BENGALURU: From working odd jobs and begging to creating a mural for Facebook’s headquarters in California, Chandra Hosur’s journey has been filled with many bumps. But now, Chandri -- as she is fondly referred to by everyone she knows - is leading a life she loves, thanks to finding kinship and community with fellow members of Aravani Art Project, an art collective that creates safe spaces for the transgender community.
“Before joining the community in 2017, I had a different life. I was a sex worker and also was begging for my livelihood. But now, I don’t. My life has changed. I do murals, paint and love the life I lead,” says the city-based transwoman, who along with six others, presented photos at a photography exhibition, organised by Aravani Art Project.
Though discussions on transgender rights are entering mainstream discourse and the visibility of transgender people is increasing in daily life, they still face discrimination and stigma. But over the last few months, the members have been learning to capture their stories and Bengaluru, its people and moments, using photography.
Aravani Art Project has been spearheaded by Poornima Sukumar, who started it in 2016. Going down memory lane, Poornima -- a muralist, community artist and documentary photographer -- recalls how in 2014 she worked on a film about the transgender community. In the process, she came across the harsh reality of how transwomen are treated in society. But she also met some transwomen who moved on with their lives.
This ‘life-altering experience’ led to the origin of the art collective, which was formed with a grant commissioned by India Foundation of the Arts. “Initially, I started with just five transwomen and now I’m working with around 30 from Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai,” says Poornima. So far, the collective has already completed around 60 murals. If you are a daily commuter on Kasturba Road, don’t forget to check out the mural on the compound walls of the under-construction building of the Museum of Art and Photography, which was made by these transwomen after the lockdown was eased.
While art is at the heart of the community, it is not limited to just paints and brushstrokes. In their latest venture, the team of Aravani Art Project has collaborated with Kanike Studios, an art collective, for a photography exhibition, Kathegala Kanive, which means Valley of Stories. This continued till March 4, at Kanike Studios, Cooke Town.
The project started a month ago when the members were trained in photography. They then got to document their life in Bengaluru and how it has changed. The project took Chandri back to the first time she came to her rented house in Marathahalli. “I wanted to capture how the landowners used to treat us when some others and I started staying there. In the beginning it was different but now they have warmed up to us. They talk to us like any other tenants,” says Chandri.
“It’s the first time that they had an exhibition like this. The idea was to show the world what they were capable of,” says Poornima. Ecstatic about the exhibition, Chandri could not be thankful enough to Poornima who lent her camera to the team for the project. “Poornima lent her camera to us to practise and we took turns to complete our projects,” she says. “Getting a camera of my own is going to take some time,” she says. She too believes that a picture is worth a thousand words.