21 Feb 2019  |   03:42am IST

THE FINE LINES OF GOAN CARTOONISTS AND ILLUSTRATORS

The Cartoonists & Illustrators of Goa 2019 exhibition that begins today, ranging from commercial to personal collections from 12 talented artists

Team Café

Over the last couple of years, there has been a

growing space, where the works of talented Goan cartoonists and illustrators have not only been appreciated but there has been a demand for more.

These artists, who are involved in various media and creative fields, are creating their own niche with their high quality work and testament to this was their successful first exhibition, where a group of outstanding cartoonists and illustrators got together and showcased their impressive artwork.

Now, for their second exhibition, a group of 12 uniquely styled Goan minds will be presenting a unique visual showcase of cartoons and illustrations, ranging from commercial to personal collections, at ‘The Cartoonists & Illustrators of Goa 2019’.

The artists have the legendary Alexys alongside them, while Padma Shri awardee Wendell Rodricks will inaugurate the exhibition at the opening ceremony that will be held on, February 21, at 5.30 pm. The exhibition will remain open from February 22 to February 24, - from 9.30 a.m to 7.30 pm.

The exhibition featuring a wave of Goan talent includes Manuela Mendonca Gomes, Swapnil Behere, Melanie Costa Pereira, Govit Morajkar, Nadia De Souza, Malcolm Rebello, Cornella Sequeira, Sanket Lawande, Rohit Chari, Fabian Gonsalves, Billy Fernandes and Alexys.

“This visual showcase is intended to bring to the forefront pure Goan Talent that has been active under the radar over the years. This exhibition is about us artists becoming the exposure we ourselves yearned for. The first show was intended to be a wakeup call of sorts, hence the ‘kombo’ that continues in our logo this year as well. Reminiscent of the colours, fresh mornings and of course the ‘wake up’ call!,” said Billy Joe Fernandes (Billytoons), one of the artists whose at the event.

“After the first exhibition, we did notice people taking interest in our own creations, rather than asking for a Mario Miranda rendition. The idea is to show Goa, and the nation, that we are capable of handling national and international based projects if given the opportunity. In fact, many of us already have been winning accolades in our day jobs and as freelancers,” added Billy.

 

He further stated that the artists have contributed toward this exhibition, with no sponsorship involved till date as they want this to grow as their core for now!

“Our main tagline goes as – ‘witness, experience support’; keeping this in mind, we as a team encourage the younger generation to pursue this line of work and dare to dream big. We will also be featuring two young Goan talents (18 year old Sumit Naik and 15 year old Samuel J Rodrigues) who are self taught and have tremendous skill. Through these exhibitions, we wish to make this culture grow and have a mind of its own as time flies by, so that it sustains our creativity with healthy competition in the years to come, and gives us those colorful wings right here in our state,” added Billy.

 

Besides framed illustrations/ cartoons that will be on display and the works of those two young talents, the group of artists will also be actively exhibiting merchandise ranging from funky stickers to art prints.