Eleven artists at No 10, Banjara Hills: how this gallery is putting Hyderabad on India’s art map

In Part II of our photo essay on Kalakriti Art Gallery, we feature artist insights from the exhibition titled ‘Alchemy of Memories.’

PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 200 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.

Kalakriti Art Gallery in Hyderabad is hosting an exhibition this month with the theme ‘Alchemy of Memories,’ featuring the works of eleven artists. Earlier exhibitions were titled Beyond Bards, Trending Tweets, Double Helix, Bracket, Ensemble, Kaleidoscope, Eyeconics, Explorations, Tale of Two Cities, City of Memories, Sound of Silence, Sight and Insight, Tradition and Transition, and Soaring beyond the Self.

The art gallery showcases both established and emerging artists, according to curator Ruchi Sharma (see her interview in Part I of our photo essay). Participating artists in the residency programme come from all over India.

“Becoming an artist is a form of success in itself,” said Delhi-based artist Akshita Aggarwal, in a chat with YourStory. She does not come from an artistic family, but has exhibited her works in more than ten cities around India over the past eleven years of her artistic journey.

“Success is judged by yourself as well as your audience,” she explains. But artists should never give up their ability to explore themselves even if it means staying away from the commercial limelight for a while, she adds.

One of the best parts of art is how it sparks off different emotions and interpretations in the audience, says Akshita. She admires the power of art as an expressive medium beyond what can be articulated through written or spoken language. “But being an artist is not easy, it requires you to raise yourself to a certain creative potential,” she cautions.

“Artists must be loyal to their form – art is a form of worship,” adds Vadodara-based artist Ekta Singha. Art is a form of narrative, and captures the way an artist sees and feels over the years. “Artists should not always be giving society what it wants – they need to be ahead of society and beyond other forms of communication,” she adds.

Art appreciation requires habit and a sense of context, but the Indian education system needs to do a better job of inculcating artistic appreciation and skills, she says. Fortunately, her father is an art teacher, and she has been in environments that nourish art. Cities such as Hyderabad are taking steps in the right direction to promote art, Ekta sums up.

Now what have you done today to find an environment that nourishes art, or to create such an environment yourself?

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