S USTAINING A MELTING pot for artists for seven years is not a mean task. Meet Madhuchhanda Sen, the force behind Maya Art Space, who is singlehandedly running the show in the face of shrinking galleries topped with the reigning apathy towards appreciating artists. It was the love for the various forms of art, and the dream to curate them under one roof that convinced the enterprising Sen to set up Maya Art Space at a well-done-up 1500 sq ft space in Rajdanga.
“In today’s day and age, thinking of opening an art gallery is a major challenge, considering the diminishing number of galleries and buyers. Also, being a part of a completely separate professional world, this sphere itself was something extremely new for me,” offers Madhuchhanda, thanking senior artist Ganesh Haloi for his support. She has successfully hosted innumerable exhibitions featuring renowned, as well as emerging artists, besides starting various courses on art, film, photography and music.
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Sen is also reviving the age-old culture of Adda with her initiative Adda @ Maya, held every Wednesday at the gallery premises. Her recent achievement transcended boundaries when the city witnessed Kolkata International Photography Festival that brought works of world-class photographers exhibiting their artwork at different venues in the city. Reflecting on the festival she says, “Involvement of multiple countries, a huge number of photographers, photo enthusiasts with their works displayed physically and digitally at several unconventional venues all across the city, KIPF 2019 was a great seven-day experience for all of us.” With KIPF 2.0 around the corner, she is positive about hosting another edition in 2021.