First big art exhibition featuring trans artists

A show this weekend showcases painters, performers and filmmakers from the transgender community

An organisation working for 12 years for the empowerment of transgender people is holding an art exhibition in Bengaluru.

The Sahodari Foundation, based in Coimbatore, is presenting a show titled ‘We are Not the Others,’ featuring the paintings of 25 artists, performers, and filmmakers. The event also includes a poetry slam.

Kalki Subramaniam, transgender artist and founder of Sahodari, says the idea is to identify creative trans people and groom them into professional artists. “This is our biggest show yet,” she says.

She chose Bengaluru for the show because “the city is open to art and in our search, we met the Inner Wheel Club of Bangalore, which is organising this show.”

Prema Iyer, president of the Inner Wheel Club, inaugurates the exhibition on February 5 at 6 pm. “The purpose is to help bring visibility to the community’s talent. We, unfortunately, only view them through the lens of begging or sex work and that has to change,” she says.

Many works exhibited in the gallery when viewed through the UniteAR App, adds voice, video and movement to the images on the wall.

Kalki’s virtual reality art is also on show, and is supported by Shimeraa Visual Studio. On February 6 at 6.30 pm, she presents ‘Phallus, I Cut,’ a performance that challenges gender stereotypes. “Many of us have a lot of creativity in us, but the tough part is selling. We’re still small fish swimming in a shark tank,” says Kalki.

The exhibition is on from 6 pm on February 5, to 8 pm on February 7, at the Bangalore International Centre, Domlur.

On sale

Visitors can buy the paintings on display at the show. Prices range from Rs 500 to Rs 20,000, and all proceeds go to the artist.