Art for a cause

Walls of Lexicon Art gallery displayed the vivid artworks by several artists at the preview of the charity art group exhibition titled ‘Art from Heart 2.0’. 30 artists from throughout the country have come together for the show, which is being held in collaboration with Round Table India. 

The pieces that will be on exhibit are works of some famous artists such as Vinita Karim, Dinkar Jadhav, G. Subramaniam,  Arpan Bhowmik, Avijit Dutta, Bandana Kumari, Bhaskar Rao, Bolgum Nagesh Goud.

According to Manish Lakhotia, National President of Round Table India, “We are excited to work together with The Lexicon Arts once more to support our numerous social causes. While funds were redirected in 2020 to assist COVID victims, we want to transfer them this year to our long-term project, ‘Freedom Through Education’. Through this effort, we have taught almost 9 million underprivileged children throughout India and built one classroom a day, every day, for the past ten years.”

When asked about the event’s vision and goals, Mamta Nath, Founder & Director, The Lexicon Art, told Patriot, “The exhibition aims at representing India’s diverse and rich cultural heritage while raising funds to support Round Table India’s multiple community service activities being carried out across India.” The first event in a series was held online in April 2020 to generate donations for COVID victims and their families. 

Nath goes on to say that the profits from this event would be used to help educate kids. “Every painting that we sell, will directly educate a child. It’s wonderful to see the creative community coming together for such good causes. We are eager to continue with this yearly event in order to have a greater influence on lives”, she says.

Swati Pasari, who hails from Kolkata, is a participating artist and the co-curator of the event. She says, “While I love to focus on making full of life and spiritual artworks to disseminate positivity in the atmosphere, I feel equally pleased to be a part of art events that give back to society and aid the less privileged.”

Talking about her work, Pasari told Patriot, “I’m displaying two sculptures and one painting. My sculptures depict a sense of celebrating life. That’s the theme I’ve been working on. The sculptures and paintings are made of acrylic. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that our creativity can bring joy to so many people’s lives.” 

She adds that the event has just started and they’ve already sold 10 paintings, three of which were pre-booked. “But to see the fact that people are coming to give it back to society in whatever way they can is overwhelming”, she says.

Vinita Karim, an artist known for turning cities into artwork, shares the idea behind her work and says, “I like turning cities into artwork. If only one could reverse the process and enter my dreamy abstract cityscapes. My artwork is my memory of tripoli, Berne Nuremburg, Manila, Stockholm, Cairo, and an underwater city that not many people know of.”

She further adds that she takes advantage of her ever changing surroundings and tries to portray them on the canvas. “It’s all just an amalgamation of my journey and experiences that I like to showcase to the audience. It’s made up of different elements. That’s what makes it more interesting.”

Patriot alsoO interviewed the chief guest, Naseer Abdullah, a veteran Indian actor. Popularly known for his roles in Main hoon na, Om Shanti om, Taxi No 9211 and the 1982 film Gandhi. The actor has been a part of over 50 movies and series and was a very popular model during the 80’s. 

He recently moved out of Bombay and was earlier living in Delhi for over a decade. “It is a wonderful experience to be here, and the most amazing thing about being associated with the art fraternity is that it forces you to change your perception about things and gives you new opinions”, he says.

Abdullah acknowledged his appreciation for art and craftsmanship. “I have always been attracted to art,” the actor told Patriot. “Whenever I am invited to an exhibition, I make every effort to attend and explore the many works. I appreciate attending these events because they take my mind off of other things and help me alter my mood. I’m also a musician and enjoy playing the flute in my spare time. Therefore, I’ve always had a strong appreciation for art”, he adds. 

When asked about the influence of art on his cinematic path, Abdullah answers, “They’re both very distinct elements of my life, and I try to keep them separate. What I’ve done throughout my career is the vision and inspiration of my director, not mine. It’s simply a job for me. I play my part, whether it’s that of a cop, a robber, a father, or an uncle. I’d prefer not to have my job interfere with my personal choices. It helps me to keep the process simple.”

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