Camping Out

Stepping into a meeting room in a five star hotel,the last thing you would expect to see is a room full of artists hard at work creating new masterpieces.

The fourteenth edition of the Oberoi Art Camp promises just as much colour and creativity as its predecessors

Stepping into a meeting room in a five star hotel,the last thing you would expect to see is a room full of artists hard at work creating new masterpieces. Unless,of course,the hotel is The Oberoi,Nariman Point,and youve walked in during the The Oberoi Art Camp. Conducted every year with the exception of 2010 for the last 14 years,The Oberoi Art Camp has consistently provided a platform to artists from all over India to work in close proximity with each other,and for audiences to watch the works take shape. This year,the Art Camp began on July 18 and will end with a brunch on July 24.

Since partnering with the Oberoi Hotels in 2003 for this camp,Vibhuraj Kapoor of Gallery Beyond has been the man responsible for bringing in the artists. I already know a lot of these artists by their work, he says. Its just a question of determining whether theyre right for the camp,and a conversation with them can establish that. Each year,the camp brings together relatively young artists,some perhaps still looking to make their mark. And while some artists are invited to attend the camp year after year,each edition sees some fresh faces,too. This time around,for instance,theres Rajan Krishnan who,Kapoor jokes,has become his good luck charm or mascot,having been a participant every year since he took over. Also present are Antonio Ecosta and Puneet Kaushik,who have participated before,too. And then theres photographer Ashish Dubey,a first-time entrant. Also participating are Binoy Verghese,Pritam Bhatty,Santana Gohain,Sanam CN,Jayashree Chakravarty and Manish Pushkale.

The success of the camp,Kapoor tells us,lies in the fact that all of these artists get to work together and,in the process,learn a great deal from each other. Puneet Kaushik echoes the sentiment. All of us are contemporary artists,but we have different styles. This way we get to talk to our contemporaries and learn a lot from them.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram