Published On : Mon, Feb 13th, 2017

Herd Foundation’s cause célèbre – art for a cause

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HERD Foundation
Nagpur:
HERD Foundation unfolds the Community Mural Artwork being created at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport by illustrious mural artist Augustina Droze from USA along with 46 HERD volunteer artists of the city. Dr Suchika Gupta Deshmukh, MD, HERD Foundation is quite certain that the Big Wall Mural Project will become a talking point for commuters and that her ideation would facilitate everyone to see the larger picture of a core area of concern. Admeasuring 2030 square meters the huge mural is a graphic depiction that is being creatively put together. What the picturesque walls represent will be for onlookers to decipher upon gazing at 230 running-feet of two entire walls of the hallway.

HERD Foundation is a private, non-profit organization that presents this Community Mural Artwork for the appreciation of public art. The Big Wall Mural Project was inspired by the ingenuity of Dr Suchika Gupta Deshmukh. To develop this project she worked very closely with the artists and the airport authorities to get everyone on the same table. The key artist Augustina collaborated with 46 HERD volunteer artists assembled by Shagufta Mehdi, art coordinator HERD Foundation, to get them all to capture the idea behind the artwork. This is now resulting in a novel interpretation and an effective and beautiful visual statement. Spectators would be keen to explore various aspects of the mural artwork currently being completed.

Art for a cause is the subconscious objective of this huge mural artwork project taken on with the support of Fulbright Nehru Senior Scholar Augustina Droze. Primarily a public artist and muralist she is also an art educator. One would be struck by the visual elements that depict the underlying theme of the mural. With the huge scale of dimensions it appears almost like visual storytelling to emerge with certain repetitive elements emphasizing its thematic note. The artwork is open to interpretation as it contains free flowing ideas that were actually imagined by school children and given concrete shape by the artists. HERD Foundation encourages passengers and visitors to stop a while and enter the innocent minds that conceived the blueprint of this enormous artwork.

Nagpur Airport is abuzz with the mural artwork in progress. Walking out the halls passengers and onlookers would easily imagine being in an art gallery! The thematic representation is quite in line with HERD Foundation’s vision. Especially significant is the scale of the artwork that will convey important subliminal messages to the public at large in a most fascinating and engaging manner. Key persons Augustina and Suchika planned the entire process to cull the best of skills and understanding that would go into the creation of the mural artwork. Putting their heads together they got desired responses from everyone. The 46 artist volunteers were earlier invited to HERD Foundation office to be instructed at length and offered wherewithal to embark on the project. The entire process is very rewarding and dynamic filling everyone looking forward to the experience. For majority of the artists it is a big opportunity to create art and join hands on this amazing mural.

Aside from revitalizing the blank walls of the airport the artwork is to simply offer visitors a wonderful visual experience. The artists are busy completing the painting work and HERD Foundation looks forward to art aficionados enjoying the mural. It is hoped the artwork will occupy spaces in the minds of onlookers to derive constant engagement with the free flow of ideas expressed therein. HERD Foundation is proud to produce Nagpur’s First Community Art Mural that will surely add to the stature of the airport and the city.