While art might have different perspectives, it still speaks a universal language. Arghavan, a young creative person, who finds her roots in Iran, has been exploring different countries in Europe and Asia making a link between women across the continents through art. Working on her nonprofit project, Art Dom Project, Arghavan unites two artists on a single canvas. For the third edition of the project, the artists from the United Kingdom worked on the canvas before it was transported to India where currently the Indian artists are busy at work.
“This has been a personal story for me so for the first edition, I started from my new home, Sweden and worked with five artists from Iran on the theme of ‘freedom’. For the second edition, I worked with the 11 artists from Norway and 11 artists from Pakistan on the theme of feminism, ten artworks and one sculpture. This year, I am working with nine artists from the UK and nine from different parts of India. I was happy to meet and interact with four artists in Goa, Sej, Atia Sen, Premila Singh and Manjuri Vadre, who came in especially from Pune, just to be with her fellow artists. It has been a challenging yet wholesome experience as I connect with so many artists from different countries,” says Arghavan, currently residing in Mandrem. The artist meet up was held at The Seven Doors House in Pilerne.
The artists that shared the canvas include Rosso Emerald Crimson (UK) and Nilisha Phad (India), Melissa Magg (UK) and Nidhi Mariam Jacob (India), Anna Sudbina (UK) and Premila Singh (India), Sarah Jarrett (UK) and Manjri Varde (India), Amy Dury (UK) and Sej (India), Naila Hazell (UK) and Atia Sen (India), Jackie Berridge (UK) and Monica Ghule (India), Harriet Pattinson (UK) and Bhakti Lad (India) and Mahshad Afshar (UK) and Karishma Wadhwa (India). The artists based in India are from Goa, Pune, Mumbai and Bangalore.
The process of Art Dom Project begins almost a year in advance as Arghavan starts working on her research to find the right artists who can come on this special journey and share their canvas. “I was curious to know if women in art could meet and work together. However, this whole project has been powerful and meaningful. I research about the artists and learn about their styles. I choose the artists with my feelings and the energy that I see in the artwork. I select the women who would love to create these stories with me,” explains Arghavan, who has been in Goa for almost a month and plans to travel to other parts of the country to collect the artworks which should be complete in two weeks.
She further adds, “I do short interviews with the artists to understand their work. Likewise, I understood that Sarah Jarrett loves to talk about nature and her art would match well with Manjri Varde as she too loves working with themes close to nature. No matter the distance, humans will have the same need for equality.”
Arghavan is a daughter of noted artist and writer, Arash Islami, who had to flee from Iran in 1985 with his family and decided to settle in Sweden. A noted singer, Arghavan finds a strong connection with her passion for art due to her father. “He is always supportive of me and I am free to follow my dreams and create my own path for which he is very proud of me,” says Arghavan, who has also authored the book, ‘Beyond Shahs of Sunset’.
The next step for the art project is to hold an exhibition. “I wanted to have an exhibition for the Indian Art Fair but I still have to work on it. I am planning the exhibition in both countries with not just artists, but poets and dancers and other creative minds. I am also planning to have an exhibition in Oslo, Norway which will culminate the three editions of the project with over 50 artists and 25 artworks,” concludes Arghavan.
