Join in the Baroda March

Baroda has been a hotbed for artists, who get trained at the Maharaja Sayajirao University (or MS University) of Baroda. Keeping the spotlight on emerging talent is the Baroda March, an event curated by Rukshaan Art, which features promising artists in every edition.


The man with the tiger by Sanjay Barot; acrylic on canvas

In its seventh edition, 58 artists will showcase their works. Curator Rukshaan Krishna elaborates: "It is one of the longest running series of exhibitions. The support from the artists ensures that it can be held annually. The idea is to promote talent and not necessarily newcomers.

Nimesh Patel's art depicts great personalities

We also feature artists who have been working for years as they evolve and showcase a different perspective towards art." Highlighting unknown names is also a characteristic of the March, maintains Krishna. "The fame of the artist doesn't matter; their work should have potential." Interestingly, the works are created specifically for the March and are not part of the artists' earlier collections.

Oil and acrylic on canvas by Bhrigu Sharma

Back in time
Krishna had initially stumbled upon an artist from Baroda and followed him back to the city. She ended up meeting several other artists and was bowled over by the talent. This led to the first Baroda March in 2008. "Since I had a booking at the Coomaraswamy Hall for the month of March, I decided to call it the Baroda March," she states.

Watercolour on paper art by Indrapramit Roy

The event is not restricted to artists from Baroda. Artists from all over the country can participate; the sole criteria being that they should have studied at the MS University or worked there for 4-5 years. Krishna admits that her major challenge was to ensure sufficient display space for the artists, who have worked in diverse mediums.

"It took nine months to develop the show, almost as long as it takes to have a baby," she laughs.