LAHORE: The National College of Arts (NCA) has initiated two new undergraduate programmes, the bachelor of fashion design and bachelor of multimedia arts.

Moreover, its administration is gearing up for the first edition of NCA Triennale 2025 to mark the 150 years of the college.

Talking to Dawn, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Murtaza Jafri said the fashion design programme aims to enhance the value of the dynamics of costume, fashion and textile heritage of the region. The undergraduate programme tailors the unique creative impulse to create fashion attires and lifestyle.

`By nurturing individual creativity and critical thinking, we prepare our students to become visionary designers who contribute to the evolving landscape of fashion,` he added.

Prof Jafri said the multimedia arts programme offered specialisations in animation, game design, film and art history. The progrmme had been designed to provide multidisciplinary knowledge for various professions associated with the digital world.

Multimedia, in all its forms, was an indispensible feature of cinema, television, internet, gaming and new media industries, he added.

Talking about the NCA Triennale, the vice chancellor said that 2025 marked NCA`s 150 years of excellence since its inception as the Mayo School of Art in 1875. The first edition of the NCA Triennale titled `Kasb-e-Kamal-Kun` was scheduled for October 2025 and would continue till mid December, 2025.

For the Triennale, NCA has invited contributions from artists, designers, architects, musicians, performers, filmmakers, researchers and anthropologists from Pakistan and around the world, including Switzerland, Scotland, New Zealand, UK, Indonesia, Malaysia, China,Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, France, Egypt, Turkey, Middle East, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the USA.

Prof Jafri said the Trienanle served as the first-of-its-kind initiative to unpack gaps and explore crossovers between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary art practices.

He said that in a world increasingly driven by artificial intelligence and ever evolving technological possibilities, Trienanle`s exhibitions seek to highlight the lasting significance of artisanal traditions, while advancing approaches to theirinterpretation.