‘Artdom’: A collaborative art project brings together female artists from two countries with varying levels of women’s rights

The premise is simple: One woman artist starts a painting, and another woman artist in a different part of the world finishes it. The artists have never met or met briefly; they communicate solely through their work.

“The idea of Artdom is for the artists to have faith in each other through the artistic process, courage to be in a creative dialogue with artists from other parts of the world, create new angles, and establish a stronger voice together. Their artwork is a message about freedom, feminism and equality — about a world where no geographical barriers and unjust laws hinder women from expressing themselves. Each year, we focus on two countries with contrasting levels of women’s rights,” she said.

L to R-Atia Sen, Arghavan Agida (Source: The Quorum)

With a focus on women’s rights at its core, the project aims to inspire action and advocacy for women’s rights, by engaging audiences and visitors to the exhibit in a meaningful and thought-provoking way. “It also aims to encourage them to take action or support organisations working towards women’s rights and gender equality,” Arghavan mentioned.

This year, which is the third edition of the art project, Artdom focuses on women’s rights in India and the United Kingdom, with 18 Indian and UK artists coming up with 9 unique art pieces. Notably, the Global Gender Gap Index for 2022 by the World Economic Forum (WEF) — that “benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions (Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment)” — ranked India at 135 out of 146 countries. The UK, on the other hand, stood strong in the 27th position.

Similarly, the Gender Inequality Index (GII) 2021-22 — a composite metric of gender inequality using three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment, and the labour market — had Indian ranking 122 out of 191 countries. Whereas, the UK secured a much higher 27th position. While the two countries display a vast difference when it comes to their positioning in women’s rights, they demonstrate a shared history and a deep relationship. This is what led the artist to pick them for this year’s edition.

“I chose India and UK because these two countries have a deep relationship and shared history, and such a project helps to create a deeper understanding and appreciation for different cultures and ways of life. The artworks also challenge the viewers’ assumptions and perspectives on women’s rights issues, and encourage them to reflect on their own roles and responsibilities in promoting gender equality and social justice,” she said. The artists who are being paired for this edition are, Rosso Emerald Crimson and Nilisha Phad, Melissa Magg and Nidhi Mariam Jacob, Anna Sudbina and Premila Singh, Sarah Jarrett and Manjri Varde, Amy Dury and Sej, Naila Hazell and Atia Sen, Jackie Berridge and Monica Ghule, Harriet Pattinson and Bhakti Lad, and Mahshad Afshar and Karishma Wadhwa.

L to R-Manjri Varde, Arghavan Agida (Source: The Quorum)

Along with Harriet Pattinson, Bhakti Lad has created a mermaid — as a scared feminine goddess of love — in her work. “In the ocean, she feels free and independent, even though the waters are wild. She feels independent as there’s no power being asserted over her. As an artist, the mermaid in my painting holds her hand, not just in solidarity but also taking her to a realm of love, self-realisation and enlightenment,” Lad told indianexpress.com, adding that her painting is about individual being, “a unique phenomenon within which lives its own process of creation with internal and external interaction.”

While many may believe her painting is from a woman’s perspective, the artist asserts that the feeling is universal. “Bodies are dissected in society but also how we dissect them ourselves. Women should hold onto their values and not compromise when it comes to how we live our lives,” she said.

For Lad, it was initially concerning to work on a project without even knowing about the art form. “But, after getting the canvas and painting, I ended up coming up with a mermaid as both the artists are female and they both share their stories in the same form and could relate to each other behind the boundaries,” she said.

Indian artist Karishma Wadhwa, who collaborated with UK-based Mahshad Afshar, created an artwork titled ‘Shakti’. “This artwork aims at equality, harmony and balance for all in society. It highlights the rising of the female energy and finding her home,” she said, adding that her interaction with Afshar was very brief and she was told by her that she had complete freedom to work on the canvas. “That is all an artist needs,” Wadhwa shared.

According to Arghavan, this year’s “unique artworks are likely to stimulate important conversations and debates around women’s rights and gender equality and inspire action and advocacy for positive social change.

The artworks will be exhibited in London and Oslo later this year (Source: The Quorum)

A preview of the artworks, which will be exhibited in London and Oslo later this year, was held in Mumbai’s The Quorum last month. “When Artdom brought this project to us, we were immediately keen to pursue it. It’s such an unusual way of expression because it requires cooperation, it requires two different countries and two different artists working together on one piece and we wanted to bring this experience to members of The Q,” Saloni Puri, Director of Programming, The Quorum, told indianexpress.com.

For the previous two editions of Artdom, Arghavan had brought together artists from Iran and Sweden, and Pakistan and Norway. In the Global Gender Gap Index 2022 rankings, Iran was placed in the 143rd position and Sweden was ranked 5th. Similarly, while Pakistan was ranked 145th, Norway took the third spot. As per the 2021-2022 GII report, while Iran was ranked 115, Sweden took the 4th spot. Pakistan and Norway were ranked 135 and 2 respectively.

“There is also a strong relationship and affinity between the six of Artdom’s chosen collaborative countries so far, considering the geographical location and common history/conflicts. Sweden, Norway, England (going west) versus Iran, Pakistan, India (going east),” according to the project’s official website.

Talking about the project’s previous editions, Arghavan said that the previous artworks have addressed a range of issues related to women’s rights, including gender inequality, violence against women, and human rights. “The artists involved in the project have used a variety of media and styles, such as painting, sculpture and mix media, to convey their messages and perspectives on these issues,” she said.

The artist urged art lovers and others to consider partaking in this exhibit focused on women’s rights for several reasons. “Firstly, the exhibit can provide a unique opportunity to engage with important issues related to women’s rights and gender equality through the medium of art. Art has the power to convey complex ideas and emotions in a way that is accessible and impactful and can help us to see issues from a different perspective. Secondly, the exhibit can foster cross-cultural understanding and dialogue between different communities, which can be particularly important in the context of women’s rights issues, which can vary greatly across different cultural and social contexts,” she concluded by saying.

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