Aspiring Chennai’s young artists are being wooed to get into an all India art competition. Natural dye exponent, Ruby Jagrut, who has been in this industry for last 20 years, is inviting artistes across India for the third edition of ‘ABIR’ — a platform that promotes and mentors artists across genres. The artists can be between 18 and 35 years of age.
The main purpose of the non-profit initiative is to create a democratic platform where all the artists from India can come together and exhibit their artworks irrespective of the schools, states and the towns they belong to. Sometimes the young talent from small town get missed out or go unnoticed by bigger city people as they may not be representing very famous schools of art.
“I have been hoping to see the best of artworks from Chennai. It’s wonderful to see artists from different states exchange their ideas on a single platform”, shared Jagrut while stating her idea of a common stand inviting diversity.
Those who conducted ABIR First Take thought of giving all the candidates such a platform where they would be judged by celebrity artists. The jury for the year comprises veteran Amit Ambalal (painter & sculptor), Umrao Jaan fame Muzaffar Ali (filmmaker, fashion designer, poet), Ravinder Reddy (national award winning eminent sculptor), Seema Kohli (contemporary Indian artist) and Vijay Bagodi (educationist).
Abir’s effort has been to promote aspiring artists and bridge the gap between the art patrons and upcoming talent by means of its annual exhibition show. The selected artwork will be up for display and sale thus providing exposure for the creation of artists while providing the right patronage too. The winning six awardees from across the country would be invited to Ahmedabad to receive prize along with the display of their artworks.
Sharing her vision, Ruby Jagrut added, “As an artist, I understand the importance of hand-holding and encouraging aspiring talent when they need the most. Lack of right education, mentors, financial resources, galleries and patrons can be daunting. I am thrilled that more than 2,000 artists from 117 cities from across India and abroad have entered Abir contest in last two years. It gives me faith that we are reaching out to the right people who need support and mentorship”.
South Indian cities like Visakhapatnam, Ernakulam, Kochi, Secunderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru, Gulbarga responded vibrantly last year, raising the expectation this year. “What I’ll be looking for in the submitted entries is the ‘wow’ factor, a creation that’s a fusion of beauty and humanity. It’s this fusion that has the capacity to touch the soul,” the eminent artist and jury member, Muzaffar Ali added.
This year’s participation expectation may be around 800 entries. The juries are expected to be in place by August to judge the virtual artworks. Candidates would be asked for the physical artworks at a mentoring session. The final round will take place in October when the winning artists will be awarded.
