in addition to the inputs that the current NCA faculty will provide. The Federal Minister for Education has ensured the autonomy necessary for the success of this venture.
The project offers an exciting and dynamic future and a turning point in the history of the NCA. Bearing in view the ethos and model of NCA, the academic plan has been developed to ensure continuity in the integrated teaching of the visual arts through the joint foundation course and shared lectures during the course of studies leading to the Bachelors degree. Additionally, to ensure cultural diversity, gender parity and economic group representation in the student body, an important aspect of the NCA, the Rawalpindi Campus has admitted students countrywide, following the same procedures of testing and eligibility as already established. The Rawalpindi Campus will maintain the same academic standards as Lahore and will also offer the same academic programmes, initially it had started with two departments last year: Architecture and Fine Arts, the initial intake was 20 students in each department. In 2007, it is envisaged that the Departments of Film and Television, Textile Design and Communication Design will be launched. The Departments of Product Design and Multimedia Arts will be instituted in 2008 followed by the Department of Cultural Studies in 2009. It is also envisaged that a Department of Performing Arts, incorporating Theatre, Puppetry, Music and Dance will be developed as a special feature of the Rawalpindi Campus. The Rawalpindi Campus will offer residential facilities for male and female students, a visiting faculty hostel, equipment for studios and laboratories, academic buildings and a library. The Rawalpindi Campus faculty will be inducted in keeping with the NCA model comprising a core permanent faculty, and visiting, contract and guest faculty, both national and international.
Entering its third year and with new management in place the development speed has a very noticeable picked up. A large ceramic kiln which was fired on November 17th, 2007, marked initiation of ceramic design section at NCA RWP campus. First ever in country will be the glass art section being developed for launch in ner future. It is planned to update all its curriculum so that it is at par with the international standards elsewhere. The said campus will ultimately be reserved for performing arts & multimedia when CDA; finally, agrees ro allocate land for its final destination and setup somewhere in the beautiful and congenial environment in federal capital Islamabad--Nsirmalik (talk) 20:30, 21 November 2007 (UTC).
NCA in modern times
Due to its distribution as the only arts institution in Pakistan, entrance to it has become competitive. Around 450 students from all provinces study in the College (out of which nearly 40 percent are girls) and is taught by a teaching staff of 40. There is a high rate of employment for its diploma-holders in a number of important organizations in the country: Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan National Council of the Arts, University Grants Commission, Security Printing Press of Pakistan, National Book Foundation, and the Department of Films and publications. Apart from the various urban development authorities, its graduates are absorbed in the private sector by a large number of advertising agencies, architectural consultancies, industrial and publishing houses.
Since 1963 when the present college was invested with a new arts structure, it has carried courses in three departments, Architecture, Fine Arts and Design. All these courses are professional and enable the graduate to relate his talent to the job market.
In 1985, through an ordinance the college has been granted the status of an autonomous degree awarding institution and now awards Bachelor Degrees in Fine Arts, Design and Architecture. The ordinance also empowers the institution to institute postgraduate programmes in the field of Visual Arts. Some of these programmes have taken off. An MA (Hons) in Visual Arts and M Phil leading to PhD in Communication and Cultural Studies were initiated in 1999. In the same year, a research and publication center was established at the college which has produced a number of books on history, art history and other disciplines of social sciences and humanities. A project for Restoration and Conservation of Archival Records of (previously known as) Mayo School of Arts, Lahore which later matured in the form of NCA Archives. Acknowledging the necessity of excelling in the field of Information Technology, the college initiated another post-graduate programme in Multimedia Arts in September 2001. The college is also offering Masters Degree in Interior Design.
