The Hindu : New Delhi News : The evolution of an art form

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 22, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

The evolution of an art form

Madhur Tankha

A retrospective and contemporary exhibition in Delhi

ETHNIC ART: Paintings from Mithila

NEW DELHI: An exhibition of paintings that gives a glimpse into the indigenous art form of the Mithila region in Bihar is now on at the Visual Arts Gallery of India Habitat Centre here.

Rare documentation

Titled "Mithila Painting: The Evolution of an Art Form", the exhibition is a rare documentation of the extraordinary evolution of an indigenous aesthetic tradition.

It has been organised by the Ethnic Arts Foundation (EAF) that is dedicated to the continuing development of Mithila painting. For centuries, women in Mithila have been painting Gods, Goddesses and symbolic icons on the walls of their homes to create auspicious spaces for ritual activities, especially during marriages.

During a devastating drought in the 1990's, several women began transferring these paintings to paper to sell as a new source of family income. Their success was immediate and soon many other women and a few men joined them and a new art form began evolving rapidly.

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