Eat, paint and get hitched at this singles event
BENGALURU: Are you away from home and working in Bengaluru?
Do you often feel lonely and need a companion to confide in? For Rashmi Kothari, art was her escape that connected her to her home in Bengaluru when she was living away in USA years ago. Now back, she connects people through art.
“Art is therapeutic and I am just creating a therapeutic environment with it,” says Rashmi who is the founder of Paint-O-Holics, an art events company. About ten months ago Rashmi initiated events called the ‘All Singles Assemble for Art’.
These are events of three hour “structured like a course” where you learn while you paint, eat, drink and socialise with people around you, says Rashmi.
It involves mini-games as a means to socialise in between working and creating pieces of art. “One can meet like-minded people in creative environments,” says Rashmi, who also met her husband through an art exhibition. She, however, states that the event is not a dating platform. It is a place to make friends through art.
Even though Rashmi holds an MBA degree, she has been a painter for the last two decades. She has been organising informal art get-togethers since the past seven years but little did she realise that she was bringing people together. It has been about eight months since she started the ‘All Singles Assemble for Art’ events.
“It has been pretty successful so far,” she says. “Earlier we used to get together and we did not even call it an event, but the process of strangers bonding through art was quite fascinating,” she shares.
From being in Hyderabad to studying in Boston and living in Los Angeles, Rashmi has
always made friends through art, she claims.
“When you are away from home, of course you miss your parents but you also miss people you never thought you would miss, such as colleagues, helpers and neighbours,” says Rasmi. “Art connected me to home,” she further adds. In a matter of two months in the US, Rashmi had her exhibitions running in the Hollywood Boulevard.
Besides painting, Rashmi is also a communication expert. “I ensure that all the participants in the event talk to each other,” she says. “The entire programme is structured so even if you do not connect with anyone, you get to take home a beautiful piece of art,” she says.
It is not necessary that the participant know art. From the right way to hold a brush to dabbing in different paints, many things will be taught in her events.Rashmi says art is not exclusively for artists but is open to all.
Art Event
Rashmi’s upcoming single’s event is on July 29 at Dialogue’s JP Nagar.