The Art Society Manipur (ASM) wants more women artists to go beyond the clouds, achieving fame and recognition on national and international platforms.
Marking an end to the five-day-long “2nd State Level Women Artist Workshop” that was kick-started on December 26, artworks by 11 participants, which were painted during the five days of the workshop, were exhibited at the premises of Manipuri Ensemble Complex, Langthabal, Imphal West on Friday.
During the workshop, participants were made to work on their art pieces for the exhibition which was at times intervened by experts and teachers giving them opinions and comments.
Most of the women artists in the states tend to lose their art, either because of their professional works or because of their marital life, ASM secretary Maibam Manigou said while speaking on the occasion.
The exhibition of the artworks was followed by a presentation of Certificates and Honorarium to the 11 participants. The workshop, being conducted for the second time, Maningou says, only 11 participants were chosen after a screening process, selecting only artists who have a basic knowledge of the art.
A participant in the workshop, Waribam Nelopal Devi, said that though she came across a lot of female artists during the early stages of her studies, they stopped continuing their work after getting married or getting into their professional life but this culture has declined to a decent level as most of the women artists of the newer generation still continue to work even with their professional works and married lives on the side. She also said that there are merely 50 professional women artists in the state.
Salam Alina Devi, a participant, while speaking about her motivations and inspirations for her artwork of two Manipuri women, said that there has been a significant rise in the number of female artists in the state.
Despite art being a profession, which provides a multitude of opportunities and career options, it is always seen in a small state like Manipur that being an artist becomes a hardship in providing for a family.
Most of the participants of the workshop were students while others working as teachers and in other professions, the artists that joined the workshop were passionate painters but not by profession.
Nelopal mentioned that with the amount of work and responsibilities piling up, making time to make an artwork sometimes becomes a challenging task.
The exhibition was inspected by G Dharmadas Sharma, Deputy Director (Programme), Department of Art and Culture who also participated in the event as the chief guest.
