28 artists join hands to help rebuild Kerala
Touring exhibition of 28 artists to donate proceeds to aid floodhit Indian state
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Agroup of 28 artists from various countries have come together to help rebuild the flood-ravaged South Indian state of Kerala, with a touring exhibition of their works in the UAE.
Titled ‘Together We Can’, the exhibition’s aim is to donate the proceeds from the paintings’ sale to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund.
The Art 4 You community will host the exhibition in Sharjah from October 4.
Yasser Al Gergawi, director of programming and partnership at the Ministry of Tolerance, who is also a prominent figure in UAE art circles, opened the exhibition at Ghinwa Restaurant in Flora Hotel, Al Barsha on Thursday night.
Appreciating the artists’ efforts, Al Gergawi said: “This is how art becomes a soft power to rebuild our destroyed cities and destroyed minds in a much better way.”
The exhibition is organised by Funun Arts, a non-profitable group of artists formed by Shibah Khan and Farah Khan, two sisters from New Delhi who have been living in Dubai for 10 years. “This exhibition is close to our hearts because it is organised for a noble cause,” said Shibah.
While about a dozen artists will donate the full proceeds of the sale of their works to the cause, the rest will share 50 per cent of it, she said.
Priced from Dh1,000 and above, the paintings belong to a variety of genres ranging from landscape paintings and portraits to calligraphic paintings and abstract art works.
Portraits include those of UAE founding father Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VicePresident and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
“What happened in Kerala has pained all of us. Artists have the ability to grab the attention of the community towards such issues and also give back,” said Emirati artist Ahmed Rukni.
Renowned yoga guru and artist Bharat Thakur, among the guests, made an impromptu offer to the exhibition. He gifted one of his paintings done with ink on paper, priced at Dh30,000.