Art for All

It was a brush with art of all sorts imaginable on 5th January, 2014, when Chitrakala Parishat, The College of Fine Arts, Bangalore hosted their annual public art event ‘Chitra Santhe’. The term originates from the native Kannada language of the localites, literally translating to ‘ Art Bazaar’. The event brought together over 2000 amateur and professional artists from all over the country for the mega one day event exhibiting paintings, sculptures, murals, installations and mixed media art works throughout the day.

The main highlight of Chitra Santhe is the idea of taking art beyond the confines of the 4 walls of a gallery, the event is spread over the entire college campus and the stretch of Kumara Krupa Road, which is blocked for the event with permission from authorities. The entire street becomes the platform for numerous artists showcasing their works, and for live portraiture and caricature sessions for those who want to take a quirky memento back with them. In this context, the event underlined by the thought ‘Art for All’  has become the common man’s festival of celebrating art in Bangalore. The remarkable talent and infectious enthusiasm can only get bigger and better, so all I was thinking of when the event concluded was about what we could expect from Chitra Santhe 2015. For which, I can only wait and watch, and I already am, eagerly. Here are a few glimpses from the art festival that went by.

The art of choosing joy.
An enthusiastic little spectator reacting to a cartooning session.

An artist overlooking the crowd from his display area

A section of paintings on display

The entry point to the college campus, from the display of art on the streets

A close up from a sculpture of The Buddha on display
Also had the chance to interact with the sculptor behind this magnificent piece made of fibre glass which gave me some interesting insights to the casting procedure