Event – Abir India

Abir's Annual Show

First Take 2022

FIRST TAKE 2022 is about celebrating works of young artists. Curated from across India, the works will be exhibited . This is ABIR’s big initiative to provide a platform and showcase the art of the generation next.
If you are a young artist and believe in your work, this is meant for you. Out of scores of entries, about 100 works would be picked by the eminent jury from India. The jury will select the best out of the lot and ten awards in total are awarded.
The show will also bring art lovers together, with dialogues, discussions and demonstrations with senior artists, art historians, art critics, curators and investors.

Terms and conditions of 2023

Eminent Jury Members of First Take 2023

Akhilesh Varma

Born in August 1956 at Indore. Diploma in Painting from Indore School of Art ..

Born in August 1956 at Indore. Diploma in Painting from Indore School of Art. Had first one man show at the age of 20 with a 100 feet long drawing. Did 47 show in India and abroad. Curated many shows for young artists including 100 young artists of India on the birth centenary of noted painter S. H. Raza. Wrote 13 books on art and artists including Husain’s biography. Set up two museums, Police Band Museum at Bhopal and Malwa Museum at Indore. Towson Unversity Maryland USA invited to deliver a lecture on Indian Art and to curate a show. Went for artists in residency on invitation by Advance Institute of Studies Nantes, France and Austria, Sweden and Washington.

Dr. Nuzhat Kazmi

An Art Historian and an Art Educator who superannuated recently...

An Art Historian and an Art Educator who superannuated recently as the Head of the Department of Art History & Art Appreciation and a former Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts, Jamia Millia Islamia. An alumnus of Allahabad University, continuing her post graduate studies in Art History at M.S. University, Baroda followed by an MPhil Degree from Delhi University. From 1990 to 1993 she was at the School of Oriental Studies, University of London as Commonwealth Scholar. Her academic interests, especially in the area of Medieval, Modern and Contemporary Art History inspired travels and research and allowed her to explore original art historical materials, manuscripts and a rich body of art works, in the various collections, here in India and outside. As an art historian she has written and spoken on Modern & Contemporary Asian Art and medieval Indian art history, focusing largely on the Mughals and their contemporaries, expanding the global reach of Indian art in the cultural arena and the related socio- political influence.

Nuzhat Kazmi recent publication that may be mentioned here is a book published by Three Essays,

Awraq-e Musavvir

Mughal Art of Portraiture

The Intellectual Context and Content. New Delhi. 2021

Murali Cheeroth

Born at Thrissur district in Kerala (India), in 1966, Murali Cheeroth is...

Born at Thrissur district in Kerala (India), in 1966, Murali Cheeroth is recognized not only as a multi-faceted artist but also an activist and educationist with proven track record. After completing his Diploma in Fine Arts from College of Fine Arts, Thrissur, in 1986, he took is BFA in printmaking (1992) and MFA (1995) in graphic art from Kalabhavan, Shantiniketan, West Bengal. Later, he also had his diploma in multimedia from C-DAC, Ahmedabad.

Some of his major exhibitions include ‘Passage to India’ – the New Indian Art from the Frank Cohen collection in UK (2009); Indian Art summit in New Delhi, SH Contemporary Art Fair, Shanghai, Chicago Art Fair and London Art Fair in 2010, Colombo Biennale, 2012, Chalo India – A group show of Contemporary Indian Artists at Basel Art Centre, Basel, Switzerland, 2014. He participated in 2nd Pula Ketam International Art Festival at Pulaketam, Malyasia. Also, had residencies at Theertha Art Residency, Colombo, India Australia Artist Retreat, Australia India
Institute, Melbourne University, Australia, and Art Residency and show, Gallerie Christian Hosp, Triol, Austria.

The scholarships he got include: Scholarship from Calcutta Cultural Society, Kanoria Foundation Scholarship for Print making, and also Junior Fellowship for research in fibre art from Department of Culture, Govt. of India. The works of Cheeroth have found place in many prestigious collections in India, USA, Japan, France, Canada, Holland, Middle East etc, including Frank Cohen Collection.

Murali Cheeroth, who has widely traveled, has also taught art and design in School of Architecture, CEPT and Kanoria Centre Ahmedabad and NIFT, Chennai and Bangalore.

His works have found place the major collections in India and abroad, including Frank Cohen Collection.

