‘A creative career can be tough, but nothing can stop you if you have the passion’ – Mallika Prakash, Moto-Art 2018

This former computer engineer has assembled a cast of 12 artists for her inaugural motorcycle art show at the Peepletree Art Gallery, as showcased in Part II of our photo essay.

PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 190 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.

Mallika Prakash is the founder and curator of India’s first Motorcycle Art Show, being held at Peepletree Art Gallery, Bengaluru. The “moto art” exhibition features 80 arts work by 12 motorcycle aficionados and fans of outdoor riding across India (see the photographs and quotes in Part I of this essay here).

“I actually crashed the first motorcycle I rode,” she joked, in a chat with YourStory – but that did not prevent her from indulging in her love for motorcycles and art. Mallika studied computer engineering at Manipal Institute of Technology, Illinois Institute of Technology, and University of Southern California.

She worked at Oracle, Fulcrum, and Silistix – and also began motorcycle riding and selling her art works in San Francisco. She was part of the SpaceCraft Art Collective, and her first curated show was ‘Science and Fiction.’

“It can be tough to take up art as a career, because not many artists understand or want to do business and public relations,” Mallika observed. “It can also be stressful because you meet many art lovers - but not many of them are art buyers,” she cautioned.

Mallika’s other interests include collaborative dance and art, with Duniya Dance and Drum Company. Moto-Art 2018 included a dance performance by biker Archana Kumar (see video here). Mallika’s art shows in India have also raised funds for causes such as hornbill conservation.

She has cultivated a devoted community of art lovers for her projects, such as Joshua John (founder of the Delhi Bikers Festival) and Nidhi Agarwal (Japan-based designer at Yamaha). The exhibiting artists include the Hyderabad brothers known as Hamerred49 and Ironic88 (metal sculptures) and Heardrush_art (acrylic paintings). Gallery owner Aigars Liepins, a Latvian artist, is himself an avid biker and photographer.

“Success means that I can keep challenging myself and make a living as a full time moto-artist. I think I’m halfway there already as I was able to transition to the art world from a corporate job,” Mallika explains. “The biggest challenge now is to sell art. We all have bills to pay,” she jokes.

Supporting partners of the exhibition include Triumph Motorcycles India. Motorcycling represents a new attitude to live life to the full, according to Vimal Sumbly, MD, Triumph.

“A creative career can be tough, but nothing can stop you if you have the passion,” Mallika sums up. “Art means everything to me. I have no Plan B,” she signs off.

Now what have you done today to figure out what your next Plan A or Plan B should be?

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