Canvas Conversations: SG Vasudev opens up about Art Park's latest edition in Bengaluru
Conceptualised in 2014 by senior artist SG Vasudev, Art Park is a cultural initiative that takes place on the first Sunday of every month. This month, Art Park will feature 28 renowned and upcoming artists. We speak to SG Vasudev and Nalini Malaviya, one of the curators, to find out all you need to know about this upcoming art extravaganza.
“Almost two years before the conceptualisation of Art Park, I had thought about it. Not the name ‘Art Park’ but the idea. I felt that many people don’t go to art galleries and they were also afraid to talk to the artists. I was then talking to some of my artist friends and we decided that we need to do something about it so that people would feel comfortable coming and sitting with the artists and seeing their work. For the first edition, we invited about 30 artists from Bengaluru. It was very successful from then on because people had the opportunity to talk to the artists all day and also watch them working,” SG Vasudev begins.
Sharing her thoughts on how the upcoming edition is different from the previous ones, Nalini says, “This time, the idea was to bring in more women artists for this particular event. That was a challenge actually, but we managed. Almost half the artists who are participating are female artists. The other thing that we wanted to ensure was that we have more senior members and artists because it’s a great opportunity for the general public as well as art students to come and meet artists, while they work on their art.”
One of the primary objectives of Art Park is to create an informal interaction between the audience and artists. When asked if such a setting has helped increase the number of visitors to Art Park, SG Vasudev says that it has varied over the years. “It depends. Sometimes there are a lot of people and sometimes hardly 10 or 15 people show up. It can happen both ways. But it has never come in between the enthusiasm of the artists. Also, artists don’t usually get to meet each other. So, such a platform helps in the interaction of different artists which always leads to meaningful conversations,” he adds.
The earlier editions have featured poets who would come and read their poems. Sometimes, musicians are also invited and they perform at Art Park. The idea is to accommodate other related arts too. Choosing the right set of artists for a cultural initiative like Art Park is of utmost importance. When asked about how she decided on the list of artists who should be part of Art Park this season, the curator says, “Since I work as an art curator, I have curated several shows and I’m in touch with almost all artists in Bengaluru. I made a list and Pradeep Kumar DM (the second curator) made a list and then we went through it and that was not difficult at all. We are grateful that we have so many talented artists, established artists and young artists in Bengaluru and we are also very fortunate that they agreed to come and be a part of it.”
Entry free. September 3, 11 am to 5 pm. At Ravindra Kalakshetra Complex, The Sculpture Garden (Shilpavana), JC Road.
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