Nigar Nazar

Nigar Nazar (born 1953) is the first Pakistani female cartoonist. Her character Gogi is an urban Pakistani woman struggling with her frailties in the context of gender-discriminate social norms. She is the chief executive officer of Gogi Studios. Between 2002 and 2003, she was a Fulbright Professor at the art department of the University of Oregon.

She started her career in 1971, when she switched out of a pre-medical degree to study fine arts. Gogi made her debut in 1971 in Karachi's Institute of Arts and Crafts annual magazine. She graduated with a degree in fine arts from Punjab University, Lahore. She also took several courses from the Australian National University, Canberra.

Nigar studied as a Fulbright Professor at the art department of the University of Oregon in 2002/2003, and as a Fulbright Visiting Specialist at Colorado College in 2009. UNICEF sponsored her visit to Hanna-Barbera Studios in Manila, for a training session on animated films.

She is the chief executive officer of Gogi Studios and an International Art Instructor. She has been drawing cartoons professionally since 1971. Gogi Studios works on projects that actively address social issues. In 2009, Nazar completed five "awareness comics". Three books compiling her cartoons have been published, as well as several calendars, brochures, diaries, and posters.[citation needed] In collaboration with non-governmental organisationss, 12 public-transport buses were wrapped with Gogi cartoons in 2004 to convey social messages. She has produced several books for children on health and hygiene, the environment, disaster management, first aid, and safety, all published and distributed by the government of Pakistan.

Now living in Islamabad, Nazar says "My work ... it came from the newspaper and then it came into the community, on public buses. And from public buses, it went into hospitals. From hospitals, it went into books. And from books it went to comic books. From comic books, I teach programs now."

She a founding member of the Asian Youth Association for Animators and Cartoonists, headquartered in Guiyang, China. She has been an official speaker and jury member of numerous art and cartoon competitions, both international and national such as the APACA (AYAAC), Aydin Dogan Vakfi (Turkey), Himal Cartoon Conference (Nepal), Cartoonists Congress (Malaysia/Singapore), and the Oxfam Congress for Women's Issues (Sri Lanka). Nazar has conducted many workshops and outreach programs to privileged and under privileged students in Pakistan.

 Nazar's main character, Gogi, has been a popular comic-strip character in newspapers worldwide. Gogi is a modern Pakistani Muslim woman with short hair and long eyelashes, usually seen wearing a polka dot–covered dress. Asked in an interview to describe Gogi, Nazar said "In the words of a university student who has done a well-researched thesis on my work, 'Gogi is the symbol of womanhood in Pakistan, with all her adventures and escapades in daily life.'" The Denver Post described Gogi as "a bit like 'Blondie' and a bit like Oprah—except devoutly Muslim".

Nazar painting the portrait Father of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam on National Day celebrations for the Pakistan Embassy in England, 1986. That painting is still present in the Pakistan consulate.

Nigar was featured in the Wateen Telecom Pakistan "Icon 2010 of Pakistan" calendar. The Cartoonists Rights Network named her first among innovative users of cartoons. She received Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah Award from the government of Pakistan. She received the Booruker UNESCO prize in 1997 for her work at an orphanage in Kyrgyzstan.


Source : WikiPedia