Women artists willing to dare and express what is precious and true'
Bengaluru: Art Park Bengaluru, a cultural initiative launched by Bengaluru-based contemporary artists, held a meeting of women artists at Ravindra Kalakshetra on Sunday, ahead of the Women's Day on March 8.
“I don’t find many men dare these days, but in women that willingness to dare and express what is precious and true, however unexpected to the world it might be, is coming up more. And art and nature are the only spaces that allow that spirit to rise,” said Padmavati Rao, a renowned actress and poet as she walked around the display of artworks presented by various women artists from the city and from across the nation.
The programme was organised by Bangalore Art Foundation with partial support from the State Department of Kannada and Culture. Thirty five women artists, including poets and painters, gathered at the event reflecting the theme ‘The time for change is now’.
“This space existed but it became more beautiful when art came here, when people started coming here, an interaction happened and the place came to life,” added Padmavati.
Acclaimed writer Shashi Deshpande, who was the Chief Guest, urged the artists present to enjoy the moment itself. “Life of artists is never easy, especially when you are beginning. But right now, right here you have a good environment, make the best of it,” she said after inaugurating the event.
Mamta Sagar, Padmavati Rao and Chandni Gagan performed perspective poetry to mark the beginning of the event. While they described the various political and personal scenarios surrounding the identities, Mamta’s poem talked about the self, Chandni’s about a transgender and Padmavati’s about the dealings of the body.
Before concluding with a love poem from Mamta and Padmavati, the performance shifted focus to Chandni, who highlighted her emotions as a transgender, beautifully displaying an interplay of the feminine principle and the masculine principle.
“I” means:
soft breasts, a pair.
Also the enigmatic
inaccessible dark
between a thigh-pair.
“This poem is intonated; it’s a question, and also an answer,” said Mamta for her above recited poem.
As she sat under a tree, creating a live painting, master water colorist Spoorthy Murali said “Such interactions shape up the artists and aid in enhancing our community.”
Dimple B Shah, the President of the Art Park Committee added that our constant effort is to create a space beyond boundaries for artists.
Talking about the importance of such events to encourage women artists, Padmavati added, “Our conditioning is such that women go into self-censorship and that is something we need to make women aware of. They don't even know they are holding back on vibrancy that they can share with the world.”
