During the pandemic, at one of the culture corners presented at a team all-hands, one of my co-workers talked about his passion for collecting art, and how one could start small and go beyond thinking about owning art as something rich people do.
As I absorbed this new information over Zoom, I looked around at the starkly empty walls in my apartment. I decided to acquire some paintings. Was it because I was home all day and losing my mind staring at the white walls? Maybe. Maybe not.
Now I don’t know anything about art, not in the way an Arts major would. I wanted to own art pieces I thought would be cool and ideally one of a kind - that meant not a print from IKEA. This was going to be my new side project to make myself feel alive (The lockdowns were a rough time for many reasons)
I looked up art galleries online to see what was on offer - Beautiful paintings with price tags that humbled me quickly. Anything in my budget were prints. I understand why one can’t buy a painting for that price but that’s all I had to spend at the time.
The pandemic lockdowns were tough for many reasons, but one of the silver lings to come out of it was people now found time to pursue hobbies. Friends who grew up artistically inclined but chose to go corporate found an outlet again (I spent more time playing the guitar than I had in the 5 years before that)
I messaged two friends asking if I could commission a piece from them. I just needed it to be about tigers (I love tigers, that’s a story for a different day) They were delighted! It was an opportunity to get paid for their art - something they never considered.
Now I have 2 pieces that hang proudly on my walls! It’s an original piece, it’s about something I love AND it’s made by someone I love and care about. Every time, I have a visitor I love showing them the paintings and sharing the story.
Next, I want to explore buying prints from my photographer friends!
What is art? It is whatever we want it to be. I chose it to be things made by my friends :)
Made by Candice D’Souza
Made by Mohit Rajadhyaksha
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