CHENNAI: What does the vision of an encounter with art conjure up within you? It definitely must reek of exquisitely displayed art in well-lit, aesthetically designed spaces with concept notes and title cards to aid your understanding and price lists tucked away in recesses to aid any further interest. Stylishly dressed art connoisseurs would surely share some space in that vision, wine glasses in hand, and engage in deep conversations with intellectuals of varying degrees or otherwise. This imagination is definitely the reality too. Showcasing art with the respect due, naturally requires beautiful spaces.
Now, envision this: a typical low income housing society with fading walls and grey lives lived out amidst overflowing garbage bins and 5 am brawls over potable water, often sounding like a pre-dawn Ladies Only Orchestra rehearsal. Does this even remotely connect with your earlier air-conditioned one as a space for art? It is almost like trying to fuse a scene from the Titanic with the latest James Bond movie. It simply does not fit, isn’t it?
For art to be truly all-encompassing, it is this very contradiction that has to be bridged. Art must also echo from the chaos of urban life, from dilapidated neighbourhoods where battles of survival ensure that there never is room to pause for myriad coloured moments. Across rural India, many villages have adopted art as a way of life by using it to decorate their humble abodes. Leaving behind our urban mayhem, we go as eager tourists to witness this marvel and return to our dreary cities to take on another exhausting day.
It is heartening, however, to note that several artists groups have taken it as their mission to brighten up community spaces with art that is rooted to the soil. Portraits of local residents, stories from the history of the community, traditions that offer the security of familiarity are all portrayed on dimming buildings, which years ago must have sported whitewashed pride.
St+art India Foundation is one such urban art initiative that gets together contemporary artists from around the world to change city landscapes by creating public art. Trespassers is also a group of artists hailing from Kerala, who bring to life urban structures by painting murals that become an extension of the lives of the inhabitants. In a land that is so accustomed to generously handing over public walls to celebrate those whose stardom makes them unreachable, the Kochi Muziris Biennale, the biggest art exhibition that happens in India every two years attempts to reach out to local residents by making sure of their involvement, while participating artists often adorn the walls with portraits of those whose existence constitutes the character of the town.
So next time, do remember that art experiences could occur anywhere. It’s not always over a glass of champagne; a simple tea down the street would suffice. Let us foster dialogues in such unchartered territories with art. Let us celebrate the Everyday, every single day!