The work of students from various departments can be seen at the annual Thesis Display within the Campus premises.Students have been showing great promise and positive attitude towards the global practices in the fields of art and design.Some outstanding degree of work has also been produced in the last decade; setting new standards in the local art scene of Pakistan.Some worth mentioning names in this regard would be Miniature Paintings by Nadia Sani(2002), 3-D paintings by Tursan(2004),Graphic designs by Saman Khan(2003), Miniature works by Amna Hashmi(2005), Textile designs by Salman Afzal(2005), Miniature work by Nida Bangish (2006), Textile designs by Sabahat Nawaz(2006) and many other top ranking students.
Mr Nsir Malik, has been assigned the responsibilities of NCA Rawalpindi campus as Director. Technology in service of conventional art is the main expertise and mandate of Mr Malik. Contemporary Ceramics, Glass Art, Claymation, Classical Animation, Interactive CD and PAINTOGRAPHY(R) are in pipeline for execution in the very near future; which will provide a definite lead to NCA Rawalpindi campus. ITS OFFICIAL WEB SITE- http://www.ncarwp.edu.pk has also been launched.
Departments / Field of Studies
Department of Fine Arts
The building of a career in the Fine Arts is a lifelong and deeply fulfilling commitment. Many of the graduate of the Fine Art Department at NCA have found fame and recognition in Pakistan and abroad. A four year course leading to a Bachelor Degree of Fine Arts. The Department's studios are located in the oldest section of the College, facing the main quadrangle and extending into a new wing overlooking the Town Hall.
There are four major areas of specialization: Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture and Miniature. Following the foundation Course in the first year, students take introductory courses in all four areas of Fine art teaching in the second year. One is selected as a major area of specialization, before the commencement of first term exam. In the fourth year the work culminates in a thesis project in the final term.
All teaching is project-oriented with particular emphasis on the development of drawing. There is tradition of respecting individuality, of encouraging experimentation and of critical self-analysis. This is made possible through group critiques and individual tutorials. All projects are critiqued and graded through the jury process, whereby a panel of teachers from the Fine Art Department, and occasionally from other Departments as well, act as jurors. Participation by the students is expected and encouraged.
One of the aims of the Department is to familiarize students with all the stages and preparation that preface the creating of a work of art. Apart from the techniques students are required to master, it is also useful and necessary for them to learn the basics of the materials required in their respective disciplines.
The Fine Art Department teaches drawing and sculpture to all in the First Year Foundation Course as well as to students in other years in the Department of Architecture and in the Faculty of Design.
Department of Communication Design
The Department of Communication Design teaches the basic principles of advertising and visual communication, with special reference to manufacturing and marketing techniques. The students are required to complete a design process involving research, strategies of approach, design development and execution. The components of the courses offered are book illustration, package design, corporate identity and advertising campaigns.
Department of Ceramics Design
Creating with clay is a very ancient form of expression. Even the firing of clay to make ceramics is a thousand year old art form.
The department aims to develop the creative expression of the students using the tools of ceramics as well as expanding to the use of other materials like plaster of Paris, glass, etc.
With pottery, function is a key point taken into consideration during the creative process. The functionality of the ceramic as a design subject is enhanced and stressed upon in the second year of the students. Lecturers however use both pottery and creative sculpting to search for new solutions and formulas to express current events and contemporary artistic ideas.
Techniques like slab, coiling, press and molding, pinching are key methods through which students get a better understanding of the material they are working with.
Later on demand of the students personal themes can be worked on individually or in groups. In their third year the students are introduced to the Wheel. Using this mechanics they train themselves to work in harmony with the wheel to produce vessels and sculptures with challenging size. Through the formal and technical exploration of the clay, a deeper understanding for independent thought, material and method are fostered. Furthermore methods to developing functional and freely expressive objects are demonstrated and explained.
The fourth year students are mostly researching materials for their final thesis which at the end of the year has to be displayed. They have already familiarized themselves with glazes and kiln processes. This knowledge is then applied to give the required finish to their work’s surface.
