Creating a support structure for visual art students in Vadodara

Annual degree shows at art colleges represent a coming-of-age moment for students. Popularly referred to as “display shows”, these exhibitions offer aspiring visual arts practitioners the first opportunity to share their formative practices with a wider audience while also getting noticed by gallerists and curators. Last month, the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) in Vadodara organised its annual degree show for students pursuing master’s and bachelor’s degrees across disciplines. The painting department stood out for diver sity of practices marked by individuality of expression and profound personal narratives.

Visual artist Mahesh Baliga was impressed by the explorations of materiality on display, especially by the master’s students. “I found them brave in extending the idea of painting, be it on woven fabric, stitching on canvas or using the ladder as metaphor and framing device,” explains Baliga, who has been living in Baroda since 2005 and is an alumnus of MSU as well. Also remarkable were budding practices in textile. Take, for instance, the visual vocabulary of a young student, Nandini Patel, who extracts thread from cotton cloth. She then uses subtle interventions to reveal underlying structures and forms. Her powerful monochromatic work won her the prestigious Nasreen Mohamedi Jury Award in her cohort earlier this term.

Her classmate, Annanya Dhanda, also stood out for the use of fabric as a retainer of memory. Her presentation at the degree show followed a successful showcase at the recently-concluded Students’ Biennale in Kochi. “I have been seeing Annanya’s work since she was a first-year student, and she has matured as an artist. She has learnt to keep her work more open ended, allowing for multiple readings,” elaborates artist and jury member, Sachin Karne.

Besides the institutional framework offered by MSU, multiple artist-led collectives and studios too have come up in Vadodara to support young artistic voices. Artist couple, Rekha Rodwittiya and Surendran Nair, set up The Collective Studio in Vadodara in 1984 and have, over the years, fostered emerging practices. They announced an award for young artists based on their display at the annual degree show. The inaugural prize went to Dhanda. As part of this, she gets to present her work at Gallery White in 2027 in a solo showcase. There is an increasing presence of mainstream galleries at these degree shows. For instance, the first day of the exhibition at MSU included visits by teams from Chemould CoLab, Art and Charlie from Mumbai, Muziris Contemporary based out of Kochi and Mumbai, Anant Art, Art Incept and Gallery 320 from Delhi, Art Exposure from Kolkata, and the homegrown Gallery White.

This was the third visit to the yearly showcase by Joe Cyril, founder of Muziris Contemporary. “Among other things, I specifically look for students who have a bachelor’s degree from one art school and a master’s degree from another to see how their practice has evolved (from one to the other),” reveals Cyril. The growing vibrancy of the arts ecosystem in Vadodara is also going a long way in creating a support structure for young students. Take, for instance, Gallery White, which was founded by collector Vinit Nair in 2018. Spread across 3500 sq. ft, the space has featured both established and emerging artists from the city in recent years.

A key fixture in their program ming is Baroda Annuelle. “We curate this as a group exhibition every year to spotlight prom ising artistic practices from the city. The idea emerged from studio visits during the covid-19 pandemic and we have now completed five editions,” shares Nair. The latest edition in March featured three recent MSU graduates. “I have been closely following the develop ment of a couple of artists from when they were undergraduate students. Among them, I have offered painting student Krisha Bhuva a slot at next year’s Baroda Annuelle and also personally acquired works by her from the dis play,” he adds.

Meanwhile the Ark Foundation for The Arts—a collaborative institution dedicated to the archiving of artistic histories—is building a large new museum on the outskirts of the city. The Space Studios in Alembic City run a popular residency, which attracts emerging artists from across the country while artist-run printmaking studios like Awaaz, Litholekha and Vichitra have created vital local infrastructure for younger artists beyond the campus. It’s no wonder then that many of the MSU alumni choose to stay back in the city, while others keep coming back. 2003-alumnus Bud dhadev Mukherjee, after having lived away for 12 years, shifted back last month. “The city has a relaxed pace of life and lower cost of living, which affords artists the opportunity to experi ment and create work through uncertain times,” says Mukherjee. “Artists of varying backgrounds, ages and experience live and work here. There is a deep sense of community, and one can reach out to senior artists for men torship easily.”

Anindo Sen is an independent art writer.