Raja Changez Sultan (born 6 December 1949) is a Pakistani poet and painter. He produces landscape and portrait paintings in both oil and charcoal and has published several books of poetry.

Raja Changez Sultan
Born (1949-12-06) 6 December 1949 (age 74)
Shakarparian, Pakistan
NationalityPakistani
Alma materShrewsbury School. Trinity College (Connecticut), Columbia University
Known forPoetry, Oil Painting
StyleLandscape, Portraits, Charcoals
Websitehttps://rajachangezsultan.com/

He has held over 70 exhibitions in Austria, England, Switzerland, Oman, and Pakistan,[1][2] with the most notable ones at the Winter Palace in Vienna (1992) and Cadogan Contemporary in London (1991).

Biography

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Early life and education

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Born in his family's ancestral village of Shakarparian.[3] He attended Lawrence College, Ghora Gali before earning a full scholarship to Shrewsbury School in England. He then went on to study at Trinity College and Columbia University. At Columbia he completed two Masters degrees, one in journalism and the other in creative writing and painting.[4]

Career beginnings

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He worked at the United Nations and the World Health Organisation in Geneva for two years, and then returned to Pakistan to serve in the tourism sector.[5][1]

Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC)

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He worked for over 25 years in the tourism sector of Pakistan.[6]

Pakistan National Council of Arts

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Sultan was appointed as director general[7] for the Pakistan National Council of the Arts in Islamabad where he advanced the work of artists, thinkers, writers, and the visual and performing arts. During his four-and-a-half year tenure at the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA), Sultan helped spearhead over 60 major visual arts exhibitions which included photography, paintings and sculptures. During his tenure at the PNCA, he helped organise events such as the National Drama Festival and National Music Festival.

Recognition

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Artistic work

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Paintings

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His first series of paintings was The Divided Self [7] to showcase the multiple personalities we each have in us. His second series was The Himalyan Odyssey based on his travel in the mountains. Another series called The Crucifiction of Eve which is to represent how women are put on the cross everyday as she bears the brunt of responsibility of the world,

Poetry

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Sultan has written 4 books on poetry exploring the themes of his ancestral home, the himalayan mountains and human psycoholgy.

Selected publications

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The following books have been authored by Sultan:

  • Thirteen Ways of looking at a Nomad[8] (1982)
  • Shakarparian[9] (1998)
  • The Death of Indifference[10] (2022)
  • Himalayan Odyssey[11] (2023)

Exhibitions[2]

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  1. Discovery Art Gallery, Upper Montclair, New Jersey, USA. 1974
  2. Montclair Hospital Gallery, Montclair, New Jersey, USA 1974
  3. Rawalpindi Club, Rawalpindi 1985
  4. Alhamra Art Gallery, Lahore, 1986
  5. Interiors Art Gallery, Islamabad 1986
  6. Interiors Art Gallery, Islamabad 1987
  7. Nairang Art Gallery, Lahore 1987
  8. French Cultural Centre, Islamabad 1990
  9. Chaukandi Art Gallery, Karachi 1990
  10. National Art Gallery, Islamabad 1991
  11. Cadogan Contemporary, London 1991
  12. Folk Kunde Museum, Winter Palace, Vienna 1992
  13. National Art Gallery, Islamabad 1992
  14. Panhans Art Gallery, Semmering 1992
  15. Sacre Coeur Art Gallery, Vienna 1993
  16. National Art Gallery, Islamabad 1995
  17. Art Gallery, Islamabad 1995
  18. National Art Gallery, Islamabad 1996
  19. Edwarde’s College, Peshawar 1996
  20. Art Gallery, Islamabad 1996
  21. Nomad Gallery, Islamabad 1997
  22. Majmua Art Gallery, Karachi 1997
  23. American Centre, Islamabad 1998
  24. Soni Gallery, London 1998
  25. French Cultural Center, Islamabad 1999
  26. French Cultural Center, Islamabad 1999
  27. Chaukandi Gallery, Karachi 1999
  28. Croweaters Gallery, Lahore 2000
  29. Le Chat Gallery, Geneva 2000
  30. Chaukandi Gallery, Karachi 2000
  31. Gallerichangez, Islamabad 2001
  32. Clifton Art Gallery, Karachi 2002
  33. Alliance Francaise, Islamabad 2002
  34. Chaukandi Gallery, Karachi 2003
  35. Gallerichangez, Karachi 2003
  36. Clifton Art Gallery, Karachi 2004
  37. Gallerie Changez, Islamabad 2004
  38. Royaat Gallery, Lahore 2004
  39. Khas Galery, Islamabad 2004
  40. Chaukandi Art Gallery, Karachi 2005
  41. Bait Al Muzna, Oman 2005
  42. Ijaz Gallery, Lahore 2006
  43. Chaukandi Gallery, Karachi 2006
  44. Royaat Gallery, Lahore 2007
  45. Tanzara Gallery, Islamabad 2007
  46. Collector’s Galleria, Lahore 2008
  47. Tanzara Gallery, Islamabad 2008
  48. Louvre Gallery, Karachi 2009
  49. Native Art Gallery, Lahore 2009
  50. Tanzara Gallery, Islamabad 2023[12][13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Raja Changez Sultan '72 Named Commencement Day Speaker; Honorands Announced". The Trinity Tripod. 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  2. ^ a b "Raja Changez". Epic Art Gallery.
  3. ^ "Poetry recital Changez Sultan talks about literary, artistic ambitions". Express Tribune. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  4. ^ Shuaib, Haroon (August 23, 2019). "Raja Changez Sultan: the sage artist behind the canvas". The Express Tribune. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  5. ^ "Raja Changez Sultan (Pakistani, B. 1949)". Bonhams. 2022-05-22. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  6. ^ Shuaib, Haroon (June 14, 2021). "Raja Changez Sultan: The Eternal Optimist". Youlin Magazine.
  7. ^ a b Riffat, Haider (July 16, 2018). "From Canvas to Ekphrasis, Prolific Artist Raja Changez Sultan". Good Times Magazine.
  8. ^ Sultan, Raja Changez (1982). Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Nomad & Other Poems. ISBN 979-8846840317.
  9. ^ Sultan, Raja Changez (1998). Shakarparian. ISBN 979-8846802421.
  10. ^ Sultan, Raja Changez (2022). The Death of Indifference & Other Poems. ISBN 979-8848982305.
  11. ^ Sultan, Raja Changez (2023). Himalayan Odyssey & Other Poems. ISBN 979-8375654935.
  12. ^ Qureshi, Shahid (27 September 2023). "Tanzara Art Gallery Hosts Exhibition in Islamabad". World Echo News. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  13. ^ "Dual Perspectives: The Artistry of Raja Changez Sultan and Sara Sultan". Islamabad Post. 2023-09-27. Retrieved 2023-10-02.