Department of Product Design
The Department of Product Design teaches the basic principles involving the process of collecting data and designing a wide range of products in order to suit the needs of the consumer. It is a continuous process of improving and modifying existing designs and trends. The course includes the knowledge of products in processes, human engineering and marketing realities, with a strong concern to relate the product or system to the visual and social environment of its users. Exposure to working in different materials such as fiber glass, wood, plaster and polymers allows the students to understand the particular qualities and properties of the various materials, available to the product designer.
Department of Textile Design
Designing for Textiles covers a wide range of activities from traditional and contemporary craftsmanship to fashion and furnishing collection for interior design.
As well as research into, and the development and use of new and old materials that can be applied within these disciplines. These areas also provide rich potential for research. Thus, not only does the textile sector service a huge and complex world wide industry, in addition the diverse and wide ranging nature of its scope provides a fundamental creative basis to the textile designer or practitioner from which to practice many other art and design disciplines.
In this part of the world, the textile industry is constantly changed by and dependent upon wide-ranging issues related to culture, politics and the economy. The inter-related cycles of these three areas present innumerable issues that determine both the perceptions and the products of textile design in Pakistan.
In the long run, it is for institutions like NCA to establish or discard some of these perceptions by setting a standard in design and designer/makers within this discipline nation-wide, and eventually, given the right circumstances, a standard of international level.
These issues need to be addressed in an institutional forum that is capable of providing broad-based training for textiles that produces practitioners who can place themselves anywhere within the wide sphere of textile or alternatively, create a niche for themselves in the yet developing market of this locale.
Department of Architecture
The Department of Architecture offers a five year course leading to the Bachelor of Architecture (B. Arch.) Degree. Gegree course was established in 1985.
The B. Arch. Degree course in the Department of Architecture aims to prepare professional architects, and students for advanced studies and research, through a comprehensive body of knowledge and skills in an intellectual and creative environment.
The course is designed to equip students with all the skills necessary for good architectural practice. An essential requirement for the study of the course is a grasp on mathematics. Students applying for architecture are, therefore, required to take an examination in mathematics.
The ambience at the college is conducive to the development of a holistic approach to environment design. The students learn the history of the region's architecture; study the relationship between historical buildings and contemporary construction; understand the bases of emerging forms of architecture in Pakistan; and appreciate the relationship of living spaces with human values and dimensions. The department has kept pace with changes and advances in technology, and provides teaching and learning skills with the aid of a well-equipped computer lab. Most faculty members are practicing architects who enrich their academic and theoretical discourse with their first-hand practical experience. The Department also invites visiting architects and planners to lecture at the college from time to time.
Graduates of the college have been absorbed in the profession and in universities for higher education at the national and international levels.
The course is divided into three distinct levels: Foundation Course (First Year), Intermediate Level (Second and Third Years) and Degree Level (Fourth and Fifth Years).
Elective courses are also offered from the fine arts, design, and specific architectural disciplines.
The courses taught through the year focus on Architecture Design, Building Construction, Environment and technical aspects of Architecture.
Department of Musicology
The National College of Arts has established the Department of Musicology at the Undergraduate level since 2001. The four-year programme is entitled "Bachelors in South Asian Classical Music"
Music has always been the primary medium of emotional expression and communication for people living in this part of the world. In the sub-continent, music historically, has been the original and primary language of emotive interaction and has played the single largest role in our artistic and emotional lives. Musicology, at its most fundamental, is an inquiry and understanding of the "purpose" of music. The purpose of music, is its relationship with the emotional world of human beings, and human life-to serve the needs, issues, and growth of the higher emotional/intellectual processes. Thus classical music is an essential part of our heritage and a specific formative factor in our cultural and emotional identity as a people.
