HYDERABAD: Yesterday was October 2 the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. And among the usual celebrations on the national leader who was born 150 years ago, there are several online events especially by the practitioners of art. Hyderabad-based artist Farhad Tamkanat was invited to paint a live portrait commissioned by National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi. Says the artist, who is also the son of the late Shaaz Tamakanat, the celebrated Hyderabadi poet, “I went live for an online workshop cum exhibition on Facebook.
What I created will be put on display as part of a separate exhibition by NGMA.” He painted a figure in acrylic on canvas. It took him a few hours to complete the work. “I had to work really fast to paint. The opus will be printed in an e-catalogue which might later turn into a physical collection. This is the first time I took part in a one-day art camp,” says the artist.
The one-day digital art camp brought together a host of young artists from several other states together. Adds Farhad, “In online camps, it’s difficult to see what the others are doing, especially when you have artists in the camp like Jogen Chowdhury, Gogi Sarosh, Rameshwar Broota among others.”