“Oceans of connectivity” an almost poetic theme for the 2nd ASEAN-India Artists’ Camp which celebrated 30 years of ASEAN-India ties with Music, Art & Dance was organised in the city of lakes, Udaipur.
The backdrop of the beautiful property, Taj Aravali Resort & Spa on the foothills of the Aravali mountains and the extremely hospitable staff was the perfect vessel to invigorate the vision of these artists from various ASEAN countries, this confluence included artists from Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam, besides India.
The second edition of the ASEAN-India Artists’ Camp, was organised to celebrate 30 years of ASEAN-India dialogue relations, concluded at Taj Aravali Resort, Udaipur, on October 19, 2022. About 20 artists from ASEAN countries and different Indian states participated in the nine-day camp, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Seher, where they produced individual artworks under a common theme “Oceans of connectivity”.
Sanjeev Bhargava, Founder Director of Seher, said, “This artists camp is also like an ocean flowing from one day to another. We have worked on not only creating interactive works of art between artists of ASEAN and India but also perhaps somewhere succeeded in bringing their hearts closer to one another. With this process of people to people contact among a few creative artists I am sure we can bring people of this region on one single platform.”
After the onset of the pandemic, most artists were constrained to their studios without much human contact. Delhi-based artist, Nupur Kundu laid light on the same and said, “I look forward to such events, a junction for artists to come and get inspired where they put the art in heart. It was a delight to create art in a place where there were so many artists, I felt motivated to work. This place is special because it is an amalgamation of many art forms.”
During their stay in Udaipur, the participants were familiarised with the works of renowned Indian artists and different art forms of the country. Art writer Anuradha Ghosh undertook a panel discussion on ‘Jamini Roy: Translating the folk’, artists and visiting experts discussed the camp’s theme – OCEANS of Connectivity and Indian painter Shan Bhatnagar took artists on a journey through the history of Shrinathji of Nathdwara.
The nine artists from the ASEAN countries were-
- Somreth Keo- Cambodia
- Eddy Sulistyo – Indonesia
- Melissa Abuga-a – the Philippines
- Aye Myat Soe – Myanmar
- Nabil Fikri Bin Haronli – Brunei Darussalam
- Sone Khounpaseuth – Lao PDR
- Edroger Rosili – Malaysia
- Nguyen Phuong Linh – Vietnam
- Phattaraporn Leanpanit– Thailand
The Indian artists were-
- Sonika Agarwal
- Japani Shyam
- Nupur Kundu
- Laishram Meena Devi
- Anjum Khan
- Nin Taneja
- Vanita Gupta
- Yogendra Tripathi
- Mayur Kailash Gupta
- Dileep Dharma
- Basant Bhargav
“This place helped us create dialogue and art. Along with people, I took a lot from the Indian culture. I incorporated the ghoomar in my rendition of the painting, for me the waves were an interpretation of the ocean.” said, Melissa Abuga-a – from the Philippines.
Art pieces produced during the camp were exhibited at the closing ceremony for people of eminence and the local city administration at the venue. The Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, was the chief guest for the closing ceremony of the ASEAN-India Artists’ Camp.
Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs addressing the artists and the gathering, said, “
India and ASEAN share a strong historical and cultural connect and these historical linkages have led to the development of bonds of family and kinship between India and ASEAN. Today as we celebrate the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-India Relations as ASEAN-India Friendship Year, I am confident that the camp would have proved to be an excellent platform to promote friendship between the artists from India and ASEAN.”
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