Photography show at Taj Bengal brings together 21 women artists

Iconic photographs of women and climate change from Bangladesh, portraits of mothers who are matriarchs from China, stories of India’s child brides, ‘alpona’ as a medium to talk about domestic violence and ‘katha’ creations by one of India’s most iconic artists who received the Padma Shri for her dogged dedication over the past four decades to the representation of female power through ‘Tantrik’ art are among the incredible repertoire of a show that opened on International Women’s day at the iconic Taj Bengal.

The show that opened to the public on March 7 and will continue till March 14 called ‘Women in Art: Art by Women and Art on Women’ has over 21 artists showcasing nearly 170 creations across mediums - from acrylic to embroidery, photography to watercolor and ‘katha’ to charcoal.

The show, curated by Kounteya Sinha and Oiendrila Ray Kapur, was opened on Wednesday by some of Bengal’s stalwarts: dancer Tanushree Shankar, actors Swastika Mukherjee and Chandrayee Ghosh, British Deputy High Commissioner Andrew Fleming and Padma Shri winner Pritikana Goswami, Nayantara Pal Chaudhuri, Dr Dhriti Banerjee from ZSI and others.

Speaking about the unique way to celebrate International Women’s Day, K Mohanchandran from Taj Bengal, said, “We, as a global organisation, not only recognise the contribution of women in the industry and society at large but are also cognisant of their growing influence on business. On the employability front too, we have announced that we will raise women’s participation in our workforce to 25 percent by 2025.”

Arnab Chatterjee, General Manager of Taj Bengal, said, “We wanted to do something meaningful for the International Women’s Day and hence in what would be the first time decided to turn the entire pool area into a venerable gallery where some of the best works of art by women and on women are exhibited for one and all to see.”

Photographer Steverson, who lives in China and has exhibited 10 of his iconic photographs, said, “International Women’s Day stands as a global tribute to the myriad roles played by women.”

Of particular interest in the show have been 10 paintings done by the children studying in classes one to five of the Vivekananda Adarsha Vidyalaya. Topics touched by children include some of the most challenging issues of Sunderbans: from the tiger man conflict and to sinking trawlers due to overcrowding or the deforestation of the region.

Artists exhibiting their works include ‘AD Designer of the Year’ Mahua Lahiri, ‘Vogue Force of Fashion’ winner Bobo, Aniket Mitra, writer Papri Dev, National Award-winning Sunetra Lahiri, the women of Pushpa Bitan Friendship Society, Mumbai based-artist Ankita Roy, alpine artist Suchanda Banerjee, Tarring Anand, Florence Bienalle exhibitor Anukta Ghosh, sculptor Partha Dasgupta and others.