When art is just a text away...
An auction of artworks by acclaimed artists is taking place on a special WhatsApp group created by NGO Khushii. The funds generated will be used to facilitate better education for children in government schools
The colours on a canvas can brighten up children’s lives. And gift them happier tomorrows and a promising future.
In a country where the dropout rate in government schools continues to be alarming, the need for better assistance and training for teachers becomes necessary. In an attempt to raise funds for facilitating better education for students from underdeveloped areas of the country, NGO Kinship for Humanitarian Social and Holistic Intervention (Khushii) has organised a two-day “WhatsApp Artloot” — an auction of artworks by some of the most acclaimed artists of the country, on WhatsApp.
“We decided on doing it on WhatsApp because we didn’t want to incur the cost of online auctions. Since the two previous editions were a success, we hope that this edition generates good revenue as well,” says Harveen Kapoor, founder member, Khushii.
The artloot happens twice a year. Acclaimed artists like S.H. Raza, M.F. Husain, Anjolie Ela Menon, K. Laxma Goud, Ram Kumar; and gallerists from across the world collaborate with the NGO for this auction.
“Post the sale of the artworks, we provide the artists with a consignment amount,” informs Harveen. Elaborating on the objective of the auction, she adds, “We are catering to as many as 18,000 children in the country at the moment. Without any government funding, sustaining the education, health and livelihood of these children and their parents is not possible. Thus, the auction is an attempt to generate our own income through art.” According to Harveen, the NGO provides remedial education to children, in order to curb dropout rates. “Children from underdeveloped areas are unable to cope with education because of their difficult social conditions. Sometimes, even if the children are willing to study, their parents are unable to educate them because of financial concerns. So we try to sponsor education of these children, take extra classes during school hours, attend classrooms and also provide schools with support teachers, so that there is an improvement in the standard of education,” she explains. The group, where people can participate only through requests, consists of around 150 members — who are either patrons of the NGO or art lovers from around the world. In order to attract better sales, prices of the artworks have been kept lower than their original prices, ranging between `1 lakh to `5 lakh. “We wanted people to experience what an ‘artloot’ is,” says Harveen.