As a painter, Murali Cheeroth mainly focuses on the urban life and its uncertainties, especially when it comes to the people at the grassroots. On the other hand, these surreal canvases rooted in realities of life, express a deep concern about violence in all its manifestation, which has become part and parcel of the urban life. His documentaries and performances are also in a sense the extension of the angst with regards to the dark realities behind the pomp and show of the urban life, which is the identity of his paintings, which are universal in nature when it comes to the treatment as well as themes.

Shampa Shah

Shampa Shah’s practice in clay is located in the dialogue between...

Shampa Shah’s practice in clay is located in the dialogue between the traditional and the modern
and overlaps with her writing and curating. In her three-decade- long journey as an artist, she has
exhibited widely in India and abroad. She established and headed the ceramics section at Indira
Gandhi National Museum of Man(IGRMS), Bhopal. Here she curated important exhibitions around
contemporary folk- tribal arts and crafts practices including the permanent exhibition – Mythology
trail. Worked as consultant Museologist and folklorist towards the conceptualization of the Madhya
Pradesh Tribal Museum, Bhopal. Recipient of the first Jyotsna Bhatt award for ceramics, All India
Fine Arts and Crafts Society award( five times) and Junior National fellowship of Ministry of Human
Resources. She is on the editorial board of prestigious Hindi literature journal- ‘Kathadesh’ for which
she has guest edited five volumes so far.She guest edited the first issue of Mrin- a journal of
contemporary Indian Ceramics. She has written widely on contemporary art, literature and
storytelling traditions of India and has many publications including The Tribal Arts and Crafts of
Madhya Pradesh, published by Mapin.

Vasudha Thozhur

Vasudha Thozhur was born in 1956 in Mysore. She studied at the College...

Vasudha Thozhur was born in 1956 in Mysore. She studied at the College of Arts and Crafts, Madras, and at the School of Art and Design in Croydon, UK. Her practice is inter-disciplinary but primarily rooted in painting.

She lived and worked in Chennai between 1981 – 1997 and in Baroda between 1997 – 2013.Besides participation in exhibitions/workshops in the country and abroad, institutional work has involved lectures/teaching/juries at, among others, MS University/Baroda, NID/Ahmedabad and IICD/Jaipur. She is a Professor in the Department of Art and Performing Arts at Shiv Nadar University, Dadri, since 2013 and currently lives in Greater Noida, NCR.

Two grants from the India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore, between 2002 – 2006 and 2009 – 2011, supported a research project, 'The Himmat Workshops'. It looked at ways of rooting art practice in ground and other realities as experienced in the country, with particular reference to conflict zones. It involved collaborating with Himmat, an activist organization based in Vatva, Ahmedabad, between 2002 – 2007. A compilation of the outcome, entitled ‘Beyond Pain: An Afterlife” was exhibited in Mumbai in 2013 (Sakshi Gallery and Project 88) and in 2015 at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Among grants received earlier are the French Government Scholarship to work at the Cite des Arts, Paris and the Charles Wallace Grant to work at Gasworks, London.

A recent compilation, entitled Diaries, Projects, Pedagogy 1998–2018, is the first of a series entitled Art Documents and was published by Tulika Books in association with the Sundaram Sher Gil Foundation.

Eminent Jury Members of First Take 2022

Manjunath Kamath

Manjunath Kamath pursued Bachelor in Fine Arts in Mysore ...

Manjunath Kamath pursued Bachelor in Fine Arts in Mysore and during this period, developed an all-around skill set that developed his facility with a variety of media. He was also influenced by the cultural symbols all around him. Temple sculptures and paintings, churches, and Jain temples were his initial museums from which he derived his fascination for the arts. As a child, he used to also frequent idol makers, who made Ganesha or Durga sculptures and learned from them. Kamath has participated in numerous solo and group shows in India as well as abroad.

Jayaram Poduval

Jayaram Poduval is an Asst. Professor at Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda

Jayaram Poduval is an Asst. Professor at Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda. He has pursued intensive research in

South Asian art and architecture. He has also written on Chalukya, Vijayanagar, Ellora, Kerala, and Christian Art of Kerala and Gujarat Architecture. He teaches Indian Architecture, Renaissance Art, Islamic art, and Contemporary Western art. He is a Fellow of Advanced Studies in Humanities, University of Edinburgh.

