MSU alumni bring UK artists to campus

Vadodara: An alumni couple of the famed fine arts faculty of MS University brought 10 artists from the United Kingdom and India for a two-week long art residency program in the city.

Based on the theme around winters in Vadodara, Zahir Shaikh and his wife Ruchita Shaikh organized the Winter Narratives at a farm on the outskirts of the city where artists from the two country can work in a pristine environment in the woods.

“I had started Artcore Gallery, a fine arts charity, in 2009 after migrating to the UK. We have been regularly holding exhibitions in Derby inviting young artists from Vadodara to participate,” said Zahir. Over 50 artists have participated in these exhibitions through which their artworks exhibited abroad for the first time, Zahir said.

After calling artists from Vadodara for around 10 years, Zahir held the first residency program in Vadodara in January where the artists from two countries experienced the kite-flying festival and the kite manufacturing industry. “This time the residency was planned outside so that the ravine land turns offer inspiration to the artists,” he added. The other idea of the residency was to introduce the British artist to the Baroda School of Art and the narratives that develop out of discussions that the artists have with each other and visitors to the residency. “I have worked with artists from abroad but it is always interesting to know how they develop their work,” said one of the participants Shashidharan Nair. He is an assistant professor in painting department at MSU.

“The exchange and interaction were fantastic as we were making art and observing unlike in our studios,” said Dr Chris Wright, a sound artist. With the residency program ending on Thursday, the works made here will be exhibited at Artcore Gallery in Derby in April and May next year.