JOIN USBe it oil paintings, acrylic diagrams, charcoal works or pencil sketches, art lovers were treated to a visual splendour at the second edition of the exhibition, ‘Akanksha 2015’ held at Chitrakala Parishat recently.
About 67 self-taught, leading women artists from various walks of life came together and participated at the show to showcase their talent. The exhibition was the brainchild of artist Shyamala Ramanand. The show was inaugurated by Rekha Rao Hebbar and some of the guests included Anuradha Nalapat, Usha Rai and Shanta Sathyanarayan.
The exhibition spanned over a number of themes and included a variety of styles — from realistic and minimalistic to impasto style. Shyamala, a self-taught artist herself, decided to start ‘Akanksha’ last year to provide a platform for self-taught artistes.
Overwhelmed by the response this year, she described the show as a grand success and that it was the first-of-its-kind in Bengaluru. She explained that the participants were women juggling art along with their full-time professions. “I wouldn’t call art as a hobby for the participants,” she said. “They were bankers, IT professionals, IAS officers and even students who pursue art as a passionate endeavour.”
Shyamala Ramanand, a former IT professional, decided to quit her job in 2008 to pursue art. She put up her own show of oil paintings in 2012. At that time, a lot of women who were interested in art came up to her and were curious to know how she curated her own show. “The viewers were interested to exhibit their works as well but weren’t very confident and didn’t know how to go about it. That is how ‘Akanksha’ was born as I realised that I could provide a platform for artists dabbling with different professions to showcase their work. I curated a show in March last year, around the time of ‘Women’s Day’, and invited many women to participate. The word soon spread and I was surprised by the responses I received.” She further adds, “Fifty women came forward and were interested to exhibit their artworks. Art is generally considered as a male-dominated profession but we have so many women artists in the City as well.”
Shyamala explains that art was her childhood passion and she has received a number of awards in school. As a self-taught artist, her initial days were a struggle but she soon pursued her passion seriously and participated in many art festivals. She also completed a six-month course in art in Chitrakala Parishat. She looks at art as a stress-buster.
Though she says that planning for such an event took a long time and that it was difficult to get a lot of women under one platform, Shyamala is happy that the event finished on a great note and is waiting to curate the third edition of ‘Akanksha’ next year as well.