Artistic tribute to victims of gender violence

The rape victims haven’t died, they have moved to a better world, where no rape would ever happen,” says KR Subbanna, curator of the art exhibition ‘Nirbhaya: The Icon of Fearlessness’. 

Organised by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, Creative Mind Publications and NIV Art Centre, the art exhibition named on the December 16 rape case was not thematic to the incident yet it was a homage to the young lady who signifies fearlessness. 

 

“We want to show solidarity with Nirbhaya and other women like her who lost their lives facing atrocities,” says Manoj Kumar Tripathy of Creative Mind Publications.

“Artists from across the country have come together to enthusiastically express their feelings in support of women who deserve freedom and respect.”   

 

There are more than 100 artists participating in the exhibition with some big names like SH Raza, Krishen Khanna, Lalitha Lajmi, Sanjay Bhattacharya, Vijendra Sharma to name a few, who have portrayed the condition of women in India in their own artistic styles.

 

Mohammed Tahir Siddiqui, professor Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has directly depicted the December 16 rape case.

Artist Nupur Kundu has used the abstract form of art to depict the violence faced by women in their day to day life. 

 

Photographer RK Rao captured women of all age groups through his lenses.

 

The exhibition also has on display sculptures.

 

Talking about the event in detail, Manoj says, “The event is divided in three parts. There is an exhibition of the works by the eminent artists at IGNCA. Then there is an exhibition of artwork by the young artists at the NIV Art Centre. And apart from this, a day-long art camp is also being organised for the young artists. The aim of this workshop is to give them a platform to express themselves through the medium of visual art. Finally, the event is being documented in the form of an illustrated catalogue that will give each of the participating artists an individual space. This documentation would also include the view points from the very eminent art critics and writers.” 

 

The exhibition is on till April 18 at Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts, Janpath from 11 am to 7 pm.