Pacific Asia Museum lauds Sherry Rehman for aiding Pakistani art addition

WASHINGTON: Pacific Asia Museum, an acclaimed center of art in California, has added a Pakistani artist Hamra Abbas's work to its permanent collection with efforts and generous support of Ambassador Sherry Rehman.

"We are extremely grateful for Ambassador Rehman's support," said Executive Director Charles Mason of Pasadena-based museum said, according to a report in online magazine Pasadena Now.

"In today's increasingly globalized world, it is important to us to foster intercultural understanding across a broad range of Asian cultures, and acquiring this contemporary Pakistani work speaks directly to that mission".

Ambassador Rehman has a long-standing interest in the arts, and studied art history as an undergraduate, the report noted.

"The ambassador's gift recognizes the increasingly important role of Pakistani artists in the contemporary art scene around the world," said Shaila Andrabi, president of Pacific Asia Museum's Pakistan Arts Council.

The piece of work represents the first contemporary work in Pacific Asia Museum's permanent collection by a female Pakistani artist.

Previously, several works by the artist were included in Pacific Asia Museum's 2010 exhibition Beyond the Page: The Miniature as Attitude in Contemporary Art from Pakistan, the report said.

This work is part of Hamra Abbas's 2008 series Paper Plates. She received a BFA and MA in Visual Arts from the National College of Arts, Lahore and now she lives and works in both Boston and Islamabad.

She was awarded the Abraaj Capital Art Prize in 2011 and a Jury prize at the Sharjah Biennial 9 in 2009. Her work also has been shown in exhibitions all over the world and in several Biennials including the 2007 Istanbul Biennial and the 2006 Biennale of Sydney. Abbas work is also held in the permanent collection of The British Museum.