Let's talk colours

Just because it isn’t in a museum, that doesn’t mean that it is not art. A splash of colours here and a bold message there, that is street art for you!

Street art is one of the most underrated forms of art out there . Street Art is what makes the boring, chipped out part of wallsbloom with light, colours and positive energy. Street Art is what makes the ugliest of sights a treat to the eyes.

India is home to thriving cultures and innumerable artists. It has always been the land that has captured an important stance in the annals of architectural marvels. What is it that makes Indian sculptures a sight of life? It is art. The art embodied in every stone of every sculpture across the country . Our Indian artists are born with the ability to see the rest of their country as vivid as it always has been, all while throwing in a little sparkle of their own!

In the honour of pride month, let us talk about Poornima Sukumar, a woman who aims to spread awareness about the LGBTQ+ community in her work and provide a safe space for transgender women, cis-women, gender non-binary, and queer individuals to bond over art. She is the founder of the Bengaluru based ‘Aravani Art project’ that centers all its work around sexuality and the need to be one's time identifying it!

The collective has completed more than 20 public projects across red light areas, ghettos, and slums in about 30 Indian cities including Pune, Mumbai, and Kolkata.

Here is some of their work!

(images from her official instagram account @poornimatravellingsukumar)

Kajal Singh is the vibe! Delhi-based Kajal Singh is India’s first-ever graffiti artist.She is also a hip-hop dancer, and has studied break dance, graffiti, disco jockeying, and rapping. In 2018, she received the first-ever female graffiti award in India. SHe has received several awards in many different countries across the globe and recognised by the Trinity Collage for her too-good- to-handle talents.

(@dizyone)

Ranjit Dahiya is our BOLLYWOOD FAN! His Bollywood Art Project pays tribute to Mumbai’s long association with Bollywood through murals of classic Hindi films.

He uses the dying tradition of old Hindi movie posters to bring out his excellent artistic style. Dahiya partnered with Delhi artist Yantr last year and painted India’s largest mural, depicting the father of Indian cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke.

Ever wondered what it would be like to see your old, rusty neighbourhood look like a shooting scene straight out of an aesthetic video shoot. Its your bad that you don't live in Pune’s oldest residential locality ‘ Kasba Peth’! Artist Harshvardhan Kadam founded the Pune Street Art Project in 2012. He collaborated with local artists and transformed this locality to the ART HUB OF PUNE!!!

After seeing all this, one question is sure to pop in one's mind. Is street art and graffiti even legal? If it were, why do the characters of SubWay Surfers get caught and chased for carrying it out. In most parts of the world, street art and graffiti cannot be legally carried out without permission. This applies to India too. Although the legalisation of street art is a very controversial topic I favour no side. It is upto you to take your call!