‘From Pain to Paint,’ an exhibition featuring the art created by people with a stigmatised disorder opens at the Alliance Francaise at Maison Colombani on Wednesday.
Curated by the Bindu Art School and led by Austrian multi media artist Werner Dornik, the show will be on till March 26.
The Bindu Art School uses art to change the lives of people affected by leprosy by painting pictures and selling them at international exhibitions, as well as through the site www.bindu-art.at.
The students of the art school also support similarly affected individuals keeping apart 30 per cent of their earnings and, in turn, teach them what they themselves have learnt. For leprosy-affected people, this unique process is far removed from a charity-based approach. They are consequently treated with respect and gain dignity.
The students’ age ranges between 20 and 84 years and most are illiterate and from different religious traditions. They draw from their own intense life experiences and use unique personal qualities to produce impressive paintings. In India, one million people affected by leprosy live as ‘untouchables’ and are pushed to the margins of society, some even depend on alms to survive.
Although leprosy is a curable disease, social stigma persists, and it is in this context that the art school was established.
By using a documentary film, a book, various exhibitions and this portal, the artistic quality of these individuals and the reality of their lives are brought to the attention of wider audiences, according to Werner Dornik and Padma Venkataraman, co-founders of the art school.
‘From Pain to Paint’ exhibition opens tomorrow at Maison Colombani
