Lending an artistic touch to the lives of common people
The exhibition – titled Ghosts, Monsters and Dreams – also gives a solution to clean up the Ennore Creek, and safeguard it for future generations from the common man's perspective. It will be on till June 30.
G. Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal, who inaugurated the exhibition on Sunday, pointed out that for thousands of years, people learnt everything through stories and tales. He stressed the importance of creating awareness about the environment through art forms such as music, dance, paintings, collages.
'These days, arts is being used even as a medium of protest. If Chennai is to become a climate-resilient city and march into the 22nd Century, technology and traditional knowledge should join hands,' he added.
G. Karthik and B.M. Benisha, co-founders of Aram Thinai said the exhibition was the result of a research project funded by the British Academy and anchored by Coastal Resource Centre. 'We wanted to connect with the people of Ennore through their stories, and wanted more people to understand the importance of the Ennore Creek to the city,' they said.
Pictures of the Kodungaiyur dump yard clicked by Sakthi of the Vyasai Thozhargal team are also a part of the exhibition.
According to Anitha Pottamkulam, Director (culture), DakshinaChitra, this is the first time that they are holding month-long events for creating environment awareness.
'We have put together walks, art exhibitions, and even a programme on lime wash. We are looking to work with a range of collaborators, who are working with the community,' she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
04-08-2025
- The Hindu
Aadi Pattam: When city folks learn farming on weekends
As the Tamil month of Aadi progresses, several organic farms in and around Chennai are organising events to encourage those who have some time on their hands to try farming. Around 25 farming enthusiasts, including schoolchildren, had gathered at ReStore organic food store at Kottivakkam on ECR, on Saturday (August 2, 2025) afternoon, where they learnt how to make a soil mix from compost and red earth, and how they must soak seeds for about half an hour before planting them. Class 6 students and Mambakkam residents Vinay Vishwanath and Sai Krishna Karthik, who had spent some time mixing the dirt, said they regularly watered tulsi, omavalli, and keerai plants at their homes. Sharan Govindaraj of Villupuram, a Class 7 student, said he had the opportunity to be exposed to a lot of fields at his native place. 'We have roses and marudhani at home,' he said. After the training, the children wanted to take some seeds home so they could be planted. Karthik, a volunteer, taught them that some plants like tomatoes and brinjal grow better if they are first allowed to grow into seedlings in small pots and then transplanted into larger pots. At Kazhani Farms at Valmiki Nagar, its founder and urban farmer Gokulnath Natesan said that from Sunday (August 3) morning, family and friends will join to plant seedlings in furrows that are ready. 'All farmers have this ritual twice a year, Aadi Pattam, the 18th day of Aadi, and also on Bhogi, which is Thai Pattam. Now, with the start of light rains, the heat of the summer is gone and the microbes that had gone below will come out. The temperature is conducive to plant tender saplings and seeds. It has been this way at home and now, in our farm in the city too,' he said. Reconnecting with nature Agani Organic Farm in West Tambaram and Aram Thinai are coming together this month to conduct a 'Weekend Vivasayi' programme, where one can experience farm life and reconnect with nature. 'It will happen every Sunday. Since this is Aadi, we are starting it this month. People will be encouraged to do physical work on the farm. It will help city folks have a better understanding of how food comes to their table. We will provide simple food to those who come. Otherwise, we encourage the participants to bring their own food, plates, and water,' said G. Karthik of Aram Thinai. Ananthoo, of the Safe Food Alliance, said that many urban farmers follow traditional practices, and sowing during Aadi was one of them. Even in homes, many people wait to sow during Aadi, he added.
New Indian Express
09-06-2025
- New Indian Express
Confronting colourism and casteism
Protests in paintings Besides 'Dark or Divine', is a mixed-media work made of jute (koni pai cloth), yarn thread, and a body print. In this piece, Yazhini connects two protests that happened a century apart in different parts of the world. One is the Thol Seelai Porattam, the so-called 'breast tax' protest. In 19th-century Travancore, Nangeli, a lowered-caste Ezhava woman, cut off her breasts in protest against a tax that forced women like her to pay for the right to cover their chests. The other is a series of Western feminist protests: the 1968 'Burn the Bra' demonstration, 2007's 'Go Topless Day', and the 2012 'Free the Nipple' campaign. Lived experiences 'People often view feminism through a very narrow lens and say one is true feminism and the other is pseudo feminism,' she explains. 'The Thol Seelai Porattam was a protest for the right to wear upper garments by women from marginalised communities, while the Free the Nipple and Burn the Bra movements are often misunderstood as the right to not wear upper garments. Both are about bodily autonomy.' Born and raised in Chennai, Yazhini began her art journey in higher secondary school. She explored photography, dance, and theatre, but later chose visual art. After completing a BFA at the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai, she finished her Master's in Visual Art at Ambedkar University, Delhi, in 2024. Her work is shaped by her lived experience as a dark-skinned Bahujan woman in India. 'I've always received criticism about my body — like other women — not being represented or being misrepresented in mainstream media. These things led me to create politically. Everything I produce comes from or is related to my skin and body,' she says. On her goals for Dark or Divine, she shares, 'A seventh-grade girl once asked me about it after seeing my interview, and that made me feel that my goal was working. Conversations like these need to happen in various spaces.'
The Hindu
01-06-2025
- The Hindu
Lending an artistic touch to the lives of common people
Inspired by the tales of ordinary people such as a farmer who lost his land to a thermal power station, a home maker who loves shell fish from the Ennore Creek, and a seashell picker who struggles to make ends meet, students of the Government College of Fine Arts have drawn sketches and made collages that are among an array of works on display at DakshinaChitra at Muttukadu as part of the Environment Action Month. The exhibition – titled Ghosts, Monsters and Dreams – also gives a solution to clean up the Ennore Creek, and safeguard it for future generations from the common man's perspective. It will be on till June 30. G. Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal, who inaugurated the exhibition on Sunday, pointed out that for thousands of years, people learnt everything through stories and tales. He stressed the importance of creating awareness about the environment through art forms such as music, dance, paintings, collages. 'These days, arts is being used even as a medium of protest. If Chennai is to become a climate-resilient city and march into the 22nd Century, technology and traditional knowledge should join hands,' he added. G. Karthik and B.M. Benisha, co-founders of Aram Thinai said the exhibition was the result of a research project funded by the British Academy and anchored by Coastal Resource Centre. 'We wanted to connect with the people of Ennore through their stories, and wanted more people to understand the importance of the Ennore Creek to the city,' they said. Pictures of the Kodungaiyur dump yard clicked by Sakthi of the Vyasai Thozhargal team are also a part of the exhibition. According to Anitha Pottamkulam, Director (culture), DakshinaChitra, this is the first time that they are holding month-long events for creating environment awareness. 'We have put together walks, art exhibitions, and even a programme on lime wash. We are looking to work with a range of collaborators, who are working with the community,' she said.
