Art for social causes at this exhibition in Delhi
Two crows looking in opposite directions, a portrait of a Telangana woman, and a landscape view of Varanasi in black and white are just some of the images that are depicted in canvases that will be part of the upcoming exhibition The Eclectic Show, organised under Art for Concern. 50 artworks by 39 modern and contemporary Indian artists will be on display. But, this isn’t any regular exhibition because the money raised from the sale of these artworks will be donated for social development activities in education, health and community development.
The names of participating artists include Ram Kumar, MF Husain, SH Raza, Anju Dodiya, T Vaikuntam, Shuvaprasanna, and Manu Parekh.
Artist Sanjay Bhattacharyya — whose two works from his series on bandwallahs will be part of this exhibition — says he started painting the bandwallahs in late ’90s. “I feel they are musicians who are neglected, and don’t get any platform to play. Once I spoke to a bandwallah who told me that he wanted to be a musician, but couldn’t and hence became a bandwallah. But, he added that someday he will play on the stage. So, when I hear the bandwallahs play on streets, I also hear their pain.”
Artists like Jiten Hazarika have been associated with this show for decades now. “The painting that I have given this time is of musicians. When I see something, it strikes me and I paint it… don’t know what exactly inspires me to do that. But, painting for me is like a meditation that I do in my studio,” says Hazarika.
Most of the works are priced between ₹60,000 and ₹ 5,00,000. The idea to keep them affordable is to encourage firsttime buyers. “We have some stellar works of late Ram Kumar (who passed away in April early this year). There will also be a wall with his story on it. This is our way to pay homage to the artist who supported us for about two decades,” says deputy director, Secure Giving, which organises this show.