According to UNESCO, artistic freedom is the freedom to imagine,
create and distribute diverse cultural expressions free of governmental
censorship, political interference or the pressures of non-state actors. It
includes the right of all citizens to have access to these works and is
essential for the wellbeing of societies. In Goa, there are various festivals
celebrating visual arts, that show the range of Goan artists, who share an
equal stage with international artists. Before 2020, art galleries were buzzing
throughout the year with consecutive art exhibitions, with even the walls
across Goa’s cities proudly showcasing the work of artists in their glory days.
Then came the stark reality of Covid
lockdowns and the reasoning of spending on necessities more than luxuries. As
the world crept into a cocoon of isolation, the artists flourished with ample
time for creating collections of works as countless ideas wandered through
their minds. However, as Goa opened up its doors after the pandemic, many art
galleries, unable to recover from losses, had shut theirs.
Norman Tagore is a renowned artist and
illustrator who also curates art exhibitions. He has seen the change of the art
scene from both an artist as well as a curator’s point of view. “In the last
exhibition, we managed to sell seven paintings. It’s a good start but things
can get much better. I am a practicing painter but I saw a need to create
opportunities for artists to exhibit, that’s why I got involved in promoting
other artists. The artists have given me their full cooperation and support,”
says Tagore, who is organising an art exhibition of six of Goa’s finest
landscape painters on September 16 at Thomas the Potter, Panjim.
Internationally noted installation artist, and founder of the
private art gallery Museum of Goa, Subodh Kerkar, has been keenly observing the
changing trends in the art scene in Goa. Always looking out for new ideas in
the simplest of natural things, he works closely with Goa’s natural beauty for
his installations. In 2019, six of his sculptures were installed at the
Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park, Grewelthorpe, North Yorkshire, England.
Covid hit everyone hard and even established artists like Kerkar
were affected. “The pandemic period was difficult. We have to understand that
90 percent of buyers of Goan art are from other parts of India and other
countries. So when Covid restrictions were in place, there were hardly any
international buyers and very few Indian buyers. Now, slowly, Indian buyers are
returning to Goa. Everyone’s budget was affected and the budget for art comes
only after every necessity is fulfilled,” explains Kerkar.
Running a private museum was also difficult for Kerkar. “The
financial loss was a lot but personally as an artist, I had uninterrupted time
to work on my art and engage in new ideas. You have to be passionate to be an
artist and to become a good artist, you have to be consistent and keep
practicing. If I don’t draw for a week, I feel like I’m losing touch. Vocalists
like T M Krishna and Bombay Jayashri are always practicing even though they
have been singing for years. There are performance artists who are more 70
years old and yet they are still practicing because they have to maintain their
voices. The same way, an artist, has to practice their art. An artist is not a
businessman first. An artist creates art because of their passion,” says
Kerkar. He recently inaugurated the Children’s Art Studio at the Museum of Goa,
which is open throughout the week and also hosts regular art activities,
workshops and interactive rides in the play area. He encourages parents to
inculcate the love for art from a young age by participating with their
children.
Shaistah Thapar has been an art collector for over 30 years and
has a rich collection featuring works by A X Trinidade, Angelo da Fonseca,
Laxman Pai and Vamona Navelcar. “Art is food for the soul and it stirs your
senses. I believe that art is the window to the soul of the artists. F N
Souza’s works have aggressive strokes while Nirupa Naik’s humility and peaceful
mind translates into her meticulous embroidery-like strokes. We have to take
care of our artists as many good artists sometimes feel frustrated when they
invest in material but have no proper sales. There are some artists who have 10
to 15 exhibitions which don’t sell but they go on to be some of the greatest
artists who get fame later in life,” says Shaistah, who bought her first
painting for Rs 80 on Linking Road, Bandra, Mumbai, in the early 80’s. She
explains that the value of the work increases the older it gets, and it
commands higher value based on the subject, period of time and the meaning it
portrays.
In April 2022, two works of art were auctioned off by Asta Guru
in an auction in Panjim. ‘Girl in a Yellow Sweater’ by Goan artist F N Souza
was sold for Rs14.4 crore, while ‘La Source’ by Goan artist Antonio Xavier
Trindade, fetched Rs 73.2 lakh, a world record for the artist’s work.
Deputy Director of the Art and Culture Department, Ashok Parab,
points out that there are 16 schemes available for Goan artists of various
disciplines. Any artist is free to approach the department to find out about
their schemes and avail of the same, right from funding for an exhibition, a
free art gallery for 15 days on the condition of dedicating one painting to the
department, and even a pension scheme, Kala Samman, which is cureently paying a
monthly pension to over 2,500 artists in Goa.
“Even
during the Covid-19 pandemic, our graphic studio was open for artists, and can
be used for free. The department is open to Goan artists who are genuinely in
need of financial assistance. We have several awards which are given throughout
the year, like the Kala Gaurav Award and. Six Goans, including artist Laxman
Pai, were awarded the highest state award, Gomant Vibushan Award as well,”
concludes Parab.
