Art and hope have always gone hand-in-hand — be it Vincent Van Gogh’s love for yellow, or Frida Kahlo’s haunting self-portraits documenting her body after a near-fatal accident. Taking a leaf out of their lives, literally and metaphorically, Art for Akanksha emphasises art as a vehicle of hope, education and upliftment. Students and alumni of Akanksha Foundation have displayed their art for the first time at 47-A, starting today where they have taken inspiration from the greats, translating their own lives into the artistic language of another.
At this exhibition, How the Akanksha Children Found Their Colours, you will spot familiar paintings adapted to Mumbai’s landscapes, from Van Gogh’s Starry Night being reimagined as the Mumbai skyline, to Cubist renditions of the city’s chawls, each giving a little peek into the journeys of the children who create them.
A student’s reimagined version of the Gateway of India in Vincent Van Gogh’s style
“We tried to step into the shoes of artists and look at our world through their eyes and suddenly the world looks very, very different,” shares Ruchika Gupta, senior director of Art, Akanksha Foundation, while shedding light on how the show brings the stories of children from underserved communities to the forefront through their art.
“The art in the show is a collection of close to 30 years of the programme. This felt like the perfect year to put it out there,” Gupta reveals as the show represents the artistic journey of 15,000 students. She elaborates that it also ties into foundation’s greater effort to transform the public education system, “Rather than treating art as an extracurricular activity, we use arts-integrated learning as a strategy for systemic change within public schools. Our mission is to make schools more joyful, inclusive, creative, and student-centred — especially for children from underserved communities.”
Ruchika Gupta and Srila Chatterjee
Srila Chatterjee, founder of 47-A, shares the same belief in art as a tool for change, “This is their show, but we present it with great pride, because at the heart of everything is the conviction that art can truly make the most profound difference.”
TILL June 7; 11 am to 7 pm
AT 47-A, Khotachiwadi, Girgaon.
FREE
Artist to artist
Akanksha Foundation’s students share how different artists have changed their outlook on the world, thus inspiring their own art
Suraj Ravan, 13,
I don’t really understand SH Raza but I have learnt that it’s alright to not always understand things. It’s okay to just feel things.
Rekha Parki, 14,
Georgia O’Keeffe has taught me that you cannot look at people from the outside and decide who they are. You have to get to know them and go deeper.
Sheron Tambe, 13,
Through my Banksystyle stencil art, I want to send out a strong message that we need trees to breathe and fight climate change. We must grow more trees and protect the ones we have.