Manisha Parekh

Manisha Parekh, born in 1964, pursued her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts

Manisha Parekh, born in 1964, pursued her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts followed by a Master’s of Fine Arts, both from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. She acquired her second Master’s degree from Royal College of Art, London, UK.
She has worked prolifically since and has had major solo and group shows across the country and abroad. Some of the notable honours received by her include The Erasmus Award - Hochschule der Kunste, Berlin, Germany, 1993 and Lalit Kala Academy Award in Printmaking 1991.
Abir welcomes you onboard. ✨

G. R. IRANNA

Born in 1970 in Sindgi of Bijapur district in Karnataka

Born in 1970 in Sindgi of Bijapur district in Karnataka, G R Iranna pursued his B.F.A. Painting from College of Visual Art, Gulbarga, and his M.F.A. Painting from College of Art, Delhi. He also consecutively studied at Wimbledon School of Art. Iranna's works are often based on themes of introspection around mortality. He has held numerous solo and group shows in India and abroad. Additionally, he is a recipient of several notable awards and scholarships. He has been selected for prestigious residencies and workshops as well.

Ramesh Vedhanbatla

V. Ramesh, born in 1958 in Andhra Pradesh, pursued his Bachelor of Fine Arts ...

V. Ramesh, born in 1958 in Andhra Pradesh, pursued his Bachelor of Fine Arts followed by a Master of Fine Arts, both from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. He has worked prolifically since and has had major solo and group shows across the country and abroad. Some of the notable honours received by him include the Senior Fellowship from the Department of Culture, the 1993 Sanskrit Award, and the Junior Fellowship from the Department of Culture.

Eminent Jury Members of First Take 2021

Hartmut Wurster

Hartmut Wurster was born in Germany and studied architecture at the

Hartmut Wurster was born in Germany and studied architecture at the University of Dresden in Germany and at the Aristoteles-University in Thessaloniki, Greece. He is also a trained carpenter. Upon joining Maier + Partners, an architecture office in Heidelberg, Germany, he worked on projects on housing, restoration and industrial developments as well as projects that created new concepts of shared living. In 2010, he joined Blocher Partners, a firm for architecture, interior design and visual communication based in Stuttgart, Germany. In 2011 he moved to India to establish the company’s presence in Ahmedabad; he has gone on to lead a wide spectrum of projects. He has a keen interest in sustainability. Another point of interest is contemporary art. He is the founder of ZOCA, the Zone of Contemporary Art, a platform for young and emerging Indian art.

Kristine Michael

Kristine Michael is a ceramic artist, arts educator, researcher and

Kristine Michael is a ceramic artist, arts educator, researcher and writer on Indian ceramics based in New Delhi. She studied Industrial Design with specialisation in Ceramic Design at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad under Dashrath Patel. She began her career at the ceramics studio of Garhi Artists Village, New Delhi. Later she worked at Auroville and Pondicherry at Golden Bridge Pottery. She was awarded the Charles Wallace India Trust in 1992 to apprentice with Alan Caiger Smith at Aldermaston Pottery and Dart Pottery in the U.K. Her works are in collections in Austria, UK, USA, Pakistan and South Korea. She has curated national and international exhibitions and has published widely. At present she is a PhD Scholar at School of Arts and Aesthetics JNU in Indian ceramic art history. She is Curriculum Leader of Visual and Dramatic Arts at The British School New Delhi.

Rm. Palaniappan

Rm. Palaniappan born 1957, Devakottai, Tamil Nadu, is an alumnus

Rm. Palaniappan born 1957, Devakottai, Tamil Nadu, is an alumnus of the Govt. College of Arts Crafts. He studied advanced Lithography in Tamarind Institute (USA) during 1991 and was the Artist in Residency at the Oxford University in 1996. He is a recipient of several awards, honours and residencies including the Fulbright Grant, Charles Wallace India Trust grant, International Visitorship programme of USIS, and Senior Fellowship, Govt of India. He also won the National Award, International Prints Biennales of Bhopal and Taiwan. He was invited by several international universities and art institutions to conduct workshops in print-making. He has participated in numerous international prints exhibitions and important national level curated exhibitions and has held 14 solo shows around India and in Rotterdam, Holland. Exhibition curations include Major Trends in Indian Art, 1997, International Commissioner, Bharat Bhavan Prints Biennale, 1995. His works are in museums and in prestigious collections.

