Ali Imam | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1924[1] Narsinghpur, Madhya Pradesh, India[1] |
| Died | 23 May 2002 at age 78[1] |
| Occupation | Painter artist |
| Years active | 1967 – 2002 |
| Awards | Pride of Performance Award (1968) Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Medal of Distinction) Award |
Ali Imam orSyed Ali Imam (1924 – 23 May 2002) was an artist fromPakistan.[1]
Ali Imam was born inNarsinghpur, Madhya Pradesh in 1924. In the early 1940s, for education in Arts, he went to theNagpurSchool of Art. Then he studied for 2 years at the Bombay-based 'J. J. School of Art'. After theindependence of Pakistan in 1947, Ali Imam and some of Ali Imam's family migrated to Pakistan.[2] In Pakistan, he got involved with theProgressive Writers Movement and the Communist Party of Pakistan and paid a heavy price for it. He was imprisoned 3 times for his socialist views in the early 1950s. Before that, he had received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949 from theUniversity of Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan.[1]
In Lahore, he was also under constant police surveillance due to his political beliefs. So he decided to move to London and lived there for almost eleven years.[2] In London, he studied art atSaint Martins School of Art from 1959 to 1960 and later at Hammersmith College of Art from 1962 to 1963.[1] Upon returning from London, Imam founded the Indus Gallery inKarachi in 1971, still one of the major art galleries in Pakistan as of 2010.[3] He took the name 'Indus Gallery' from theIndus River in ancient India, now in Pakistan. This river had supported one of the oldest settlements in South AsiaMohenjo-Daro, aUnesco World Heritage Site.[2]
Ali Imam set up the Indus Gallery to play a key role for art and artists of Pakistan. He once said in an interview, "I decided to come back to Pakistan and be helpful to those who are more gifted and more talented than me, and to create a climate of work where I could be a sort of guidance and help."[2] His wife, Shahnaz, recalled that the Indus Gallery had become a hub of cultural activity in Karachi back in the 1970s. Some of the noted painter artists that participated in Indus Gallery exhibits wereSadequain andIsmail Gulgee among many others.[2] His wife, Shahnaz, runs the Indus Art Gallery in 2010, after his death in 2002.[3] He was an art critic, art promoter and an art educationist to many artists at the Indus Art Gallery in Karachi. He ran this gallery from 1971 to 2002.[4]
Ali Imam died of a heart attack on 23 May 2002 at Karachi. He left behind a wife, Shahnaz and two children. Spokespersons at many art galleries where he had been active for many years includingIndus Valley School of Art and Architecture,Pakistan Art Institute and theArts Council of Pakistan expressed sorrow over his death.[1]Salima Hashmi, a noted educationist of Pakistan and the daughter of Pakistan's renowned poetFaiz Ahmed Faiz said in an interview to a major English-language newspaper,"When I came back from England, where I had gone to study, I realized that through Indus Gallery, Ali Imam had taught people to appreciate art, enjoy art and, more importantly, buy art works".[1]
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