LAHORE: The Lahore Arts Council and the Pakistan Arts Council, Karachi, will organise a four-day International Islamic Art Festival in pursuance of the decision of Unesco to declare Nov 18 as the International Islamic Art Festival.

The coordinator of the festival, Mina Haroon, told Dawn that the festival would be held from Nov 17 to 20 at Alhamra Art Centre.

Ms Haroon, also LAC assistant director, said intellectuals, scholars, and artists from Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia will participate in the festival, to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi.

The coordinator said the historical journey of 1,400 years of Islamic sciences and arts will be celebrated through seminars, exhibitions, workshops, Qawwali programmes, book stalls and other activities.

Internationally renowned calligraphists will also participate in the festival from Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.

Ms Haroon said that a large exhibition of Islamic art would be part of the festival, which would display the rare manuscripts of the Quran, Quranic illuminated pages, art pieces of old masters, and artworks by living masters and established artists. The exhibition would also feature ceramics, metal, pottery and coins.-Shoaib Ahmed