The need for this programme was felt because there is a lack of an informed understanding and sensitivity in the existing conceptual structure of our music. The purpose of the Department of Musicology is to produce musicians/musicologists who are willing to take on the responsibility of pursing, both theoretical and practical music on a critical and intelligent level - to combine it with techniques to create good music. It is the 'making' for a better state of mankind in terms of human happiness, for which the understanding of music and serious musical theory is essential. The Musicology Department at NCA is aiming at a revival of our musical heritage, and to regenerate an interest in our classical music, on the basis of a theoretical and practical understanding of music and a historical analysis of its aesthetics and composition.
Department of Film and Television
The National College of Arts has recently started department of Film & Television and enrolled students for the first session 2005-2009. The department is presently offered a 4 year bachelor degree program in Film & Television Production and will soon launch a one year postgraduate Diploma program in Script & Screenplay Writing. The department is also planning to offer other certificate/ diploma course and a master’s degree program in future.
The need for this department and its degree program was felt because of the rapid expansion of the film & television media in the region over the last decade. “International Media Giants,” globalization of television media and acculturation due to foreign film and video materials is presenting a threat to our cultural identity in the new global village. Film & Television mediums demand for a precise seminal approach to help shape our cultural and emotional identity and responsibility as people of Pakistan and South Asia. There is a need to voice our native sensitivities and emotions in the dominant global media scene and cut off prolonged intellectual neglect which is only possible through preparing professionals of outstanding caliber. NCA courses aim at preparing graduates with the caliber of practice indispensable for producing the artistic and professional moving images that are in great demand. The curriculum and disciplines (film, drama, documentary, news & current affairs, and such others) would also phase in discourse on cultural effects, cultural identities and other communication issues in the new global village. The curriculum, the disciplines and the existing NCA environment will help enlarge students vision by triggering erratic multiple layers of creative, intuitive and intellectual thought processes, and seed a mastery of form, content and structures as well as solid fundamentals with the integration of digital media which has globally created its own space and entered all motion picture mediums like film, video and television. The focus will be on broadening the student’s vision, global understanding, competence and skills. There is no institution of substance for a serious, in-depth understanding of the requirements of film and television medium in Pakistan. And it is, thus, the obligation and commitment of NCA to face up to this challenge and be among the pioneers in institutionalizing formal training in film and television.
NCA, as a college of arts will also benefit from this program. The incorporation of motion picture (film and television) courses will reinforce the existing teaching of visual arts and audio arts at NCA, for two reasons. Firstly, a living proof that multi perception elements, which are audio and visual perception in case of Film & TV, reinforce each other by enhancing the overall aesthetic perception or impact. The present teaching at NCA needs this significant internal link between the two perceptions. Therefore, the inclusion of Film and Television courses (and general film theory, storytelling and aesthetic) will establish this link between audio and visual forms (and perceptions) in a multidimensional manner.
Secondly, NCA needs to explore the possibilities for revival of mental, emotional, social and cultural expression of the east through more indigenous native sensitivities, local ideas and emotions while utilizing film and television media. The incorporation of Eastern sensitivities to Western techniques of production will widen and enrich our aesthetic canvas and balance those prevailing from the West. Thus, making the teaching and learning of film and television art at NCA a vibrant, ingenious and comprehensive process.
In developing this program, NCA has incorporated advice and suggestions of film and television professionals and institutions. Several film and television workshops were conducted at NCA to assess student’s response and to identify future faculty and the results were satisfactory. These workshops were conducted by some national and international film and television professionals of repute and included ‘Documentary Film Production’ by Shireen Pasha, ‘Basics of Film Production’ by Feryal Gauhar, ‘A to Z of Film Production’ by Usmaan Peerzada, ‘Screenplay Writing for Feature Film’ by Prof. Wolfgang Laengsfeld, ‘Spanish Cinema’ by Don Oscar Peyrou - Spanish film expert accompanying the Spanish film festival, ‘Scriptwriting for Television’ by Haseena Moin and ‘Documentary Production’ by Kohei Iwasaki, television expert/Senior Volunteer, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The workshops were a great success and with the setting up of the Department of Film and Television, NCA is able to address the need of the country and the industry and offer education in the field of film & television in an organized and systematic manner.
