CHENNAI: Traditional artists, illustrators, handmade home decor items and more will be on display today at the fourth edition of Artflea Mart. The Paper Dolphin, a venture started by Urusha which deals with eco-friendly stationery, is organising this event where more than 30 artists will be featuring their work.
“People do not get a platform, which is reasonably priced, to put up their work. Often, they get space in conventional spaces like art galleries which can be expensive. I want to provide people a platform at a reasonable price,” says Urusha. The idea was conceived two years ago and is conducted once in six months. Urusha has also taken this idea to Bengaluru. So far, around 100 artists have benefitted from this.
She has identified artists on Instagram “I look up artists on Instagram, and if they are good, I approach them. I get them to pay a small amount for the stall, which they can use in any manner they want. They can sell their works, too,” says Urusha. She finds that this method is not so common in the city for artists as most art marts are lifestyle pop-ups which feature one or two of them.
After getting tremendous response from the people of the city, Urusha plans to start workshops as well. She says that in the last three editions in Chennai and one in Bengaluru the crowd have been from different walks of life. “A lot of people who want to decorate their offices or homes are the ones who come to our marts,” she adds.
From dreamcatchers to traditional wall hangings, postcards, everything will be available at this mart. A limited number of food stalls will also be set up to give passionate entrepreneurs a platform. This time, there are two — Bake-labs and The perf ice candy. “They are artists in their own-right,” says Urusha Maher, adding that this time they will also be exhibiting Victorian-Gothic style pen stands. Everything presented at this mart will be handmade goods.
The mart will be held at Humming Room, Nungambakkam, today from 10 am to 8 pm. For details, call: 9840423606