When parks turn into open air art galleries

As more organisers of art events seek to host them outside galleries and museums, they expect support from the local civic body

More than 500 artists across age groups will turn Senmozhi Poonga into a dazzling kaleidoscope of colours on February 2. The second edition of Chennaiyil Oar Oviya Sangamam, an art exhibition presented by Indian Art Factory, will see participants, some from other cities, take every inch of their stall under tree canopies and behind plants to present a vibrant art gallery. The event is a big stage for aspiring and upcoming artists. Many of these artists do not have the means or the qualification to present their works at art galleries.

While the larger goal of taking art to public spaces is to bridge the gap between artists and audiences through creative expressions, the road to this is not so easy.

For six editions, the Art Fest at Nageshwara Rao Park in Mylapore, curated by journalist and publisher Vincent D. Souza and artist Ganapathy Subramaniam, has served as a date for public engagement. This year, however, the fest scheduled to take place during the last week of February, will see a change of venue.

Since civic works are under way at Nageshwara Rao Park, the venue is not fully suitable for an art show, says a post on Facebook. It meanwhile wants people to keep their artworks ready.

In August 2024, for the first time, Government College of Fine Arts in Egmore organised an art exhibition on the Egmore Museum premises.

In 2023, Anna Nagar Tower Park got to host the Tamil Nadu Art and Craft Trust Expo 2023 but with conditions. Greater Chennai Corporation did not give permission for artworks to be sold, they could only be exhibited. “That was the condition laid down to me to use this venue and we agreed as we wanted to give many struggling artists a platform and to some extent the open air exhibition served its purpose,” says the organiser Jaffer Beig who is a member of Tamil Nadu Artists Association.

Ganapathy Subramaniam of Art Fest says they too were asked not to promote the event as a “sales event”. “Art requires a lot of promotion, so the least support we ask for is that Greater Chennai Corporation give us space,” says Ganapathy.