Alumni from the Islamabad-Rawalpindi chapter of the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network (PUAN) launched the “Paint for Peace” community engagement project on August 24 in Fatimah Jinnah Park.  More than 100 alumni and local artists participated in three painting sessions that culminated in an art exhibit September 12.  Gulnaz Sheikh, a 2013 IVLP alumna and president of local non-profit NICE Pakistan led the project.

“By engaging the community in a group art project, we are sending a message of peace, hope, love and creativity, instead of aggression,” Gulnaz said.

The colorful artwork exhibited represented a diversity of images and themes related to interfaith harmony, world peace, and cross-border partnerships.

Several of the paintings will be selected for permanent display in the Helen Keller Center, an American Space in Islamabad, and others will be displayed in local schools.