UAE-based guild believes art shows humanity the way forward

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Members of the Guild are planning to raise fund for the flood victims in Kerala.
Members of the Guild are planning to raise fund for the flood victims in Kerala.

The group which functions as a family also comes to the rescue of its members and community in rough times.

By Saman Haziq

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Published: Tue 11 Sep 2018, 9:00 PM

Last updated: Tue 11 Sep 2018, 11:12 PM

Art functions in myriad ways. It heals, it enthralls, it shows humanity the way forward.It was with the aim of promoting art and culture, a group of Indian artists and connoisseurs of art formed the Guild in the UAE on April 11, 2010. With most of them staying in Satwa, Indian expat Promod, who passed away two years ago, got together with a few friends who were passionate about learning and teaching art but were unable to follow their passion as they were forced to take up other professions for commercial reasons. 
Elaborating on the idea of the Guild, Vineeth, who is the secretary of the group, said: "The group has now grown to have about 25 artists, all of whom have some or the other strong connection with art. While some are acclaimed artists, others are are amateur artists. But they all have come together to nurture their passion for art through this group called the Guild."
Guided by eminent artists like K.K.N. Nambiar, Vineeth has been participating in group shows for years. His favourite medium is oil on canvas and he is constantly in search of developing a style of his own.
"Many of us have had to suppress our creativity and go into different commercial fields to earn a living so in order to bring our creative side out, we planned and met on Fridays or any off days so that we could paint and also tell people about art."
Ever since its inception, the Guild has been conducting painting exhibitions, workshops, experimental sessions, discussions in Dubai and even Sharjah on a regular basis. The Guild provides the artists a platform to showcase their talent and also helps them to sell their works.
Some of the passionate individuals behind the Guild - Kumar Chadayamangalam (current president); Uday Russelpuram; Ramesh Vellinezhi; Shafi Beypore; Narayan Kadavath; art director Nisar Ibrahim, Sadasivan Ambalamedu - juggle between their day jobs that keep them afloat and their artistic pursuit, and always make it a point to find time for their passion.
The group holds workshops in community parks, where they meet up on their days off and paint. "We want to reduce the gap between artists and common people who have some very basic questions about art such as what is abstract art, why can't common people understand it? This was the purpose of our workshops," Vineeth told Khaleej Times.
The most recent art workshop was done by the group was with underprivileged children where they not only worked with children on a unique art installation but also narrated inspiring stories of artists.
The group which  functions as a family also comes to the rescue of its members and community in rough times.
"After the Kerala floods, we all contributed an amount to the chief minister's fund. We will conduct a small workshop where all our members will make one or two art pieces and then put it on sale and raise money for the flood relief fund."
The group's members believe that art transcends barriers and nothing else does.
saman@khaleejtimes.com


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