A portal for unsung artists
Hues N Strokes attempts to host and sell art works of artists from two tier and three tier cities.
Anita Wadhwani has spent the last few months walking up to art colleges across the country and knocking on the doors of the deans of those institutions. The object of her peregrinations is to gather a list of artists belonging to each State in India, especially those in tier two and three cities. Once she has the names, Anita plans to call each artist on that list and convince them to allow Hues N Strokes (www.huesnstrokes.com), an art portal set up by Anita and Akshay Verma, an artist, to host, market and sell art works from across the country.
“Over a period of time, the art world has come to be dominated by a select few and art has become unaffordable. What I realised is that there are a number of artists who come from smaller cities but do not know how to market themselves. Be it because they are from vernacular backgrounds or economically weaker sections, they often go unnoticed. They need a national platform to showcase their art,” she argues.
And so, Anita tracked artists like Parul Golcha, for instance. Golcha is from Katni in Madhya Pradesh. “Parul had to struggle a lot to be an artist. The fact that she is a woman from a smaller town made it difficult for her to survive as an artist. I’m looking to find more artists like her who could benefit from a gateway like ours,” explains Anita.
So far, Anita has managed to convince around 85 artists to send their art works to the portal. The portal handles the logistics in terms of shipping and marketing and also ensures the money from the sale of art reaches the artists.
“I have sensed an eagerness from the artists with whom I have interacted with so far. They have so much passion for the work they do but there isn’t enough money to support their dream,” says Anita.
The long term goal for the portal, Anita explains is not just to ensure the sale of art works but also to effectuate a space which will facilitate a steady means of income for artists. “We are considering a tie-up with architectural companies and projects. They can choose an artist from our portal to work with them for a couple of projects. Right now, there is hardly any synergy between art and architecture. So, the portal will not just be about selling one painting but about securing a regular livelihood for these artists,” explains Anita.
Anita Wadhwani has spent the last few months walking up to art colleges across the country and knocking on the doors of the deans of those institutions. The object of her peregrinations is to gather a list of artists belonging to each State in India, especially those in tier two and three cities. Once she has the names, Anita plans to call each artist on that list and convince them to allow Hues N Strokes (www.huesnstrokes.com), an art portal set up by Anita and Akshay Verma, an artist, to host, market and sell art works from across the country.
“Over a period of time, the art world has come to be dominated by a select few and art has become unaffordable. What I realised is that there are a number of artists who come from smaller cities but do not know how to market themselves. Be it because they are from vernacular backgrounds or economically weaker sections, they often go unnoticed. They need a national platform to showcase their art,” she argues.
And so, Anita tracked artists like Parul Golcha, for instance. Golcha is from Katni in Madhya Pradesh. “Parul had to struggle a lot to be an artist. The fact that she is a woman from a smaller town made it difficult for her to survive as an artist. I’m looking to find more artists like her who could benefit from a gateway like ours,” explains Anita.
So far, Anita has managed to convince around 85 artists to send their art works to the portal. The portal handles the logistics in terms of shipping and marketing and also ensures the money from the sale of art reaches the artists.
“I have sensed an eagerness from the artists with whom I have interacted with so far. They have so much passion for the work they do but there isn’t enough money to support their dream,” says Anita.
The long term goal for the portal, Anita explains is not just to ensure the sale of art works but also to effectuate a space which will facilitate a steady means of income for artists. “We are considering a tie-up with architectural companies and projects. They can choose an artist from our portal to work with them for a couple of projects. Right now, there is hardly any synergy between art and architecture. So, the portal will not just be about selling one painting but about securing a regular livelihood for these artists,” explains Anita.
==================================
