77th edition of Bengaluru’s Art Park continues to develop an inclusive community for art

77th edition of Bengaluru’s Art Park continues to develop an inclusive community for art

The 77th edition of Art Park was recently held at the Bangalore International Center. The event featured 25 artists from Bengaluru as well as Odisha, Assam, and Rajasthan. The mission of the Art Park organisation is to make art inclusive and encourage interaction between the audience and artists.

“Art Park was conceived because the general public are hesitant to visit art galleries or interact with artists,” said Art Park founder SG Vasudev.

“The artwork here ranges from drawing, painting, sculptures, new, innovative art forms, and also live performance art,” said President of Art Park Committee, Bhagya Ajaikumar. This edition of the Art Park did not centre around a specific theme, but instead, the artists used the event as a platform to interact with audiences and showcase their work. This has helped the public see what goes behind the making of art, Bhagya added. 

“We ask the artists to bring smaller-sized works if they can and we also ask them to do four to five drawings at the venue, using materials provided by the organisation, to showcase their interactive skills. These drawings are sold for ₹1000, making it affordable and inclusive for all,” said Vasudev. “The Park functions democratically; there is a membership committee that suggests 25 different artists for every edition,” he added.

“Artforms bring people together and foster unity,” said chief guest and Doordarshan anchor Sandhya S Kumar while speaking about the diversity of artists present at the exhibition. “The concept is unique as it brings together artists with different forms of expression to one location,” said chief guest and former DG and IGP ST Ramesh.

One of the artists at the latest edition of Art Park was Kanchan Rathna, who specialises in ‘eco-prints,’ an innovative and sustainable art form that mainly uses natural elements such as leaves, old paper, and recycled plastic. She embraced this art form when she saw the amount of chemical pollution from discarded paints, as a means of promoting nature-friendly means of creating art. “We are invited for free and we want to popularise art, so it is about the people, and ensuring that art is at the centre,” said Kanchan.

Ilm Gian Anjan Kaur Chahal, a visual artist performed the ‘Rings of Raudra,’ based on the Navarasa ‘Raudra’, which means anger. “Art is everywhere and our body is art. This led me to question why we cannot use our body as a medium to showcase art,” she said. Smitha Cariappa, another artist, did an interactive performance with the audience, called ‘Perform to Draw.’ “There is less hesitation and inhibition at such interactive events; visitors can strike up a conversation directly with the artists about their techniques and ideas,” said Smitha.