KATHMANDU: A virtual exhibition of art created by young people has been launched by Plan International under its global campaign Girls Get Equal on the occasion of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.

The exhibition features 150 selected arts which portrays girls and children’s issues, views, experiences, stories and calls for action on gender equality, according to Plan International.

Prior to exhibition, Plan International Nepal had organized virtual art workshops for 250 young people from Sunsari, Banke, Bardiya, Makwanpur, Jumla, Kalikot and Sindhuli to celebrate International Day of Girl Child (IDGC) in October.

Following the workshops, 250 participants created various forms of art demanding that they be valued and supported, it said.

Liz Satow, Country Director of Plan International Nepal said, “We had received overwhelming number of art from our girls and boys in this year’s, Art is Power. The spoken arts are very powerful where the girls have expressed to be free from any kind of violence. We appreciate the power of their words and their art.”

Ten virtual workshops were conducted on a range of creative topics – drawing, comics, spoken word poetry, theatre, and song writing.

Anjana Thapa Magar, a participant from Banke said, “It is my immense pleasure to create art to express my views on the issues of young girls, I am happy to know that my creation is displayed on the virtual exhibition.”

The event “Art is Power” is in its second year. Eleven canvases painted by professional artists, based on art collected from the districts portraying the issues raised by young girls and boys through various forms of art are on display, Plan International Nepal said.

The canvas will also be displayed to stakeholders, including government officials, local leaders to draw their attention on issues of violence that young girls are facing Nepal. The virtual exhibition can be reached on https://artispower.itch.io/art-is-power