Bringing out the best in children

BHUWANESWAR: Their nimble fingers played on the canvas like soothing musical notes and the lively colours poured onto the paper gave shape to their flowing thoughts on nature and its beautiful creations. And the result was not just the emergence of visually pleasing paintings but also their artistic imagination.Bright flowers, splashes of vibrant colours, croaking lime green frogs, blossoming pink flowers, fishes and red sea creatures sparkled in the delightful paintings.These works of art, the creative expression of tiny tots and little adults, were the result of cheerful endeavour of the Orissa Modern Art Gallery, to envelop children in exuberance and joy through constructive and creative activities conducted specifically for them. What makes these paintings so special is that these were displayed at an exhibition - Art Heart - at the Orissa Modern Art Gallery.Gallery director and painter Tarakant Parida said  Art Heart is the beginning of a series of exhibitions to showcase child artists from across the country below the age of 15. He said the gallery has been hosting an annual summer art camp for the child artists namely ‘Fine Hearts’ here for several years and the response has been encouraging. This promoted us to launch a series of shows exclusively for the child artists with the aim to nurture their talent, he said.Art Heart is first in the series and eight children were selected to exhibit their works in the show. They are Kritika Patnaik, Srutee Mohapatra, Arin Sahu, Asutosh Jena, Avipsa Biswal, Rishab Panda, Priyavardhan Mishra and Kritarth Sahu.The idea is all about giving an opportunity to children to have “pure unadulterated fun in a natural, pleasant and soothing environment, watching their own creativity surge to life,” Parida said. “Dabbling with art helps children develop their own perceptions and attitudes because they draw, they colour what they see individually. They also develop leadership qualities because they believe that what they are doing is right, all this apart from their creative expression of course,” Parida added. The children also exhibited several work on nature. But some dared to think differently and drew inspiration from their mothers’ kitchens painting them in detail. The exhibition was inaugurated on July 2 and concluded on July 5. As many as 150 creations were on display.The Art Heart series will conclude with the national-level child art festival that would be hosted in the city in December coinciding with the Shilpi Divas celebrations. Parida said that registration for participation has started on July 1 and would end on September 5. The national-level child art exhibition hosted by the gallery had also received rave response.