Department of Mutlimedia Arts
Keeping in mind the necessity to meet the latest developments in IT field, NCA initiated the Post-Graduate Centre for Multimedia Arts (PGCMA) in 2000 and Mr. Muhammad Ali Tirmizi was appointed as project Director. in 2001 first batch of students was enrolled which included Syed Maqsood Pasha, Mr. Zaffar Iqbal and Ms. Irum Zia from within the faculty of NCA. Mr. Muhammad Ali Tirmizi was appointed the Director of the Program.
The PGCMA has helped Pakistani students to come at par with prevailing international standards of Visual Arts education in the wake of phenomenal developments in information technology world over.
Students are able to complement their previous studies and work experience with knowledge and skills in the design and development of multimedia products. The programme is designed to prepare graduates for multi-faceted careers in multimedia industry. There are opportunities to develop and apply their teamwork, project management and business planning expertise through industry based multimedia projects.
It provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the rapidly developing field of Multimedia. It also enables them to create and critically evaluate interactive Multimedia applications. The introduction of post-graduate courses in Multimedia Arts at the NCA has also bridged the prevailing gap between evolutionary values and tradition.
The PGCMA has raisen the level of multimedia application in all professional areas like video production, multimedia authoring, interactive design, special effects, animation etc. The courses prepares students for multi-faceted careers in the multimedia industry.
NCA had sat up a state-of-the-Art Multimedia Center (MC) with financial assistance from the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) which lately was revamped with the generous financial assistance of Ministry of Information Technology.
Programme has been developed with the technical assistance from French Government and Ecol-D-Art, Aix-en-Provence, France.
NCA offers the following courses under the programme: 1. Masters in Multimedia Arts 2. Post-Graduate Diploma in Multimedia Arts
Foreign Linkage The College has developed the Multimedia Arts Programme with the technical assistance of Ecole Superieure D’ Art Di Aix-en-Provence France, NCA and French Art School entered in to memorandum to initiate the programme in 2000 for faculty and student exchange. This agreement originally was for the period of three years, during which four workshops were conducted by French teachers for Multimedia students and during this time three teachers went to France for specialized training in different disciplines of Multimedia Arts.
Recently this exchange programme was further extended, through mutual discussions it was agreed that the scope of and scope of this cooperation to be further enhanced, new suggestions have been put forward for implementation, which include exchange of exhibitions and joint student projects in Pakistan as well as in France.
The cultural wing of French Embassy in Pakistan and Alliance Francaise Lahore has played a vital role in development and improvement of this cooperation, and from the NCA side Principal Prof. Sajida Haider Vandal has put her utmost efforts to further consolidate and enhance the programme.
Multimedia Faculty Members NCA maintains a highly qualified and diverse faculty with a strong emphasis on multimedia production experience. Experienced instructors, industry professionals with varied and extensive backgrounds in multimedia and guest artists from local broadcast, games and visual effects studios form the core of the instructional staff.
Faculty has been identified and trained over a period of one year while two of the faculty member has proceeded to France (Aix-en-Provence) for further training of one academic year.
Department of Interior Design
Awareness of Interior Design as a discipline is fairly new phenomena in the modern world, there are only a few international institutions specializing in interior design. In retrospect with the onset of Art Nouveau at the turn of the century, the number of institutions imparting functional design related to interior increased radically. Over the years the decorative aspect of interior, gradually transformed interior into the science of interior design. The product of this new approach has revealed unlimited possibilities in utilization of a vast variety of materials available to society.
The department of interior design seeks to fulfill the dual responsibility of training specialized design professionals and providing an academic platform for research and exploration in the filed of interior design.
