Art for all

A new digital archive aims to showcase works by a diverse range of artists from South India

A scroll down the interactive homepage of newly launched art archive moxie-tales.com, will leave you wanting more. At first, we’re greeted by the icon of a grey paper drawer that shouts “click here” and when we do, the site opens up into an interactive world of creative journeys, of artists from different pockets of South India. The profiles set-up reveals works by each artist, a small-write up about their style and directions on where to find more of their work. It’s built in a way that invites art connoisseurs and enthusiasts to explore these artists and their practices. Chennai-based artist and arts professional Moksha Kumar is the architect of this website, which was created with the aim of promoting talents from the southern part of India, and giving them a boost in art spaces and markets.

Untitled by Gurunathan Govindan on the site

“There’s a struggle that comes with being an artist and also working in an admin capacity to promote your work. It is hard to find a balance between the two, and as artists we aren’t taught how to tackle this. In India, there’s not enough education in the field of arts that can enable us to understand the business side of things, specifically so in South India,” she reveals. This prompted Kumar to start the platform, and use it to represent diverse voices that deserved the centre-stage.

The site also focuses on showcasing talents of neuro-diverse artists, that are displayed in collaboration with Chennai-based visual art programme A Brush With Visual Art (ABWA), which aims to change the perception of neuro-diverse peoples.

Moksha Kumar

The core idea behind the curation and creation was to harness the power of the digital medium to bring art to the people and not limit it to galleries and on-ground exhibitions. “How can you use technology to create a space for creatives? That was the goal. If you take a look at the NFT (Non Fungible Token) art space, you will see that art is centred on the artist. In the market coming up now, Indian artists are willing to take up their individual power and there need not be an institution or gallery to validate it,” she adds. This where digital spaces come in and create ease in accessibility for art lovers, and help artists who are unable to push their work otherwise.

“A digital space can be limiting in terms of observing texture and colours in artworks; it won’t be perfect all the time but it does still represent the artist, to a wider audience. A digital platform can afford to showcase these works, without having to focus on monetary aspects,” concludes Kumar.

Log on to: www.moxie-tales.com

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