Satrangi - A Gond Expression, An art exhibition
Event: Satrangi - A Gond Expression, An art exhibition
Date: August 13- September 6, 2015
Time: 11am to 7pm daily. Closed on Mondays (Open on August 15th)
Venue: Ojas Art, 1AQ, Qutab Minar Roundabout, New Delhi 110 030 Tel: 011 26644145
Gallery Media Contact: Richa Gupta - 9873798874
New Delhi, August 3, 2015 - OJAS Art presents “Satrangi: A Gond Expression” beginning from August 13 to
close on September 6, 2015, exhibiting 40 artworks by fine Gond artists Shyam ,Venkat Shyam, Roshni Vyam
who won the first OJAS Art Award’15 at the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival this year.
“The beautifully crafted artworks of Gond artists are a collage of seven colors which is so profusely visible in
these Polychrome masterpieces. The assimilation of the same spreads out a Rainbow look of seven shades,
hence the theme of these works takes the most appropriate nomenclature Satrangi,” says art historian and
cultural heritage consultant Dr Neeru Misra.
In January 2015, OJAS Art in collaboration with Teamwork Arts announced the commencement of a
distinctive award titled “Ojas Art Award” initiated to explore tribal and traditional art forms. The award was
announced at Zee Jaipur Literature Festival’15 by Anubhav Nath, Curatorial Director of OJAS Art and Sanjoy
K Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts and Producer of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival. This year,
Gond tribal art from Madhya Pradesh was the chosen art form.
The award, which is going to be an annual feature at the literary festival with a footfall of over 2.5 lakh, will
allow up-and-coming artists to showcase their talent amid a diverse and receptive audience. OJAS Art,
through this award, will also showcase these artists in exhibitions as well as offer a cash prize of Rs 51,000
for winner and 31,000 for runner up to help support their future.
The 2016 Ojas Art Award will be open for entries from September 1st (aadd expected date) and the winners
will be announced at the coming ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2016 which is scheduled to be held
from January 21-25, 2016 at the Diggi Palace Hotel in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Confirmed speakers include
Margaret Atwood, Thomas Piketty, Stephen Fry, Amish Tripathi, Alexander Hemon, Anita Nair, David
Grossman, Sidin Vadukut, Niall Ferguson, Sudhir Kakar, Alka Saraogi, Cornelia Funke, Anita Agnihotri, Anuja
Chauhan, Ravi Subramanan, James Shapiro, Steve McCurry, Ayesha Jalal, Victoria Glendinning, Ben Macintyre
and many more.
Anubhav Nath says, “The art community has been very supportive of the OJAS Art Award. Over the coming
years, we aim to evolve as the premier award in the tribal and traditional art space. Next year, we shall focus
on Mithila and Madhubani Art.”
Sanjoy K. Roy says, “The Gond artworks were received very well. We are looking at the possibility of
showcasing their works at other venues in India and overseas. We have a proud tradition of celebrating
excellence in creative expression which is exemplified by the OJAS Art Award.”
TEAMWORK ARTS PVT LTD
Mansarovar Building, Ground & 1st Floor, Khasra No-366 Min, Village Sultanpur, Delhi - 110030, India Tel : +91 11 26805477 / 26801477
mail: info@teamworkarts.com | Website: www.teamworkarts. com
This year’s selection, Gond art is spread across central India; mainly Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Chhattisgarh and Orissa and Gond paintings are inspired by the age of early-civilization when man was
inhabited in a cave. Hence, one can see impressions of human interaction with animals, birds, sun moon,
trees, hills etc as subject matter of these paintings.
“The Gond paintings have for long been oblivious to the world of art. It was in 1940s when the missionary
zeal of Verrier Elwin brought forth the richness of the Gond culture to the light in his many writings and
experiences. Due to its folk nature and a part of everyday life of Gond tribal belts, like Madhubani or Warli
paintings, Gond paintings remained unnoticed as compared to the other much publicized and talked
movements of the world of Indian painting of the 19th and 20th century. However, after Independence, with
the explorations of the treasures of indigenous art forms, it became more and more spotted, both with
admiration and with awe,” says art historian Dr Neeru Misra.
