Entry Point: A common platform for art students

Rishi Kochar’s photograph of Indus

The photograph of a picturesque sunset in Ladakh taken by Rishi Kochar last June had always been one of his favourites. “This is the Indus river, it’s from here that India gets its name,” says the student of architecture at Sushant School of Art and Architecture, Gurgaon. Last month, he decided to put it out for public review. It was one of the five entries through which he hoped to win a place at Prarambh. Touted as India’s first students’ arts festival, the three-day festival, which begins today at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, will feature works of students from art colleges across India, including Shantiniketan, Delhi College of Art, Jamia Millia Islamia University and Faculty of Fine Arts (MSU, Baroda). Kochar is one among the 200 art students who will showcase their works.

“It will be a platform for young students of visual arts to showcase their talent and receive market exposure. They can receive critical feedback from peers, experts and public. Through the works of their contemporaries, they will be exposed to different approaches and philosophies in art,” says Ujjwal Ankur, co-founder, The Art Route. He has established the Delhi-based organisation with Lubna Sen, an art collector with corporate experience.

“There are many art students who graduate every year. This is an opportunity for collectors to spot young talent,” says Sen. Curated by the duo, the works were initially submitted independently by art students. Of the 400 students, around 180 were shortlisted and over 300 works will be on display.

For the participants, the fair is a platform to break into the gallery circuit. Mohammad Hussain of Jamia Millia University says, “I come from a slum area in south Delhi and started painting as a signboard painter with my uncle when I was 12. Sometimes I sold corn on the street with my 10-year-old sister. This opportunity to showcase my paintings is like a godsend for me.” Meanwhile, Kochar is hopeful to get his first buyer. Like many others perhaps.