Pics: Abhijith N Kolpe

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Apr 20: A group of young students here joined hands to promote modern art in the city with a message of ‘Growing Together’.

On the eve of World Art Day, an art exhibition was supposed to be held at Mangalore Baking Company near Sanghaniketan where a platform was set for enthusiasts to promote art and exhibit talents. Unfortunately, the plan could not be executed. The co-founder of Mangalore Baking Company, Oshin Pereira and Collin D’Souza were kind enough and allowed graffiti to be made on the rear wall of their place of business.

The group which undertook the work consists of six girls aged around 19 years hailing from Mangaluru. Malaika Sequeira along with Letitia D’Costa, Simona Fernandes, Amnah Khatri, Sahanika Shenoy and Rinee Noronha who are promoting modern art on the back wall of Mangalore Baking Company. The group is well supported by Serena Sequeira and co-founders of Mangalore Baking Company, Oshin Periera and Colin D’Souza, and Gloria Veigas, who have immensely supported and helped them throughout.

The group started its work on April 10 at 7 am following all kinds of Covid protocols.

Speaking to daijiworld.com, artist Malaika said, “Mangalore Baking Company gave us the opportunity to make a mural on their wall which was very exciting for me. I thought of doing something regarding modern art. Later, my friends joined me and this was something new to them as well. We received a lot of support from self-made women entrepreneurs, who are also interested in art and they helped us to paint as well. This is the first modern art installation in Mangaluru. Even Pixncil group has come up with graffiti in Mangaluru.

“Mangaluru has a lot of scope for art. It is good to see women coming forward to support us and joining together makes this really fun and creative. The kids in the neighbourhood also showed interest in the work and helped us out. The objective behind this is ‘Growing Together’. Many ladies had paid visit voluntarily to know what exactly we were doing and lent their support. We feel that art is a huge platform, Mangaluru is filled with talent, but Mangalureans go out looking for talent. We consider artists from Mumbai and Bengaluru, why not Mangaluru itself?

“It is good to see a group of youngsters getting together and trying to make a name which is quite a difficult task. Not due to Covid, but due to problems we face on a day-to-day basis. Covid has made it harder for us. An opportunity like this is good where we see a lot of youngsters coming together. When we come together, we work together. We do not consider someone better than us. We feel that we are learning and that there is always a scope to learn. That is something we are striving for. We want people to come together.

“Women entrepreneurs like Sanchia Nazareth, Joanna Vas of Coppernicus, Dr Shruthi Rao of Soulfully Made crafts, Anvitha Rai, proprietor of Cafe Mandala, Frizzel D'Souza, upcoming music artist, emcee Hera Pinto, and psychologist Arathi Kamath came here. It is beautiful to see them coming together. We do not consider them regarding what they are, but we consider them for what they do. If anything works for a good cause, then it is well and good for us.

“Sapna Noronha, who is an artist herself, helped us and a lot of women entrepreneurs have come forward to support us. We want Mangaluru to be filled with such artwork. That is the message we want to convey and want more people to come together in the name of art,” said Malaika.