Exhibit showcases traditional Afghan artistry

World Today

A new exhibit in Washington D.C. is offering a close look at Afghan artists.

CCTV America’s Frances Kuo reports.

The Freer and Sackler Galleries in the nation’s capital is currently featuring Afghan artists from Turquoise Mountain, a nonprofit art institute in Kabul that teaches traditional Afghan arts and crafts.

The exhibit will feature artists such as jeweler Saeeda Etebari and Nasser Mansouri, who create works using classical woodcarving techniques.

“These opportunities are really huge for them, because they are the leaders of the future,” Turquoise Mountain Director of Exhibitions Tommy Wide said.

The exhibit allows visitors to get up close and personal with the art, letting them not just see, but touch and feel. One featured craft is illumination painting, which uses bamboo reeds and plant and mineral pigments from Afghanistan to created detailed designs on rugs.

Wide said one hope for the exhibit it that audiences “see Afghanistan not through the lens of war but through the lens of beauty.”