'Art shouldn't be in galleries'

A street art workshop was conducted by Ullas Hydoor in the last day of the celebration of art, architecture and design — ‘Designuru’. With the objective to break the misconception that art and design is for a selected few, the festival and its various events strived to initiate public into the concept of design-based decisions in everyday life.

Despite being a Sunday, when youngsters are usually seen relaxing and spending time with their friends, the street art graffiti workshop was buzzing with excited student participants.

Artist Ullas Hydoor focussed on ‘Stenciling’, which is one form of street art. “Bengaluru doesn’t have many street artistes. With young people coming and participating, street art culture is becoming popular and it is making a huge impact. You don’t see BBMP posters and flyers on the walls and poles anymore, instead, it’s art everywhere. Everyone is in a trance nowadays — running to work and back, or preparing for exams. In such a situation, art can act as a therapy — when people do something different from their monotonous jobs,” says Ullas.

 “I want to spread street art culture, and want everyone  to go to the street and engage themselves with street art. Art should not just be in galleries,” says Ullas. “I engage  with a lot of  kids. I believe that at a young age, one’s mind is not polluted. So, the kind of art they create is pure. A platform like this comes as a support to many as it is getting a lot of attention,” he adds.

Rebecca, a student of class 11, says, “I am interested in designing in general, and being an aspiring designer, I thought this workshop would help me gather the knowledge I require. Also. this was a nice way to spend my Sunday.”

Anna, another student, who is interested in calligraphy, feels graffiti workshops like these are a chance to show their skills and imagination. 

“My art and imagination doesn’t come across to people so much. Graffiti is a form of  art through which I can show my skills and designs to people even when they are on the move. This is the reason why I want to learn graffiti art,” says Rishab, a 12th standard student, who seemed keen on displaying his artistic skills to art lovers. He feels that being a student, his skills are yet to be noticed.