2 Women leave their mark on wall art drive
Artists rue huge gap between art and public in state
ThIruvananthapuram: Colourful wall art is slowly taking shape across the wall of the University stadium. Emerging artists Rachana Vijith and Charutha Raghunath are the only women among the bunch of artists roped in by the Tourism Department for Arteria, the initiative which aims at beautifying street walls in the state capital. Both of them feel that surviving with a creative profession in Kerala is a tough task.
Her desire to carve a niche for herself in the world of art prompted Rachana Vijith, born and brought up in Trivandrum, to leave her native place soon after completion of her graduation course at Fine Arts College here. Her wall art ‘Hi Trivandrum’ based on images of every landmark structure in the state capital is grabbing attention.
Rachana feels that in Kerala there is a huge gap between the art and the public. “It’s tough for artists to survive in Kerala. My father is an artist and I have this strong passion for art from childhood.
After completion of the course I had to go Bangalore to take up art as a profession. But I always wanted to come back here and do my bit to promote art and help promote aspiring artists. My husband too is an artist and we started a company here,” says Rachana, who is the mother of a three and a half-year- old child.
“There is no gallery to showcase talents and we don’t have an industry here. There is no marketing or buyers to encourage artists,” laments Rachana.
While, young and vibrant Charutha Reghunath — a lecturer in Fine Arts College — has worked day and night to finish her wall art. “I work five hours a day to finish my wall art. I teach applied arts at the Fine Arts College and I use the mornings and evenings to complete my wall art ‘Elephan-tine Kerala’,” said Charu-tha. She feels that Arteria has opened up a huge platform for aspiring artists.