Chithravathi Magazine

“Every face is a tale, a smiling volcano carrying within the invisible fire and the visible resolve.” As one enters the Hallegua Hall - Palette People Gallery & Artists’ Studio in Mattancherry, Kochi, where Neydhal (The Coast), an exhibition of photographs by Vetrivel, an upcoming photographer from Chennai, is on, what captures the attention of the viewers is the ethnic features of the people whose eyes tell the stories of their struggles and fights against the odd, as reflected in this caption. Of course, Vetrivel has been deeply interested in photography ever since his childhood, and he used to roam around with his mom’s cellphone, capturing the everyday objects that fancied him. However, the childhood impression slowly transformed into a passion and he started looking at photography as a medium of art to capture various facets of our society at its expressive best. “As the realities of life that cannot be expressed in a few words emerged before me, I gained the confidence to use

The latest edition of the biennale is based on the theme, ‘In Our Veins Flow Ink and Fire’, curated by Singaporean artist Shubigi Rao 88 artists, over 200 projects spread across heritage properties, warehouses, galleries and public spaces in Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, and Ernakulam; dozens of collateral programmes, workshops, discussions, films shows, various cultural activities and much more. The fifth edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale, at Kochi in Kerala, which was deferred for two years due to COVID-19 pandemic, is a unique amalgamation of contemporary art, attracting thousands of people every day. Kochi Muziris Biennale has been able to breathe an air of new aesthetics, secularism and warm solidarities because of the specificity of the site, said Bose Krishnamachari, President, Kochi Biennale Foundation. Bose Krishnamachari and Shubigi Rao Formally opened on December 23, 2022, the latest edition of the biennale is based on the theme, ‘In Our Veins Flow Ink and Fire’, curated by Sing

The workshop of tribal art takes the students to a new world of imagination Your imagination takes wings when you identify yourself with nature. The workshops organized for the students of The Velammal International School (TVIS), as part of their visit to National Institute of Design (NID) Madhya Pradesh, at Bhopal, on the occasion of the three-day Madhya Pradesh Design Utsav (MPDU) – Fusion Con – from December 18 to 20, proved to be really a unique experience, because it brought them closer to a new world of imagination that is rooted in the beauty of nature and the idea of coexistence. The workshop on Gond art, organized as part of the festival, was one such programme, which unleashed their imaginative talent and skill. While they got the chance to personally experience the way in which the traditional artists worked, the brief workshop with the participation of the traditional artists also helped them try their skill in making their own works of art based on the traditional style o

TVIS students take part in Fusion Con, the annual design fest at National Institute of Design Madhya Pradesh in Bhopal Design is not just a visual experiences, and its ambits are not restricted to what we thought as design conventionally. When the students of The Velammal International School (TVIS), got the golden opportunity to visit National Institute of Design (NID) Madhya Pradesh at Bhopal on the occasion of the three-day Madhya Pradesh Design Utsav (MPDU) – Fusion Con – from December 18 to 20, it was a new holistic involvement that they got, which has the potential to redefine their career outlook. Apart from the golden opportunity to visit the campus and interact with the faculty members and students, they also took part in various workshops and competitions that provided them the firsthand experience to go deeper into the spectrum of design innovations there. “We felt we are now university students. These are the opportunities that we don’t get everywhere.  We feel that our sch

“Letters act as practical and useful signs, but also as pure and inner melody” - Wassily Kandinsky He is a master of calligraphy, the art of creating decorative handwriting or lettering. And it is that mastery in this creative segment that made artist Narayana Bhattathiri quite unique. As we all know, calligraphy is not just an art, and some basic knowledge of calligraphy would definitely improve the confidence of the children to write better, thus strengthening their academic performance as well. When the Velammal Knowledge Park (VKP) decided to hold a workshop on calligraphy, the first person who came to our mind was Bhattathiri, who has an unparalleled talent in this field. We wanted our students to have firsthand experience on calligraphy, while organizing this workshop from November 5 to 7 in the Ponneri campus of the educational group. Aptly named ‘Calli-Darpan - Let your letters give wing to your creative spirit’, this workshop proved to be a unique experience for the students f

What makes the latest exhibition of Ramachandran, opened at Emami Art Gallery in Kolkata, interesting for students is that his original children’s book illustrations are also on display in this show. Five children’s books written by him were also released at the opening of the show. The season of art exhibitions has just begun and this year Kolkata is celebrating it with a major exhibition, ‘Songs of Reclamation: The Art of A. Ramachandran’, curated by R Siva Kumar. The show, organised by Emami Art, a prominent art gallery in Kolkata, in collaboration with Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, is a retrospective-scale solo that brings together a remarkable body of works by Ramachandran that includes paintings, sculptures, drawings and sketches. What is more interesting is that his original children’s book illustrations are also on display in this show. Ramachandran belongs to the generation of Indian artists who began their careers in the 1960s and whose art was shaped by India’s post-indepe