\”Got an invite to create for a top-notch artist!\” Winners share FIRST TAKE highlights

Through its last four editions, Abir India has received over 8000 entries out of which works of 500 artists have been chosen and 32 artists have been awarded. As Abir India presents FIRST TAKE 2021, Gauri Gharpure talks to past winners about their experience of participating in the event.

Souvik Das: An amazing panel of jury

Souvik had just completed his masters’ and FIRST TAKE 2018 was the first competition he had applied to. After the first round of selection, he was asked to send his works to Ahmedabad and then got an emailing sharing the news of the award. “The award definitely took my career one step forward,” he says. “I was amazed to see the jury from different fields. Muzaffar Ali, Seema Kohli, Ravindra Reddy… – the jury was special!” Moreover, the Abir team continues to be in touch and that is great, he says. See more of Souvik\’s artworks here.

Anju Paliwal: Was mentored by jury member

Participating in competitions for a long time, Anju Paliwal said she was aware of the recognition that the award and the organization carried and so she was quite happy when she won. For her, the highlights were the networking and the mentoring opportunities that the platform extended. “Jury member Johnny M L kept in touch and introduced me to other curators,” Anju says. She was connected with artists from previous competitions on Facebook and Instagram. To see more works by Anju, go here.

Richa Duhan: Got an invite to create for a top-notch artist

For Richa Duhan, it was the opportunity to connect with senior artists that proved a distinctive feature of the competition. Exhibition viewers also asked a lot of questions pertaining to her artworks and it was an engaging experience to discuss her art like that, she says. Richa was thrilled when Goa-based installation artist Subodh Kerkar invited her to design at his museum in Goa. Richa has just completed her Masters’ and is preparing for a solo show sponsored by Raza Foundation. See more works by Richa on this space.

Deepika Sakhat: Moving ahead, I hope Abir India organizes art residencies

Winning the competition inspired her to do more, says Deepika. Abir India continues to remain in touch and whenever her work is displayed on social media channels by them, she gets more followers, comments, and likes. Given the quality of the execution of the event, Deepika hopes Abir India now also organizes art camps and residencies for emerging artists. See more works by Deepika here.

Entries for FIRST TAKE 2021 are now open. The last date to submit applications is July 25. For details on how to participate, read this article and check out Instagram @abir_india