BENGALURU: The bigger the better, thinks every artist about the canvas they work on. And now, Freshtags – a discovery platform to find products by independent homegrown labels – wants to give upcoming artists a 25 ft long wall to showcase their work and creativity. Recently, the team held a paint party on Church Street, diagonally opposite to the Metro station,
which is where their outlet is set to open doors in April. Here, artist Chandra Prabha took to painting a mural on the six-and-a-half-feet high wall, and people passing by were encouraged to join in as well. “We wanted it to be a community event so we also asked youngsters, visitors to Church Street and tourists to pick up the paints and help out,” explains Kartik Uchil, the co-founder of Freshtags, which will launch its store within a 7,000 sq ft bungalow.
In order to sustain continuous efforts, Uchil says this activity will be carried out regularly, with a new upcoming artist taking over every month. “The walls will be whitewashed so that each time, they get a fresh new blank canvas,” he says, adding that this will give them an opportunity to display their work for a month. Work on the current mural began towards the end of last week and saw participation from 55-60 people. Initially, says the co-founder, many people passing by seemed hesitant to take up the task. “But once they saw that the illustration was already marked on the wall,
they joined in and looked really happy that they were able to be a part of this,” he says, adding that the finishing touches, however, were given by the artist. Agrees Prabha, who says that the public participation helped reduce the time spent on the mural. “I am likely to finish the work by this week. If it weren’t for the help I got, I would have taken another week,” says the interior designer and freelance artist, adding that this proved to be a good opportunity for her to try wall art. “There are many artists who haven’t made it big yet. So this exposure is good for those without a gallery,” she says.