Introduction
Three words, Satyam Shivam Sundaram are a link to the value system for Indian Arts. In India, any classical and traditional art form is a medium to connect oneself to the divine. The first known piece of art, found in Bhimbetka rock shelters, in Madhya Pradesh is 30,000 years old. The Indus Valley Age and the Vedic Age put a very strong foundation for the development of Arts in various other forms such as Literature and Architecture. Our guest, Pratibha Iyer, Founder of Pratima Arts and Aarts Maestro is passionate about the cause of art and artists and works towards solving the problem of access, recognition and fair price for art. Pratibha means “inspiration’ and her company, Pratima Arts, seeks to create and offer an ecosystem for the support of art and artists.
Transition from a Corporate Career to Arts
An art lover, Pratibha says “it is always a part of everything I do.” Raised in an environment where music and dance were always there, had a profound impact on her mind and heart. Always inclined towards the arts, Pratibha took a sabbatical to travel around India and it gave her a perspective on her purpose. Boldly, with no support system nor established lineage to venture into the “art industry”, Pratibha took the plunge.
Pratibha attended dance shows, book reviews and other such cultural shows and write about them. She also started showing her work around and gradually they started getting appreciated, some of them being even published. “Art is a way of living”. Art is more than visual art or a “piece of painting” and includes art as expression with theater, acting, dancing and photography to “rangoli”, a very ephemeral art form to clothes and fashion.
Only a few artists are successful, while a vast majority is still struggling and eventually the artist and their art gets lost into oblivion. Their struggle is often romanticised.
The Pain and Inner Motivation
“There is a huge dichotomy in the industry”. Commercial success is important as we live in a world where validation comes through money. And what separates the immensely successful people from people who were aspiring to be successful was not so much talent, rather it is opportunities. A defined ecosystem creates these opportunities for art. There is no ecosystem to nurture, recognise and reward art. There are only handful of talent that is recognized and the vast majority struggle and perish. It is painful to witness the lack of recognition, remuneration and unfulfilled aspirations”, says Pratibha.
Let’s look at the rich history of our dance forms. India is the mother land of six classical dance forms, and still we just have one Dance School, Kalakshetra, which was established a century back. Most of the Dance Schools are managed by individuals, with little corporate sponsorships.
Pratima Arts
Pratima Arts creates a platform via Art for Social Causes beneficial to the community We Bring together Artists, Art lovers, patrons & Collectors and Socially conscientious organizations that serve communities in need.
Website, Pratima Arts
Art for a Cause
Arts For A Cause is our Core Belief, translated into action. Viewing and owning art is a transformative experience! The Joy of Art is amplified when Art leads the way, creating a positive social impact, transforming lives of artists, Art patrons and beneficiaries.
Each Art work purchased via Pratima Arts Supports an ongoing cause or a set of causes.Be it on the website or at our custom curated exhibitions, a portion of sale supports Social Transformation Projects / Causes. We support Causes that range from Child and Womens Rights and Education, Artists wellfare and education, Reviving Cultural Heritage/Grass Roots Rejuvenation, Environment & Disaster Relief.
Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam Art Project
Vasudheva Kutumbakam – One World one Family, an initiative by Pratima Arts, is an ongoing series which inspires artist to bring alive the ancient, powerful, ever relevant Vasudhaiva Kutumbakkam Principle through Art.
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam- Circle of Harmony
The Circle of Harmony is a giant Sculptural Installation that symbolises a borderless world where faith & nations states are but a grid in the eternal circle of life.
This critically acclaimed Sculpture was especially created as a magnificent title piece for an Exhibition Titled Vsudhaiva Kutumbakam – From the Form to the Formless.
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Tittle Piece
The Vasudhaiva Kutumbakkam exhibition was widely acclaimed. The Title Piece of the exhibition was covered by The UN Monthly Magazine. So impressed was The UN with the piece that they exclaimed – this sculpture is so representative of the UN and its ethos.
Way Forward
Pratima Arts is in talk with different governments and art ministries. They have ambitious plans and are working side by side on increasing the visibility of artists, putting them in touch with right people and creating opportunities for sponsorship and patronage. There is also a need of large number of private players to come forward and support government to create a system for the upliftment of the artists
Next Steps
Pratibha exhorts each one of us as a society to come forth and support arts and artist in our day to day lives. We can gift “experiences”, gift each other art. We can take small steps like buy or gift exhibition and performance show tickets and attend them whole heartedly.
“we have approximately two and half crores artists in the country and we don’t even know 10.”
Pratibha Iyer
We should encourage an educational system where there is an amalgamation of 2 spheres of the brain, both right and left. We should not limit it just to one sphere, as there is plethora of achievement opportunities in both the fields. As a Parent, we should motivate and be proud of the child’s artistic brilliance too.
For perhaps it is time, that we should come forward and invest in arts.
An investment in arts is investment in humanity, an investment in our future generation and an investment in society as a whole.
Read other blogs written by members of our team at Lumière
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