Far from the madding crowd of the city and hassles of daily life, a group of young artists transform a 1,500 sq ft wall of stone into a piece of art. Braving the heat and humidity on a July afternoon, they covered the wall with memories of their childhood, as the Aura Art Stay, an art residency for artists, opened its doors this month with a graffiti workshop. Set in a three-acre farmhouse at Manipur Sahrif in Mohali, Aura Art Stay houses 12 artists. They will be provided accommodation, a 1,000-sq ft studio space and all facilities for pottery, metal work, painting, woodwork, air-brushing and sculpture for only Rs 2,000 per day. Anuja Lath, the founder of Aura Art Stay, said: “For long, we felt the need for a space like this for promotion of art in the region and to give artists from across the country a platform to work, exhibit their creativity and also to interact with and support younger artists.” [related-post] A graduate from the Government College of Arts in Chandigarh, where she specialised in advertising, art has remained an integral part of Anuja and her husband Atul Gupta’s life in spite of being busy running a successful business enterprise. She added that the need to be surrounded by art and also fulfill her own urge to create art made Aura take shape. “The residency will help the artists create a market for their art, as we will be exhibiting the work they create here, keeping only 20 per cent of the sale for expenses towards the showcase,” she said. Lath said she hopes to get buyers to sponsor the stay of the artists at Aura and also buy their works. To promote young artists and activities at Aura, Lath has lined up a series of events involving international artists and also senior professionals from across the country. Designed as an eco-friendly space, Lath said the residency will give artists time away from the cities to enjoy the solitude and silence and also establish a connect with artists from various backgrounds. Another such residency, Healing Hills Art Collective in the Morni Hills, was set up by painter and teacher Harpreet Singh last year. Situated on a hill and near a river, the residency invites artists from across the country and world to collaborate on projects of art creation, with performance art being the major area of exploration. The residency also has boarding, lodging and work facilities for them. Recently, 17 international artistes presented talks and performances as a part of Morni Hills Performance Art Biennale. “The effort is to inspire local artistes and audiences, create a space for meaningful interactions, view and exchange ideas, bridge gaps between artistes and audiences, and most importantly have a place where artistes can create work without any pressure and in a stimulating environment,” said Harpreet. At the Rang Manch Bhawan in Amritsar, theatre artistes from across the country find a stage to rehearse, perform, collaborate and create productions. Theatre director Kewal Dhaliwal had set up this residency in 2000 for artistes to take part in workshops on various aspects of theatre, which culminate in festivals. The residency can house 100 people, with provisions for costumes, technical and design aspects of a production, kitchens and a performance area, all this for free. Dhaliwal encourages artistes to experiment, work with each other, with every year young artiste from Pakistan being part of workshops. “When I passed out from the National School of Drama and came back to Punjab, I felt the lack of a place to have the freedom to rehearse and interact. Over a decade, I set up the residency, now a centre stage for many acts, with many theatre personalities from Chandigarh being part of the activities here,” said Dhaliwal.
