In a new pan-Indian billboard art display, Mumbai-based artist Pearl D’Souza and Bengaluru’s Aravani Art Project are working on art displaying diverse perspectives, including those of transgender artists, as part of the Walkers and Co project.
The project describes itself as a platform for those “driven by self, belief, their identity, and with it, the interlinked idea of progress”.
The Aravani Art Project has been a platform for cis and trans women artists, along with cisgender men occasionally, working on murals in public art since 2016. According to Aravani, “While the visibility of transgender people is increasing in popular culture and daily life, they still face severe discrimination, stigma and systemic inequality. We are finding more ways to engage the community to come out in public spaces and feel safe, confident and belong”.
Speaking about the current initiative, the project’s founder Poornima said, “The artwork is a message about walking forward and having resilience intact with regard to the trans community, with the picture featuring four trans women striding ahead and leaving challenges behind. It is a metaphor in a cityscape to show that they are part of the urban landscape to which we belong”.
D’Souza said if such issues get more representations, “the more it brings to the forefront its existence”.
“No more allowing people to pretend it doesn’t exist. Art makes people question and relearn what they once might have thought of as an absolute truth…..As an independent artist, I can often find myself stuck in my tiny bubble… Being platformed by Walkers and Co will allow my work and message to reach the masses and hopefully spark necessary conversation.”
Explaining the project, Shweta Jain, CBDO of Diageo, the company behind the Walkers initiative, said, “With our current campaign we wanted to provide a platform big enough that it will take the voice of artists and creators such as Aravani Art project and Pearl D’Souza to millions of people…”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First published on: 10-12-2023 at 09:41 IST
