The experience of a cause

Featured artists include Mumbai-based Gunjan Shrivastava, who holds a PhD in visual arts and a diploma in textile design. She is also co-founder of You Lead India Foundation. The CRY fundraiser features one of her paintings, A Million Stitches.

“Supporting social growth is my endeavour as an artist. As artists, we have an innate power to translate, transform, and influence the entire process,” she explains. She has also worked on art projects with V Care Foundation and Akanksha Foundation.

Gunjan calls for a greater appreciation for art in society. “The niche status attached to the field of art and artists needs to be reconsidered. Art is the purest form of human expression and every individual artist deserves their own space as every artist plays an important role and contributes to society,” she emphasises.

Art as a subject in schools needs to be given more prominence and encouragement. “The preconceived notion of parents that art is only a support curriculum and cannot be a mainstream career needs reconsideration,” Gunjan adds.

Understanding and nurturing a child’s artistic talent can lead to an extraordinary and fulfilling career. “Artists overall can have better support to be accepted and rewarded for their talent that holds the power to transform the world,” she suggests.

“Creating art for a cause is a personal experience. One has to feel for the cause and listen to the inner voices for inspiration to curate something that translates the cause for a larger purpose,” Gunjan affirms. She explains that this is a natural process and there are no written rules.

“However, if your artwork can be a thought-provoking piece of work, it stands the power to influence the larger audience, which in turn supports the cause,” Gunjan signs off.