Capturing enviornmental concerns through art

Believing that art is a strong medium to create awareness about the environment, artists from 25 cities have come together to express their concerns through art installations, paintings and photographs.

The 15 artists have joined hands under the theme 'Join World Environment Day' to coincide with the World Environment Day that is observed June 5.

Bringing together the artists for the three-day exhibition, curator Jitendra Padam Jain said it was not aimed at preaching to the people but a small step to crete awareness on the subject.

"It took me four months to conceptualise the theme. It is extremely important for all of us to realise that we are ignoring an important part of our lifestyle. Through this exhibition artists have tried to express their concerns using various forms of creativity," Jain told IANS.

"If all of us take a small step in our daily lives, we will be able to make a big difference in the quest for an environment-friendly planet. This is our way of doing it," he added.

He said artists will be showcasing installations, video art, paintings and photographs to talk about the environment.

Nilanjana Nandy, one of the artists, said her art predominately deals with an urban scenario in which everything is object-oriented.

"Too many man-made things are dominating our society. You look around and you see concrete buildings replacing trees and gardens. We seem to be in a hurry to move ahead at the cost of the environment," Nandy told IANS.

Apart from the participating artists, the exhibition will also have paintings by fashion designers like Aneeth Arora and Anuradha Raman.

Social activist Jaya Jaitly and entrepreneurs like Aashmeen Munjaal and Arpita Bannsal will also showcase their paintings.

Jain said the proceedings from the exhibition will be donated to street children.

Presented by Gallery Sree Arts, the exhibition is at Galerie Romain Rolland in the Indo-French Cultural Center in Lodhi Estate. It will begin June 7.