Exploring folk arts of India

Aman Preet's love towards curating art shows and workshops, as an obsession to create a platform for the folk artisans of our country and preserve our indigenous art form through her studio 'Sirjanhara'.

The 29-year-old is a Chandigarh born and brought up in Hyderabad. She completed her graduation in Bachelor of Fine Arts from Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University in Hyderabad and post-graduation MFA at Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati University in West Bengal. At present, she is practicing sculpting at her studio 'Sirjanhara' at Sun City, Hyderabad. She loves experimenting with various material and incorporate Indian traditional folk techniques and mediums in her work, that she learnt in person from the folk artisans.

Aman says, "I love curating art shows and workshops, I work as an art curator and advisor at Rajeshwar Rao Art Gallery. I travel to different parts of rural India to explore and connect with various folk artisans."

About her family background she says, "I am a Punjabi by birth, and we migrated to Hyderabad in the year 1995 when I was 3-and-a-half-year old, and hence I consider my life to be a fusion of North and South. My family (including my siblings) are businessmen being typical Punjabis, however, I am the odd one out to choose Art as my profession. My parents were clueless about the art field and were reluctant initiallybut always encouraged and supported me throughout."

Since her childhood, she loved art and did many murals at home, and amongst them, she loved making clay sculptures the most. She also loved visiting historical places and attending art workshops as a child and it was only after her intermediate (MPC) she realised her love for art and on enquiring wrote an entrance exam at JNAFAU where her dad kept a condition of a free seat to join art as a profession otherwise it would be engineering. She finally secured 16th rank and got a free seat.

She had done a master's in sculpture and loves experimenting with materials.

"My art is very spiritual in nature with me as the centre of subject reflecting my inner thoughts and conflicts that usually questions my surrounding or the current issues. I create my secret positive symbols that become part of my artwork and hence you see lots of forms, lines, and colours in my work. To describe in short; my body of work is endless learning, exploring, preserving, and research of ME- myself through the enriched cultural and traditional Land I belong to," adds Aman.

Self-portraits being constant in her work, at present she is working with paper clay (one of my experiment material) creating a series of miniature sculptures with her symbolic creatures. Her studio invites folk artisans and works with them on various projects and plans to expand her studio and process of collaboration work with space for artist residency.