Mumbai: Czech Republic Consul General hosts adda for artists in outbreak

Rashmi Jolly, Mumbai’s Consul General to the Czech Republic

Yet another phone call from an artist, asking her to buy his work, got Mumbai's Consul General to the Czech Republic (Maharashtra & Goa) Rashmi Jolly thinking about helping the artist community. One of the hardest hit during the outbreak, artists are finding it difficult to find buyers. Art collectors, "like me," said Jolly, "now have only ceilings empty of art both at the office and at home. After all, how much can an individual buy? That is when I thought of providing a platform so that artists can connect with a larger number of people."

An artwork by participating artist Kumaraswamy B

Outbreak angst
A thought coalesced into action, and Jolly, who is also executive director and vice-chairman of JollyBoard Ltd, and her chairman husband, Arvind Jolly, channelised their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds into an art adda space, beginning on Tuesday (today). Artists will get an opportunity to showcase their work and actually paint in the space. It is a long-term opportunity, which means the adda goes on till March or April 2021. Jolly said, "The adda will be held at our campus in Kanjurmarg East. We have around 16 artists, and we will keep changing the artists every few days. People can walk in, interact with artists and buy directly from them."

Art for all, is the mantra. An artwork by participating artist Sharad Tawde

The buzzword though in these painful pandemic times is, ‘affordable'. Jolly insists this is not just a buzzword bait, but real. The artists, "can eliminate the high commission of 33 per cent that galleries charge by selling directly. Galleries also keep paintings on a consignment basis, so it is not quick payment. The artist community has suffered immensely, as there have been no exhibitions. Here, they get all materials like easels, canvas, paints and their meals, too. They have to bring only their paintbrushes."

Going live
Artist Gautam Patole, part of the organising effort, said, "Not everybody can sell online. You read about big artists selling a painting for Rs 2 crore and Rs 3 crore during the outbreak. The headlines scream about how people are willing to pay that much for one painting even during the pandemic. Only that aspect gets amplified. What about artists whose work costs much less, who do not have name or fame, but have huge talent? One can buy 100, 200 works in that price range, of lesser-known but a very talented, skilled pool of artists. We want to tap that pool." Patole added that artists working on the Kanjurmarg campus, "will be different. People can see art being created in front of them. There are sculptors too. Usually, people think, art? Too pricey or too abstract, esoteric and not relatable. These are stereotypes associated with art. Support to the community means banishing these stereotypes and proving that outbreak or no outbreak, artists can survive," finished Patole.