Pakistani Artists to Paint Amherst BID Trolley This Week

AMHERST — In collaboration with the UMass Donahue Institute and during the Taste of Amherst, renowned artists from Karachi, Pakistan will be painting the Amherst BID ‘trolley.’

Haider Ali and Ali Salman specialize in Pakistani truck art. The laborate painting and adorning of commercial trucks and buses is common throughout Pakistan. The owners of these trucks use the art as an expression of pride in their vehicles and profession. This particular group of artists, professionally known as Phool Patti, do the bulk of their painting with trucks but have done dozens of international projects in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. In fact, painting the Amherst trolley is their last stop before working on an exhibit at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

The public is invited to see the painting take place on the Amherst town common on Friday, June 15 from 5 p.m. until dusk and Saturday, June 16 from 2 p.m. until completion.