Established in 2003 by Syed Babar Ali, the Naqsh School of Arts (hereinafter, “Naqsh”) is situated in the heart of
Lahore’s historic walled Old City, the former citadel that served as the seat of the Moghul Empire under Emperors
Akbar and Jehangir .  Funded exclusively by the Babar Ali Foundation, Naqsh is located in a purpose-built building
attached to Mubarik Haveli, the Ali family’s ancestral home in the Bhati Gate area of the Old City, which also hosts
religious events and family celebrations.  The compound also contains the Naqsh Art Gallery where works by Naqsh
students are displayed for sale and where the informal school for calligraphy is located.

Naqsh was conceived as an art school catering to the less-privileged residents of the Old City of Lahore and
neighbouring areas, that would help preserve traditional arts, and where people who had dropped out of mainstream
education could venture to acquire both traditional and modern artistic skills.  With a motto that states “preserve for
posterity”, in addition to imparting a contemporary education through its regular curriculum and special projects,
Naqsh seeks to preserve the traditional arts of calligraphy, miniature painting and naqashi (the art of ‘arabesques’).

Today, Naqsh is able to fulfill each of its original goals.  It provides a three-year certificate course in traditional and
modern art to dozens of students enrolled each year at a nominal monthly fee, many of whom are residents of the
walled Old City, and some of whom are mature students who are attending classes after many years.  However, in the
spirit of trying to improve itself, Naqsh works continuously on enhancing its facilities, improving course offerings, and
ultimately to imbue in its students an artistic sensibility that seeks to fuse traditional arts and aesthetics with those
compatible with the modern world.