LAHORE: (Monday, June 01, 2020): World’s largest search engine Google LLC has  paid tribute to renowned Pakistani artist and educator Anna Molka Ahmed, who  founded Punjab University’s College of Art and Design. Anna Molka Bridger was  born on August 13th, 1917, in London, England. She was determined to become an  artist from a young age and enrolled herself at the Royal College of Art in  London. There she met her husband, and the pair soon moved to Lahore.  “Today’s Doodle honors acclaimed Pakistani  artist and educator Anna Molka Ahmed, the country’s first art teacher to bring  her students out of the classroom to paint outdoors. On this day in 1940, Ahmed  established the Fine Arts Department, now the University College of Arts &  Design, at the University of the Punjab in Lahore, laying the foundation for  decades of arts education in the country,” reads a message on Google when  clicked on doodle. She remained college principal from 1940 to 1975 and for  more than thirty years, she was instrumental in fostering a culture of arts  education in Pakistan. Ahmed’s path took a fortuitous turn when she responded  to an ad from Punjab University seeking an artist to open a women's art  department at the school.  Ahmed organized  the first art exhibitions ever held in the country, and many of her students  went on to establish their own university arts programs throughout Pakistan.  Meanwhile, Ahmed never stopped painting, her expressionist work often combining  European influences with inspiration from her adopted home country. In honor of  her pioneering achievements in the world of fine arts education, Ahmed was  honored in 1963 with the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence), one of the  highest civil awards for a citizen in Pakistan. Punjab University has named one  of its art galleries as Anna Molka Art Gallery."Thank you, Anna Molka Ahmed,  for inspiring generations of Pakistani artists," says Google.  |