Elsa Angel Rose
“As an architect, I’ve always enjoyed sketching. When I discovered the Urban Sketchers community through its Pune chapter, the idea of ‘coming and seeing together, then expressing it individually’, all on location, fascinated me. Urban sketching has helped me pause, observe the moment, take in details otherwise missed, and then document it in my own unique style. I believe that each of us has that eye and soul, but hesitate to express, which is why a group that comes together, is non-judgmental or competitive, does not criticise but only encourages to express through art, is something we all need,” said Darpana Athale, artist and admin of Urban Sketchers Goa, the official chapter of Urban Sketchers (a global community of people who draw on location and document the places, people, and stories around them through sketching) in Goa. “We started informally in 2017 and got officially registered in 2018. The group meets regularly at different locations across the state on Sundays.
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Our sketch meets are free and open to everyone; you don’t have to be an artist or have any particular level of skill to join us. Over the years, we’ve sketched many different aspects of Goa: heritage, buildings, activities, people, little details, landscapes and even food. The idea is really quite simple: meet, sketch and share,” said Darpana. The Urban Sketchers Goa exhibition at Aguad Port & Jail Complex, Candolim, started on August 15 and is open till September 20, 2026. The exhibition showcases 65 artworks by 20 artists from the community. “Goa isn’t a destination we decided on for this exhibition; Goa is our home and our subject. And the artists aren’t people we brought together specifically for this exhibition. They are part of the Urban Sketchers Goa community. That’s actually the lovely thing about Urban Sketchers Goa: the artists are already a community. For this exhibition, we invited members of the community to participate and share their work. So the exhibition really grew out of the sketches that people have been making as part of their journeys with Urban Sketchers Goa,” shared Darpana. ‘Goa Through Sketches’ accordingly presents the various and unique interpretations of Goa, architecture, streets, markets, landscapes, heritage structures, people and everyday moments. “Because every artist sees differently, even when two people sketch the same place, the results can be completely different. That’s really what we’re celebrating: 20 different ways of seeing Goa,” said Darpana. “I think in my first year, we had gone to Kerala in 2023. There was a sketch festival that happened over there, and there were lots of international artists and local artists who had come. I had joined Urban Sketchers in 2022–2023, somewhere around that time. And today, it’s been, I think, three or four years now that I’ve been an active member of the group. And yes, I’ve met a lot of interesting people on my journey. We went to three shows. Last year, we had gone to Thailand for a similar sketch festival,” Vaibhav Salgoankar, a freelance illustrator and urban sketcher/ caricaturist from Porvorim. The freelance artist emphasised that everyone in the community is from diverse fields, including engineering, architecture and more. “Urban Sketchers Goa has shown me a new side of art that I didn’t know or wasn’t aware of. It showed me a new side where I can, actually go to different places.
And even without the group, now I tend to go and sit in different areas and look at the buildings and sketch them. And also getting to meet a lot of new and talented people who you can learn from and get artistic knowledge from is great. Commenting on the rewarding experience of being part of the community, Andrea Fernandes, Software Developer, local artist, and admin of Urban Sketchers Goa, said, “One of the best things about being part of this community is that everyone can simply be themselves, without the pressure of having to be perfect or worrying about being judged. It creates a very inclusive and encouraging environment, bringing people together through a shared love for sketching and for Goa. We also try to have chai after our meets, which helps in networking and making new friends. Urban sketching allows me to observe and experience Goa in a completely different way.” The community consists of artists who are both professionals and amateurs, young and old, trained and untrained, with many picking up a pen after years. Hence, each person brings a unique outlook. “The best experience is what we call
the throwdown, after the sketch meet where we do a little showcase of what was done. Though the location may be the same, the sketches are never,” said Leandra Fernandes, artist and co-Admin of Urban Sketchers Goa. This vibrant exhibition has many highlights to make it one of a kind. “The Goa Through Sketches exhibition is the labour of love of sketches done by 20 different artists over the past 7 years. While most art exhibitions start from studios, this one has started from the street. The exhibition is displayed like going on a journey through Goa. There are some sketches which every tourist can identify and some niche locations that locals can identify. Some sketches are of the same location done on the same day by different artists, and it might even take you a moment to realise that,” said Leandra. Andrea added on what makes the exhibition feel even more special, “One of the most rewarding things is seeing people look at the sketches and immediately recognise a street, building, neighbourhood or little corner of Goa that they know.
Each sketch brings back a memory of a particular place and moment, and together they tell a much larger story of Goa as seen through the eyes of each sketcher The Urban sketchers Goa stands out for the diversity and the close knit community experience they offer. “That diversity is what makes the community so special. We’re constantly learning from one another, whether it’s a different style, technique, medium, way of using colour, or simply a new way of looking at our surroundings. Live sketching together has taught me that there is no single “right” way to interpret a place,” shared Andrea.
