Bengaluru: Art Park is a unique cultural initiative launched by S G Vasudev, a widely acclaimed octogenarian veteran artist. It began at the Sculpture Garden, also known as Shilpavana, within the premises of Ravindra Kalakshetra.
The first Sunday of every month: It is usually held on the first Sunday of every month while the maiden event took place on 30th March in 2014, wherein 25 selected eminent local artists took part by working the whole day. An experiment of that nature for the first time infused enthusiasm among the onlookers from the general public. The exercise gave them a first-hand experience with the different ways of working from the beginning until the completion of the artwork.
The aim is to interact with people: According to S G Vasudev, "The concept of the event is to provide a platform to facilitate critical interaction between the artists and the general public in an informal setting akin to an open studio, to foster a deeper understanding of art, artists across time and culture. By this due process, people hitherto unconnected to the art field can develop an awareness and appreciation of visual art, leading to the recognition of the power of creativity in constructing, defining and shaping knowledge...
...No practice of visiting art galleries: S G Vasudev opines-"Generally people don't have the habit of visiting art galleries or museums when they go out. We don't have such a practice here. At the same time, they are also scared to interact with the artists. To address this issue, I called a meeting of artists and broached the idea of holding an Art Park exhibition, once a month. Ramakrishna, then a Director of the Culture Department suggested organizing the same at the Shilpa Vana, also known as the Sculpture Garden...
...Committee formed: Initially, we thought of commencing the program with 25 artists. We formed a committee to select the artists as it will be difficult to do the selection every time. One or two members were entrusted with the responsibility of finalizing the artists. The timings were slated from 11 AM to 05 PM. We also make all necessary arrangements for the participating artists like drawing table, drawing sheets, materials, beverages, lunch etc...
...Works may not be sold for more than Rs 1,000: However, the artists must sell their works for not more than Rs 1,000/—, and this stipulation is necessary to ensure that they are affordable to all kinds of people. At the same time, drawings brought from home can be sold at a higher price, but artists are advised not to make them exorbitant as we intend to reach the people.
...Interact with the artists: Art Park is an occasion for people to observe artists working and an opportunity to interact with them as they are freely available throughout the day from 11 AM to 05 PM. They can select the artwork of their choice as well as interact with the artists...
...82-83 exhibitions so far: Maybe, there have been about 82-83 monthly Art Park demonstrations and sales so far. We also did one in Bagalakote recently as one of our organizers is from Bagalakote. He came forward telling about a lot of interest there and conducted the show...
Inquiry from other places as well: There have been inquiries from many other places like Dharwad. We only tell them about our route plan and the requirements for holding the show and if they go hand in hand, there is no hindrance to conducting the shows elsewhere apart from Bengaluru".
Coming closer to people: When inquired about the learning in the process, S G Vasudev replied-"The learning is we are coming close to the people and at the same time artists are also coming closer. 25 artists coming to a place and working together forgetting their individual egos' by itself is an experience".
Open to places: Asked about extending the experience elsewhere, S G Vasudev informed-"As ours is not a registered body we have the freedom and choice to select the committee members apart from suggesting known people to sponsor the events. Sponsoring costs around Rs 35-40,000/- and whoever comes forward to host we go ahead. On our part, we have no plans to go across the state, but if someone comes forward to host the same elsewhere, we are open to such offers".
-Manohar Yadavatti
Very nice article on art & creativity...An in depth article & very absorbing
ReplyDeleteThank you Manohar Yadavatti for writing about this interesting initiative to bring artists and art lovers together in an informal environment. I only hope people in other towns will also organize such events.
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