Art at its best

An open art exhibition and sale organised by Saakar-Aakar Fine Arts (SAFA) was held at the Bal Bhawan, Cubbon Park recently. It was conceptualised by Sarika Ruia. It was a visual feast for visitors who had a chance to go through more than 700 paintings of various artforms laid out in artistic harmony.

Ace artist Shan Re was the chief guest for the day  and spoke candidly to the artists about pursuing one's dreams and the importance of art in a youngster's  life. Past president of Rotary Bangalore Junction Rtn Naval Saraf and current president Rtn Santosh Kejriwal were also present at the event.

The theme of the exhibition was 'dh'ART'i-2017', which showcased various indigenous and international  artforms that are losing their prominence in the hustle and bustle of modern day life.

The objective of the  exhibition was to educate the people of the city about the vivacity of the various art forms  developed at community levels in various parts of the world. There were workshops organised by the  artists of SAFA, aged between 5 to 16 years, where they invited the gathering to spend some time to learn about art forms like Warli from Maharashtra, Gondh from Madhya Pradesh, Madhubani  from Bihar and Aboriginal from Australia, to name a few.

The exhibition saw more than 150 artists from various schools take part in a drawing competition. There were also performances by children from interact clubs of Bhavan's Press  School, Florence High School and Tapovan School. All these clubs were set up under Nitu Saraf from the Rotary Youth Service wing of Rotary Bangalore Junction.

Another highlight of the event was the 'Art Auction for Charity' organised in aid of Rotary Bangalore  Junction's efforts towards building science laboratories in government high schools.  

Young and old artists won accolades at the event.  The 'Junior Star Artist' award went to Rachit Daga and the Shree Om Prakash Ruia Memorial Trophy for 'Super 4' was awarded to Ahan Rajgharia, Mihika Daga, Sania Ahmed and Avishi Rajgharia. The Shree Vijay Shankar Bajoria Memorial Trophy for 'Best Student' was awarded to Shrutika G K.

These awards were in recognition of their performance in the annual drawing competition, monthly poster competitions, quiz competition and file submission.