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With One Art A Day, Inktober Challenge Gives Artists Global Exposure
With One Art A Day, Inktober Challenge Gives Artists Global Exposure
With One Art A Day, Inktober Challenge Gives Artists Global Exposure
Long before millennials went crazy over the ‘Ice Bucket challenge’
and the ‘Bottle Cap challenge’ on social media, another challenge
had held the art world’s attention way back in 2009 — InkTober!
InkTober refers to a month-long art challenge created by Utah-
based artist Jake Parker to improve his drawing skills and develop a
good drawing habit. However, what started off as a challenge 10
years ago soon became a tradition of sorts in the world of global
art.
“When I came across InkTober last year, I was taken aback by this
sheer force of creativity, it was like I wasn’t painting on my own any
more, like I always work on subjects in my garden. It was like
working together with a community of artists living all across the
globe. It was refreshing and it felt so motivational, challenging and
real to do this with millions of artists,” she says.
“What was more satisfying was checking and learning from other
artists. All I could feel was ‘Wow this is huge, this is crazy and what
an art piece’ kind of expressions leaving me on my toes constantly,”
she recalls while browsing through the works of several other
artists.
Khatoon also admits that taking part in the challenge has improved
her skills and that she also received positive feedback on her
works. “At the end of each day, I was amazed with the velocity and
beauty of each work I completed. So it’s a great place to push
yourself and work constantly.”
“We have a rich culture and artists can refer to epics like Ramayana
and Mahabharata for inspiration. The Indian art forms could be
promoted on global platforms like InkTober challenge so that it gets
proper exposure,” says A Udayasankar, an artist, art curator, and art
consultant.
He highlights how artists in a city like Chennai suffer due to the lack
of government art galleries. “The private ones are expensive and
not everyone can afford those. The artists here don’t get much
support or promotion for their works,” Udayasankar adds.
“So many students pass out from the fine arts college in Chennai.
But they do not get adequate exposure and even exhibiting in
galleries too has become very expensive. They rarely get to show
their art to others,” she adds.