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The Punjab Council of the Arts plans to scout for new talent in music, fine arts and creative arts through a talent hunt and by exhibiting the works of artists online for virtual tours.

Operations Director Muhammad Abrar Alam told Dawn on Monday that the talent hunt had been launched to find talented youths to encourage artists, artisans and intellectuals.

The council has decided to hold this talent hunt through online exhibitions, talks and performances in various districts of Punjab. Competitions among the youth would be held at the district, divisional and provincial levels in music, fine arts, crafts, drama and literature.

Mr Alam said this programme will involve several stakeholders, especially education department and district and divisional heads of arts councils. The directors of divisional arts councils operating under the Punjab Council of the Arts will be responsible for execution of all the activities.

Initially, the directors will conduct auditions in various disciplines at local level. The selected candidates will then be invited to perform at the divisional level and the position holders awarded prize money. Additionally, encouragement prizes will also be given to competitors in each discipline.

For the grand finale at provincial level, a mega show will be organised in Lahore where the top performers will win prizes in addition to the encouragement prizes for other competitors. The main objective is to introduce young talent to create economic opportunities for them. All these programmes and performances however will be held online amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, said Mr Alam.

Originally published in Dawn, July 7th, 2020