PESHAWAR: Speakers at a painting exhibition here on Monday asked young artists to bring out their latent talent through artistic expression as it would help them to unleash their creative strength.

They said that youth had great talent in them and opportunities should be provided to them so that they could showcase their gifted talent and bring laurels to their parentsandthe countryatlarge.

The event was organised under the auspices of Khyber district youth affairs department in collaboration with district administration and `Grown Up Team`.More than 30 artists from Khyber tribal district participated in the event.

Majida Afridi, Faisal Khan and Faryal Shinwari grabbed first, second and third positions, respectively, and received commendation certificates along with cash prizes. Other participants were given consolation certificates. The objective of the event was to empower and encourage youth to exploit their creative talents.

Arshad Hussain, deputy director of the department chaired the event. He said that youth had great inborn talent and should be encouraged to showcase their gifted talent and artistic skills as it would help them further shine their strength of creativity.`It is a great occasion when young artists from Khyber tribal district participated in the `on hand art exhibition` which showed their courage and incredible talent. Young artists should never let go such platform unattended and must take part to prove their artistic skills. Parents, teachers and stakeholders should encourage emerging young artists,` he said.

Sajid Afridi, one of the organisers of the exhibition, said that tribal youth had incredible talent in them and it needed only a spur to trigger their hidden talent. He said that the `on hand art competition proved that young artists had great creative and artistic skills in them.`On hand art is a challenging platform but bold youth could take this challenge on face and prove their creative mettle. Most young boys and girls came up with worth appreciation artworks on the spot,` he said.

Rashid Latif Khan, a senior artist, said that such platforms should be provided to all youth and they shouldbe encouraged at alllevels as art was the most powerful medium and youth must avail such opportunities.

He lauded all participants, parents and organisers of the event.

`I didn`t expect young tribal artists possess such a noveltalent to create artworks that are both reflective of their vision and imaginative flight,` he added.