Art Camp 2022: Meet the 75 artists creating live art at Salar Jung Museum

Hyderabad: At Salar Jung Museum, 75 artists are making art for the three-day Art Camp 2022 being organized on the occasion of 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav'. The artists are from various colleges in the city, including University of Hyderabad, JNAFAU College of Fine Arts, Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, and SV College of Fine Arts. They will paint on the theme "Mera Bharat Mahan."

NewsMeter visited the exhibition and spoke to some of the artists.

Kavita Kulkarni, 53, is perhaps one of the oldest artists here. She is the oldest student in her class at SV College of Fine Arts where she is enrolled in the Bachelor's course. When we visited her at the museum on the second day of the art camp on Sunday, she was half done with her teal artwork. She said the first thing that came to her mind when the theme was announced was cultural diversity. "I am working on an acrylic-based art that will depict various cultures in India," she said.

Another student, Sivakumar of Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and a student of Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, was making a mixed portrait of Jyothirao Phule and Savitribai Phule. The focus was on Savitribai. He was painting a portrait of Savitribai against a dark backdrop with a small statue-like figure of Jyotrirao next to her, like light amid the darkness.

"I have always admired both of them. I think they truly reformed the role of women in society," Sivakumar said and added, "Without Savitribai, perhaps women's rights in India would not have evolved."

Beside Sivakumar's dark, eye-catching acrylic portrait, Rajasekhar was working on a more delightful portrait. The first thing that came to his mind was "the iconic village atmosphere." Rajashekar was using various tones of brown on his canvas. He used a very light golden brown for the background to give the painting a rustic feel. His paintings were filled with women and girls – two women can be seen applying haldi on their faces as is done during many south Indian festivals while another woman can be seen taking blessing and a young girl can be seen waiting by a door that's decorated with flowers and other traditional Telugu designs.

"I am from a village close to Mahabubnagar. I genuinely think the unique village culture and atmosphere not only makes everyone feel at home but it is also what makes our country great," said Rajashekar.

Yash Verma, who is mute, was painting a regal green painting. He was using white acrylic paint to make an outline of what looked like the Red Fort. While Yash couldn't speak to us, he typed this: "I am using green to show the rich greenery in India. I am hoping to work around it a little before the end of the camp."

Another artist, Prasuna Akudi, was on a mission to create a color blend and effect that can only be attained with watercolors. However, she was using acrylic paints. "This is an experiment of sorts and is the first time I am doing it," she said. She was painting a rough image of the Varanasi ghats.

M.V Ramana Reddy, the president of Hyderabad Art Society and convenor of Telangana Art Forum, said the camp has helped bring multiple artists together. "A small honorarium is paid to all artists by the museum. We will exhibit all the artworks on Independence Day in various parts of the museum," he said.