This month we celebrate the first birthday of Indigo Mustard Art Project - a small bootstrapped venture slash passion-project.
It has been a year since our first workshop with the reputed watercolour-artist Vikrant Shitole. I still remember that first nervous telephonic conversation with him. He, in his absolute down-to-earth way, accepted to collaborate ...and there began our journey.
The feedback received during and after this first workshop was overwhelming. I had never seen an artist teach the way Vikrant did and nor had I ever seen a live demonstration of watercolours. The joy of seeing 15 participants immersed in art, away from the noise of the world was a moment of truth. It just felt SO right. To create this silent spark for the love of art.
Almost magically we kept meeting new artists and organically grew with each workshop. In the year gone by, Indigo Mustard hosted 13 workshops with some of the best artists in Mumbai. Every artist bringing something different, something irresistible to the table.
Listening to our participants always pointed us in the right direction. We covered watercolours, mixed media, acrylic, charcoal, pencils, oils, inks and even clay! From plein air landscapes to abstraction to portraiture to calligraphy to sculpture. We even supported an emerging artist to raise funds for an NGO by selling her artworks through our online shop.
Did we know we would end up doing so much? No.
Did we have a business plan? No.
Did we go with the flow? Yes
Did it work? Hell yes!
The germination of Indigo Mustard was also inspired by the “slow movement”. We stuck to about a workshop a month, to do justice to the curation process. The workshops were structured such that they allowed people to take their time to complete a painting; allowed people to interact with the artists, share a meal and ask questions that nobody cared to answer before; allowed people to talk to each other and build a community; a community of artists and art lovers that feels like family now.
Indigo Mustard is still an infant and like most infants it’s age, it has brought immense joy to its mother and the extended family. Nobody knows what it will grow up to become, but we promise to keep it very curious.
Happy birthday dear.
For the love of art.
Comments