A month-long photo exhibition – ‘Africans in India’ — is under way at S.S. Arts College here. Organised jointly by the college and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, the exhibition has around 70 photographs depicting the history of Africans in India.
College principal V. V. Hiremath told The Hindu that the history of Africans in India goes back 1,300 years.
“The exhibition is an attempt to bring to light the rich history of cultural exchange that took place between India and Africa over the centuries. It also delves into issues such as ancestral links of Africans in the Deccani sultanate, to Indian paintings and to the Sufi saints,” he said.
Mr. Hiremath said the exhibition also aims to educate arts students about the importance of traditional art which is gradually vanishing.
“Over the years, many arts students have been showing an inclination towards modern/ abstract painting by drifting away from traditional art,” Mr. Hiremath said.
One of the primary reasons is that traditional styles demand enormous patience, something that is rare among students now,” he further said.
He added that the exhibition will help students learn the intricacies of traditional art.
Swapna Kaladgi, a final-year student of Bachelor of Visual Arts, said the exhibition has brought many rare photographs under one roof.
“For students, it is difficult to travel to different places to see such paintings that help us learn more about traditional art,” Ms. Swapna Kaladgi said.
