Press Note:
Scaffold presents- Broadway
Inauguration: July 31, 2020, Friday 6:30 pm IST
Scaffold is a group that was founded by Shinod Akkaraparambil and co-founded by Sujeeth Kumar Sreekandan in 2011 through discussions that led to a Facebook profile. Our first group show was in 2014 and included college peer Vijay Pichumani. As a trio, we went on to present major shows in Chennai and Bangalore. The expansion of the group felt imminent as the idea of Scaffold is to collaborate with artists from different cultural backgrounds and work in different media. Consequently, we welcomed Janarthanan Rudhramoorthy, Kiran Thulasi, and Sameer Rao in 2019, paving the way for this project. Through this show, I am delighted to involve Marcia Neblett, Lynn Bennett-Mackenzie, Vasundhara Shankari, and Tamara de Laval.
The COVID pandemic has restricted movement of people and has defined the boundaries of interactions within homes. Technology, on the other hand, transcends physical borders and expands virtual connections. There is no more internationalism in the virtual world moving forward, which calls into question the specificity of cultural background. Although art cannot be enjoyed virtually in the same way as reality, the possibilities of social media as new age galleries to express our thoughts, as well as reaching a larger audience is exciting.
The idea behind this curatorial project connects to my experience as an artist and brings together artists who have a connection to Chennai. The show title ‘Broadway’ refers to the College of Fine Arts, Chennai. Founded in 1850, it was located at Broadway, moving to its present premises on EVR Periyar road later. If it weren’t for this college, I would not have had the opportunity to meet the 9 other artists in this group show. It has been fascinating to travel back to the roots of my practice as an artist and to pay tribute to the college in which I learned and experienced art. Four of the participating artists in this exhibition are alumni of Govt. College of Fine Arts and Marcia Neblett was a visiting professor at this prestigious institution. The other artists have either visited the college or have been closely associated with Chennai.
Participating Artists:
1. Janarthanan Rudhramoorthy
2. Kiran Tulasi
3. Lynn Bennett-Mackenzie
4. Marcia Neblett
5. Sameer Rao
6. Shinod Akkaraparambil
7. Sujeeth Kumar Sreekandan
8. Tamara de Laval
9. Vasundhara Shankari
10. Vijay Pichumani
The Online Exhibition Opens on 31st of July 2020 at 6. 30 Pm Online and continues till Sunday, September 13, 2020
During the course of this exhibition, there will be online interactive conversation sessions with the participating artists. Art Enthusiasts and artists can visit the exhibition on our social media platforms and website.