Celebrating Art On Streets 

By AS Joel Kumar

Deputy Bureau Chief

Sakshi TV

All professional artists create wonders with colours on canvas in their studios. Later, their art works are on display in art galleries. Then, art lovers pick them for a price and showcase them in their homes. So professional art has been between artists and art lovers. To bring professional art into the public domain, Street Art India Foundation has been conducting street art festivals in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Now it has finally come to Hyderabad. The foundation with the help of Telangana government and local art support organisations and groups is conducting street art festival on Necklace from November 1.

About 18 selected artists including four foreign artists were selected based on their entries and were allotted work in Maqta colony and on compound walls . The moment one enters Necklace road from Khairatabad Flyover, to the left the buildings of Maqta have become pieces of art work. Artist Daan Botlek of Netherlands has created a art work based on the menace of public urination on the walls of Maqta colony. In the art work, two persons peeing in public are showed in such manner that they are taken to the top of the building and dropped them down. Another building had become canvass for the artist from Serbia named Artez. He created floral design on the building. Little inside the Maqta colony on a building facade two persons are tossing dice. This art work was painted by Alber of France.

Later, the walls along the Necklace road in front of peoples plaza are turning out to be very colorful by artists from Telangana. Here every artist has been a specific space to display their art work which was selected by the organisers. Here artists are busy mixing colors , giving finishing touches and also answering questions of passersby.

The street art festival is going on the banks of Hussainsagar lake , so the concerns of saving the lake from pollution has become the subject matter for artist Shashank. He is finishing his art work wherein Hussain Sagar lake and the danger of pollution surrounding it has been projected in the frame of the fast developing metro rail in Hyderabad.

"The city is on the verge of witnessing a high end metro rail. But Hussain sagar needs to protected from pollution at the earliest" says Shashank.

There are also Hyderabad based graffiti artists Nikhil Kapoor and Chandni Mathur , trying to do art work with cut stencils and later imprint colors using sprays on the walls. "We are trying to show women as super women. Because whatever work they do at home or outside is a important one. We are making art where women doing daily chores like washing clothes at homes ...but still play important role for any family and society at large", says Chandni Mathur.

Almost similar subject of women, Nirmal Belucha is doing. Art Phd student in Eflu, Nirnmala is giving final touches to the art work titled "Guns n Roses". Here portrait of Chakali Ailamma, a revolutionary leader during Nizam regime who fought against the landlords in Telangana region is being done. "Women can be sensitive and also revolutionary if situation arises" says Nirmala.

Even before the street art festival in Hyderabad, a artist couple Swathi and Vijay have been painting roads and some buildings with social messages in city. Now they are also doing it in Necklace Road near the railway station. They painted a teenager engrossed in cell phone on a huge building facade. "This we have done to show we are all hooked on to the internet through the phone. It is a subject that connects everyone so we did it", says Vijay.

The artist couple also done a art on a nearby ATM enclosure on demonetisation. They pasted few Rs 500 and Rs 100 currency on wall and painted wings to them to give a meaning that from ATM machines they are flying into sky.

Next the artist couple's art work, there is a another piece of art on the adjacent building which is attracting everybody eyeballs. Artist Nilesh of Pune, has painted a person having Irani chai and biscuit in front of Charminar.

On Necklace road every artist work is different and special in his own way. Artist Ravi Kant of Uppal area, is doing an art piece based on a old black and white photograph. Ravi Kanth has taken his own photograph when he was ten years old, which was taken along with his younger sister and brother. He is giving finishing touch to his art near the wall which is opposite Eat Street."This art work will highlight nostalgic era of black white photography", says Ravi Kant.

Biodiversity subjects like urbanisation and the fate of animals in the era of deforestation is being highlighted by artist Bharat in his art work. To see his art work , some art lovers are coming and having a look.

"Not just art lovers common people are also trying to know about our art. This experience is really very new to us and we are enjoying it. People are also taking selfies in the background of the art works", says Bharat.

The art works of artists are being appreciated by one and all. But some of them expressed concern how they would be protected once they are done. "These pieces of art are done with lot of creativity and care and hard work by the artists. They deserve to be protected at any cost" says art lover Mrs Alexander.

In the beginning of the festival, local residents of Maqta were apprehensive as to what was happening. But local youth played a important role in sensitising building owners. "If government is trying to make our city beautiful with work of artists, we decided to cooperate and same thing was explained to the building owners" says local resident Pravin, who is now a active volunteer in the street art festival.

The work of the artists will be monitored and documented by Street Art Foundation documentation team. "On a daily basis we document the work of artists and upload on to the social media", says Pranav, team member of Street Art foundation documentation team.

The street art Hyderabad festival will come to close by this November end. The artists will finish all their works. "The Telangana government and local art organsations have extended wholehearted support to Street Art Foundation in organisng this festival. We hope to come back and do the same in other locations" says Revanthika, Street Art Foundation Project General Manager.

In our country, Delhi based graffiti artist Daku is famous in street art. This art which has become famous in some foreign countries in the recent years, now the trend is slowing picking up in our country also. The art which was once within four walls has come in the open for common man and it is connecting them in a big way.