New Delhi- The winners of the inaugural Ojas Art Award have been announced today, with all three artists selected to exhibit their work at the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival alongside some of the most engaging contemporary art writers of our time.
The award, co-organised between Teamwork Arts, producer of the Festival, and Delhi-based art organization Ojas Art, will this year celebrate and reward excellence in Gond Art.
Two of the winning artists will each receive a cash prize in support of their ongoing work, and the opportunity to reach a potential audience of 2,50,000 visitors that are expected to attend the world’s largest free literary festival between January 21-25, 2015.
The selected artists for the Ojas Art Award 2015 are as follows:
1st Prize (Rs 51,000) : Bhajju Shyam
Bhajju is a well-known Gond artist, having exhibited his work at the Museum of London and on tour in the UK, Germany, Holland, Italy and Russia. Born in 1971 in the Gond tribal village of Patangarh, sixteen year-old Bhajju travelled to Bhopal where he became apprentice to Jangarh Singh Shyam.
His best-known work, The London Jungle Book, is a visual travelogue of his 2002 visit to London, where he went to paint the interior of an up-market Indian restaurant. The book, published by Tara Books and the Museum of London, was released in November 2004, along with a three-month exhibition at the Museum. In 2001, he received a state award for Best Indigenous Artist.
Bhaju Syam said, “I am very happy to be the winner of the inaugural edition of the Ojas Art Award. In the long run, this will prove to be beneficial for the entire Gond artist community.”
2nd Prize (Rs 31,000) : Venkat Raman Singh Shyam
Venkat Raman Singh Shyam was born in 1970 to a humble family of Pardhan Gond tribals living in the village Sijhora, in eastern Madhya Pradesh. He began painting at the age of ten, and in 1988 moved to the city of Bhopal — where he worked for five years as an apprentice to his uncle, the master artist Jangarh Sing Shyam (1960-2001), who initiated the contemporary Gond art movement.
He has received numerous awards nationally and internationally. His works are a part of many collections worldwide, some of the institutional collectors are : LACMA, Los Angeles, USA; Chatrapati Shivaji Museum, Mumbai; Chitra Kala Parishad, Bangalore; Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai and Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal.
Venkat Shyam said, “It is heartening to see private participation in tribal art space. It is very heartening and something like this was long overdue.”
Special Prize : Roshni Vyam
Roshni Vyam born in 1994 to Gond artists Durga Bai Vyam and Subhash Vyam. She grew up observing her parents and at a very young age knew that art was her calling. Growing up she took part in many workshops and also illustrated books. For her undergraduate studies she secured admission in the art department of the coveted M.S. University, Baroda. Here she found the curriculum to be very regimented and westernized and thought she will get disconnected from her Gond roots, and decided to not join the art school.
Roshni continued her practice and decided to pursue textile designing at NIFT, Bengaluru where she is encouraged to imbibe her traditional art in current fashion and is expected to graduate in 2016.
Roshni Vyam said, “As a young artist, it is very encouraging to be getting this special award. I am sure this will prove to be a great stepping stone for my artistic journey and career.”
Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, Producer of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival said, “We are excited to be bringing these three exceptional artists to Jaipur to share their work with our Festival audience. The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival has a proud tradition of celebrating excellence in creative expression and today’s announcement of the winners of the inaugural Ojas Art Award showcase this.”
Anubhav Nath, Director of Ojas Art, said, “We received numerous applications and it was not an easy decision. The art community has been very supportive of the Ojas Art Award. Over the coming years, we aim to evolve as the premier award in the tribal and traditional art space. Next year, we plan to focus on Mithila and Madhubani Art.”