ARTISTS REAP REWARDS

by Kumkum Ramchandani

 For the 30 or so artists who are participating in the ART (Artists Rallying Together) programme, the learning curve has been pretty steep. The wealth of talent displayed by mostly amateur and some professional painters has been highly appreciated in art circles and by the general public. The diversity of styles depicted by artists originally from Venezuela, Mexico, Egypt, Italy, India, Holland, Sri Lanka, China and Canada, to name a few,  has been stunning. The initiative, organized by Peel Community Connections and supported by The Ontario Trillium Foundation, has resulted in three major art exhibitions in the Mississauga Central Library (February 1-February 28), Beaux-Arts Brampton (February 28-March 11) and Caledon Town Hall (March 9-March 11).

 Many of the artists are new to the exhibition game and also new to Canada. Sharon Baker Blanchette moved to Canada from Mumbai in September 2002. She says, “ART has opened a new world for me – my first EVER exhibition wouldn’t have been something I would have been able to organize on my own. The theme for my paintings for the Beaux-Arts Exhibition is “Canada is a country of diversity”. In them are featured three women, Japanese, Chinese and Indian, and in all of them I have included the maple leaf.”

 Allan Mathews, who has been in Canada just a few months, pointed out, “ART has put me in touch with lots of people whom I would not have met otherwise – it has helped to eliminate all language and cultural barriers and enabled us(the artists) to converse as one big family. I have made new friends, gained respect and hopefully will benefit financially in the process!” Allan works with water based acrylics and watercolours in metallic accents.

 For Nainital-born veteran poet cum artist Meena Chopra, too, the ART initiative has been an eye opener. With more than 25 solo and international exhibitions under her belt, she has been a valuable contributor to the cultural scene in Ontario. Her point of view, “Canada is a growing country with a multicultural society, therefore it can give a lot of opportunity to new immigrant artists. For her “art has been a compulsion, a total commitment to life, a process of knowing the world within and without”. Meena’s paintings, delicate swirls of colour, are a fascinating accompaniment to her poetry. Her art can be described as poetry on canvas.

 The importance of her ethnic background was brought home recently for Parveen Dhatt-Sangha during her first visit to the Punjab in 17 years. She has lived in Canada since the age of three. That Indian art is important in the large scheme of things has become a significant part of her artwork which reflects the earthiness of her culture. She said, “What is unique about my work is that it balances the east and west and is an accurate portrait of my struggle to develop a balance between the two worlds I live in.”

 Organizing the three exhibitions within the span of six months has been an uphill battle for Sofia Albanez, Project Co-ordinator, Awareness Through A.R.T., Peel Community Connections. There have been numerous frustrations and delays and hectic days of running around dealing with logistics and unforeseen glitches. Then there is the never ending marketing and PR and organizing of several workshops to help the artists learn to network. But the reward has been the undying gratitude of the ARTists, for most of whom finding the wherewithal to exhibit on their own would have been a daunting and near impossible task.