Student’s lost art found 4,000 miles away
A BRITISH fashion student has been reunited with her sketches by a stranger in Pakistan – a year after her mother accidentally threw them away.
Grace Hart, 20, was preparing her portfolio for an application to a fashion course at Manchester Metropolitan University, but her art books became mixed with items her mother was clearing out to send to a charity shop.
Neither Ms Hart nor her family knew what had happened so she spent months searching in vain, fearing that she would be rejected by the university.
But a year later, a fashion photographer based in Pakistan messaged Ms Hart on the social media app Instagram to say he had found her work in a charity store in Lahore, which is about 4,000 miles away.
While she initially thought the message was a scam, it soon became apparent that it was a kind stranger and a breakthrough against all odds.
The well-known photographer, Tajwar Munir, eventually sent the works back to her in an international delivery.
“I was stressing so much, because those art books were the only thing I had that proved I did work at school,” Ms Hart, from Rugby in Warwickshire told BBC News.
“I’ve always taken a lot of pride in my art. It was very upsetting when I realised it had gone missing.”
Thankfully, she was accepted onto the university course before the cherished works, which she had spent years drawing, were returned as she had taken photographs of them. Her mother Sonia Hart, 52, told the BBC: “We had searched everywhere. I did feel sick. I was absolutely gutted. Grace is really talented and her artwork is amazing. I started to panic and thought, ‘What is she going to do for university?’
“I never expected in a million years that we would get her artwork back, but it does restore your faith in humanity.”
Asked if she had a piece of advice for others, she urged people to double-check their bags before donating them to charity.