Celebrating Stree Shakti through an art show by women, for women

Throughout Indian culture and mythos, women have been given the highest regard. They’re treated as entities with great energy and will, as those who hold the power of creation, and have often been compared to Goddess Durga – a form of the primordial cosmic energy, Shakti. But, ironically, women have been repressed by society for myriad reasons over the years and they still have to fight for gender equality and sometimes, basic human rights.

An upcoming exhibition in town, The Summer Shades, which is driven by this thought aims to pay tribute to women who come from various communities and races, those who were brave enough to prove that womankind can not only be a great muse for artists, but great visual artists themselves. Brainchild of curator Parul Mittal, the exhibition will feature 25 women artists from around the country coming together in support of feminism. “The exhibition aims to generate abundant energy for women. It also is a way to inspire and motivate the women participating in the exhibition, as well as those who will be showing their prowess in the near future. This is my attempt at encouraging women and bringing them together from across the globe,” says Parul Mittal, curator of the exhibition.

An artwork by artist Gina Gibson.

Bringing a variety of styles and strokes to the exhibition will be artists such as Arunima Kapoor, B. Jaya Lakshmi, Beenu Gupta, Chaitali Chanda, Chaitali Mallick Daftari , Chandana Bhattacharjee, Deepali Jain, Dr Sonali Chouhan, Gina Gibson, Hemavathy Guha, Kanchan Prabha Agarwal, Margie Labadie Beth, Padmini Mehta, Rinki Ghosh and Paulami Roy among others. The various pieces as part of the exhibition are also a medium to reach out to women and empower the Shakti within them, enabling them to channel and pursue their creative side while still fulfilling their societal roles of a wife, mother, daughter or sister.

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