Bengaluru: Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat has hosted hundreds of art exhibitions, but the one it is hosting this weekend is a special one. On exhibit are the works of not famous or even upcoming stars but those of 45 students of Class X, Government High School, Doddahullur in K.R.Puram.
“Voices of the land” also has an unusual, if touching, theme: the children’s own homes. And all 45 will be present at CKP on Saturday to explain their journey from initially resisting the idea of drawing their own homes for all the world to see to enthusiastically learning the techniques and making art. “Many children recoiled at the thought of having to expose their old houses, some even just huts, to the world. But I managed to convince them that while their houses might be old or small, they are rich material for art”, art teacher Sunil Mishra told Deccan Chronicle.
The idea was to make the children draw something as a keepsake. “These pictures of their own houses struck me. They wouldn’t sell or destroy it”, Mishra said.
He was deeply moved when one girl refused to sell her piece to a retired professor from Shivamogga who offered her Rs 10,000 for it, offering instead to make a replica for him. And the man who made it all happen — BJP MLA Suresh Kumar who heard about Mishra’s art experiment and arranged for the exhibition at CKP.
Well done, Suresh Kumar!