The unplanned, deeply ruptured physical environment of contemporary living needs the informed, humane and creative design input of well-trained design professionals. Design profession in Pakistan is inadequately equipped and developed in comparison to the vast challenges posed by the physical and social environment. Interior design as a specialized field has only begun to make an appearance in the professional field. The program offered by the National College of Arts is a pioneering venture in training professional interior designers. The program of study is committed to design rooted in the socio-economic and cultural realities of the local environment and the global needs of the twenty first century. It is inspired both by the founding mandate of the Mayo school as an institution for the promotion of indigenous crafts, the later Bauhaus influenced curriculum of the National College of Arts.
It subscribes to the humane and methodological design approach of the early modernists and its critical maturing in the work and writing of designers and theorists who challenged the Eurocentric and culturally insensitive nature of early modern design.
The program plans to incorporate the traditional design crafts related to environment design in its curriculum and narrow the divide between traditional practitioners and professional designers.
Courses in social sciences are planned to equip designers with a wider vision and understanding of the social context of design.
The faculty consists of practicing professionals in the field of interior design and allied professions as well as academicians for liberal arts.
The riches asset of our department are the facilities and learning environment composed of the varied art and design departments of Pakistan’s premier institute the National College of Arts. The students can use the facilities these departments and also participate in the vibrant activities of the National College of Arts.
The program of study consists of courses in design, materials, color theory, lighting and electrical, mechanical systems, drawing and presentation, art history, sociology etc. The final project for graduation consists of a thesis project completed in the second year of the course.
The thesis project provides opportunity to an individual designer to pursue with a great freedom a selected topic of his or her own choice. The objective is to train a future professional to seek innovative and socially responsible design solutions. The student works with his or her internal advisor and is finally juried by professionals in the field of interior and architectural design.
Societies & Clubs
All societies and extracurricular activities are organized through students' Societies and Clubs. Their main function is to cultivate the cultural and social life of the College through organized discussions on the arts: film viewing, music classes, mime and puppetry workshops and art exhibitions as well as excursions to places of artistic interest are undertaken by the numerous societies and clubs.
Introductory workshops are held at the beginning of the academic year so that the incoming batch of students may join the clubs and societies of their choice. Each society and club has a member of faculty presiding over its activities as its Patron.
Puppeteers NCA Puppeteers NCA was inaugurated in 1992 with the first director Imran Qureshi and fellows. The basic goal of this society is to exhibit and perform in different mediums of puppetry along with researching new techniques.Some of the recent apllied techniques are:
Finger puppet, Hand puppet, Muppets, Black light, Shadow puppets, Claymation,
Puppeteers NCA has performed locally and abroad,Some of the most recent and well received performances are:-
Bubloo, Lights Out, Last Supper, Josh Ki Inteha, 1+1=4,
Skits The most looked forward to performances in the summer and winter festivals each year is by the Skits society. This society soared to new heights under the direction of Mubashir Tahir and Kanwal Irfan.
Skits performances are based upon both satire and pure humor. Popular figures of the college including the students and the faculty are the main subject whereas current social and political events are also dealt with. Skit performers are pushed to keep a keen observation on the activities going on around the college. They are trained in basic acting and vocal skills along with other theatre techniques during the workshops lead by the directors themselves.
Nautankye/Alif Adab The "Nautankye" Society: this drama society was established in September 1994. Its membership is open to students from all years. The society adopts a comic experimental theatre style with a simplified view towards presentation. Where necessary the students make the props needed in the College workshops. One of the aims of the Nautankye Society is to travel and produce performances in Lahore as well a in other cities. The society also invites people in the performing arts for workshops, such as puppetry.
Undraap Nexus This is the society specializing in mime. It has several innovative performances at the College and at other venues in Lahore.
Eastern Music Society Members of this recently established but popular society is taught how to play eastern classical instruments such as the tabla, sitaar and flute. The society arranges concerts and performs at College functions.