- ENDS For press information, please contact Edelman India:
Priya Dhawan
+91 9958011132
priya.dhawan@edelman.com
Vidushi Khera
+919810498106
vidushi@teamworkarts.com
NOTES TO EDITOR
About the artists
Bhajju Shyam (1st Prize)
Bhajju is a well known Gond artist, having exhibited his work at the Museum of London and on tour in the
UK, Germany, Holland, Italy and Russia. Born in 1971 in the Gond tribal village of Patangarh, sixteen year-old
Bhajju travelled to Bhopal where he became apprentice to Jangarh Singh Shyam.
His best-known work, The London Jungle Book, is a visual travelogue of his 2002 visit to London, where he
went to paint the interior of an up-market Indian restaurant. The book, published by Tara Books and the
Museum of London, was released in November 2004, along with a three-month exhibition at the Museum. In
2001, he received a state award for Best Indigenous Artist.
Venkat Raman Singh Shyam (2nd Prize)
Venkat Raman Singh Shyam was born in 1970 to a humble family of Pardhan Gond tribals living in the village
Sijhora, in eastern Madhya Pradesh. He began painting at the age of ten, and in 1988 moved to the city of
Bhopal — where he worked for five years as an apprentice to his uncle, the master artist Jangarh Sing Shyam
(1960-2001), who initiated the contemporary Gond art movement.
TEAMWORK ARTS PVT LTD
Mansarovar Building, Ground & 1st Floor, Khasra No-366 Min, Village Sultanpur, Delhi - 110030, India Tel : +91 11 26805477 / 26801477
mail: info@teamworkarts.com | Website: www.teamworkarts. com
He has received numerous awards nationally and internationally. His works are a part of many collections
worldwide, some of the institutional collectors are : LACMA, Los Angeles, USA; Chatrapati Shivaji Museum,
Mumbai; Chitra Kala Parishad, Bangalore; Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai and Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal.
Roshni Vyam (Special Prize)
Roshni Vyam was born in 1994 to Gond artists. She grew up observing her parents and at a very young age
knew that art was her calling. Growing up she took part in workshops and also illustrated books. For her
undergraduate studies she secured admission in the art department of the coveted M.S. University, Baroda.
Here she found the curriculum to be very regimented and westernized and thought she will get disconnected
from her Gond roots, and decided to not join the art school. Roshni continued her practice and decided to
pursue textile designing at NIFT, Bengaluru where she is encouraged to imbibe her traditional art in current
fashion and is expected to graduate in 2016.
About The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival
The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival is the world’s largest free literary festival, celebrating national and
international writers, and encompassing a range of interests including film, music and theatre. The festival
has already hosted some of the best-known national and international writers including Orhan Pamuk, J.M.
Coetzee, John Berendt, Kiran Desai, Christopher Hampton, Ian McEwan, Vikram Seth, Wole Soyinka, Salman
Rushdie, Pico Iyer, Simon Schama, Thomas Keneally, Hanif Kureishi, Vikram Chandra, Anoushka Shankar,
Michael Frayn, Stephen Frears, Alexander McCall Smith, Donna Tartt, Tina Brown, Shashi Tharoor,
Mohammed Hanif, Paul Zacharia, among many others. The Directors of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival are
William Dalrymple and Namita Gokhale and the festival is produced by Sanjoy K. Roy and Sheuli Sethi of
Teamwork Arts. The Festival’s Title Sponsor is ZEE Entertainment.
Website: http://www.jaipurliteraturefestival.org
About Teamwork Arts
For over 25 years, Teamwork Arts has taken India to the world and brought the world to India.
Each year, Teamwork produces 26 annual festivals in 30 cities across 12 different countries, including UK,
USA, Canada, Egypt, Germany, France, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, South Africa & Spain.
Teamwork produces one of the world’s largest free literary gatherings, the annual ZEE Jaipur Literature
Festival, international festivals Shared History in South Africa, Eye on India in the United States of America
and India by the Bay in Hong Kong, and many more.
www.teamworkarts.com
TEAMWORK ARTS PVT LTD
Mansarovar Building, Ground & 1st Floor, Khasra No-366 Min, Village Sultanpur, Delhi - 110030, India Tel : +91 11 26805477 / 26801477
mail: info@teamworkarts.com | Website: www.teamworkarts. com