Artist, art teacher and Minaaz Art Gallery owner Shahnaz Arni is in her favourite space. “I like to see works of other artists,” she exclaims, pointing towards works hung on the walls of the gallery.
Gauri Vemula’s work attracts her attention and she states, “I wondered what Gauri was thinking when she drew that out-of-shape tree; that fictitious animal on the left neither looks like a human being nor any animal we know; Laxma Goud’s painting is vibrant. These paintings tell you something and are a joy to be surrounded with. One learns a lot by looking at works of different artists. It is important especially if you want to run the gallery.”
Hyderabad calling
One of the oldest among gallery owners in the city, 73-year-old Shahnaz brings memories to life. With both her parents posted in the Army, Shahnaz and her sister travelled all over India and studied in different army schools. Although she wanted to study art, it didn’t materialise and she went on to work with an international airline before she met her (late) husband Ranganath Arni in Kolkata. They got married in Hyderabad. “By then we liked Hyderabad and we built this house (in Jubilee Hills),” she recalls.
When she shared with her husband how she always wanted to study art, she didn’t expect his reaction. “He simply asked what stopped me from joining an art school. So at 23, I took admission in the college of fine arts; I was much older than the first and second year students,” she recollects with a smile. At her college at Hyderguda (before it shifted to its new building at Masab Tank), she was encouraged by senior teachers. “Some of the younger teachers were my friends and when my daughter was born, I would paint her too. Sometimes I would take her to the college and everyone said, ‘ kya acha model hai ’.”
She found a muse in nature, a subject that she still explores with fascination. “I like acrylics and I have developed a fondness for dry pastels. I know it smudges and goes all over the place, but it is fascinating to work with.”
With young artists
Her stint as an art teacher began with Hyderabad International School before it shifted to a different location. “It was good and satisfying both monetarily and otherwise; besides you are not sitting idle.” Then she taught at NASR school for 26 years, where she enjoyed a free, non-interfering teaching environment.
She set up Minaaz art gallery at Banjara Hills in 1994 to provide a space for younger artists to display their work. “Many young artists who returned to their home town of Hyderabad after studying art outside the city, didn’t have a space to showcase their work. I worked as a teacher during the day and opened the gallery in evenings.”
Minaaz moved from Banjara Hills to Jubilee Hills due to a market slump. Her studio at the outhouse of her home became the gallery. “This portion was a terrible mess but I didn’t care. I renovated it and one could look out and see the garden too.” She shares that selling even one painting is a challenge. “Even works of senior artists are hanging on the wall for want of buyers. This was not the case earlier.”
Now she looks forward to selling some paintings and her daughter in Sydney visiting her. “I get excited if I have a good book to read. I am also fond of my garden; it calms me down.”