Film Club"The End" "The End" organizes regular film shows of foreign films and documentaries, with the aim of providing a bank of information which will help students to critically analyze and study technical details of the art of film-making. Animation techniques are taught to students, as well as knowledge of the latest techniques being employed in the field of film- making. Members of "The End" have currently written and acted in an amateur production of a film for television.
Western Music Society The society arranges concerts several times a year. As with members of the Eastern Music Society, members of WMS also learn to sing and play instruments belonging to western tradition of music such as drums, guitar and the key-board etc.
Dance society The most recent addition to the clubs and societies of NCA is the Dance society which came into being after the countless efforts of Adnan Jehangir aka "Adnan Nacha".With the assistance from the Sundas ,the pioneer team manged to register Dance Society at the college stage and is now a regular participant in local cultural events.
Poetry Club The Poetry Club of the National College Arts organizes poetry readings and mushairas. Emphasis is laid on Urdu poetry and Literature. Members of the Club contribute to the College magazine. The President and General Secretary invite prominent poets to the College for readings of their work. This is with a view to develop an interest in the other creative arts which involve the work of visual artists.
Haroof Founded by Fawad Ahmed & Zahid Usman in 1999. Objectives of the NCA’s literary society:
Our first and foremost objective is to establish NCA as a college that is outstanding in literary as well as art circles in the country. To do this we shall. a) Publish our own magazine that will exhibit the literary talents of the students. b) Enter debating and poetry competitions. c) Have poetry readings and recitals at the college premises. d) Involve the students in activities that will sharpen their skills as speakers and will create a love and awareness of the written word. e) We would also like to help other societies with their scripts and storyboard for their performances.
Principals
Mayo School of Arts
* 1875 to 1894 - Lockwood Kipling
* Bhai Ram Singh[2]
* 1913 to 1930 - Hugh Lionel Heath [3]
National College of Arts (1958 - Present)
* Shakir Ali
* Iqbal Hassan
* Akhtar Abbasi Abidi (1983 - ?)
* Salima Hashmi
* Sajida Haider Vandal
* Naazish Ata Ullah
Notable Alumni
The list below includes graduates of both Mayo School of Arts and National College of Arts.
Architects
* Bhai Ram Singh[4]
* Nayyar Ali Dada
Tauseef Sajaad Shah
Ceramists
* Salahuddin Mian
* Sheherezade Alam
* Dabir Ahmed
* Talat Dabir
Painters
* A.R. Chughtai
* Ajaz Anwar
* Askari Mian Irani
* Bashir Mirza
* Jamil Naqsh
* Saeed Akhtar
* Shakir Ali
* Zahoor ul Akhlaq
Singers/Musicians
* Nayyara Noor
* Jawad Bashir
* Ali Zafar
* Faisal Qureshi
* Tariq Abro(one and only)
Stamp Designer
* Adil Salahuddin
Miscellaneous
* Arch. Naveed Aslam
* Shahnaz Sheikh(page does not link correctly)
* Iqbal Hassan
* Muhammad Ali Tirmizi
* Nazar Abbas Kazmi
* Phyza Jameel
* Asif Khan
* Farhad Humyoun
* Hasan Mohyuddin
* Yasir Waheed
* Ali Arif
* Shabnam Khan
* Ahsan Raheem
* Dabir Ahmed
* Talat Dabir
* Jafri
* Irum Zia
* Pervez Vandal
* Sajida Haider Vandal
* Dr. Shakeel Qureshi
* Collin David
* Lala Rukh
* Sonia Murad
* Fawad Ahmed choudhry
* Sajjad kausar
* Irfan ghani
* Saleema Hasmi
* Dr. Zeeshan Javaid
* Dr. Fazzal Dittu
* Fahad Hassan
* Muhammad Awais
* Khalil Chishtee
* Laiq A. Qureshi
* Naazish Ataullah
* Ahsan Qureshi
* Nsir Malik--Nsirmalik (talk) 20:16, 21 November 2007 (UTC)
* Zafar Iqbal