K. S. Radhakrishnan

K. S. Radhakrishnan was born in Kottayam, Kerala, in 1956. He went to

K. S. Radhakrishnan was born in Kottayam, Kerala, in 1956. He went to Shantiniketan in 1973-74 to study art at the prestigious Kala Bhavan of Vishwabharati University under the guidance of Ramkinkar Baij and Sarbari Roy Choudhury. He completed his MFA in 1981 and very soon was awarded with a research grant by Lalit Kala Akademi, Delhi to work in Garhi Village. He has had 15+ solo shows. From 1980’s onwards Radhakrishnan has installed open air sculptures across India and abroad including at the TMI foundation, Cotignac, France. The two major themes/motifs of his works are the male and female figures Maiya and Musui which represent the anima-animus, the primary anthropomorphic archetypes. He has curated the exhibition Ramkinkar Baij - A Retrospective at National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai and has written a book titled Ramkinkar’s Yaksha Yakshi. He lives in Delhi with his wife and son.

Vasudevan Akkitham

Vasudevan Akkitham was born at Kumaranallur, Kerala in 1958. He

Vasudevan Akkitham was born at Kumaranallur, Kerala in 1958. He completed his Diploma and Post Diploma from the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University, Baroda. In 1988 he did his MA from the Royal College of Art, London. He has illustrated a children's book by Safdar Hashmi. He has held a number of solo exhibitions including two at Gallery 7 in 1989 and 1992 and another at Sakhi Gallery in Bombay again in 1992. He has also been a participant in a number of group exhibitions, notable among them being one in aid of earthquake victims in 1993 in Faridabad and 'Gadya Parr' Show, Gallery Chemould, Bombay in 1989. His work is a part of several reputed collections such as the Kerala Lalit Kala Akademi, Madhavan Nair Museum, Cochin and the Chester Herwitz Family Trust Collection, USA.

Eminent Jury Members of First Take 2019

Brinda Miller

Brinda Miller is a celebrated and well- known Fine Artist who

Brinda Miller is a celebrated and well- known Fine Artist who has had 16 solo exhibitions in India as well as abroad, and has also been part of several group shows. She works with several NGOs. She is an important catalyst in organizing art related events, and is an advocate of bringing public Art to Mumbai. Brinda has also been Festival Director of the iconic The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Mumbai--- almost since its inception in 1999, and continues to co-curate the Visual Arts section of the festival every year. At the moment, Brinda is Education Consultant at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahlaya, Mumbai ( formerly Prince of Wales Museum ) and is also on the Advisory Board of the Children's Museum.

Jayanti Rabadia

Jayanti Rabadia- one of India’s eminent artists whose work is widely

Jayanti Rabadia- one of India’s eminent artists whose work is widely recognized for its depiction of Indian mythology and boldness in different forms of animals, birds along with human figures. Born in 1959, Dhoraji , Gujarat. Jayanti Rabadia did his diploma in painting from Vallabh Vidyanagar and Post Diploma in Graphic Arts and Mural Painting from the Faculty Of Fine Fine Arts MS University, Vadodara, as well as an exchange program to Glasgow School Of Art, Scotland. He has also received many awards and scholarships, some of them are junior fellowship, HRD ministry of culture Government of India, scholarship Urja Trust , Navdeep Award for young artists of outstanding contribution in the field of art, International Biennale of Prints Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal. Honourable mention award from National Lalit Kala Academy, Delhi. Gold Medal and Centenary Year Prize Award from Bombay Art Society and many more. He has done numerous mural projects, solo and group exhibitions some of them are at Glasgow Scotland, Baroda, Bombay and Delhi. Jayanti Rabadia is an Associate Professor at the Department of Painting , Faculty Of Fine Arts since 1989.

Subodh Kerkar

Rm. Palaniappan born 1957, Devakottai, Tamil Nadu, is an alumnus

He is an artist and an activist who uses his art to comment on the social, political, religious issues. Born in 1959, on the northern border of Goa. He spent his childhood walking on the beach with his artist father, Chandrakant Kerkar. These walks consolidated his relationship with his father and with the ocean. Subodh Kerkar’s installations are heavily washed by the ocean, both literally and metaphorically. The ocean is both inside and outside his works, his master and his muse. As a qualified medical professional he gave up medicine to pursue arts 27 years ago. He has carved a niche for himself, especially in the field of conceptual art and land art. Subodh creates large works on the seashore, which are often infused with politics and history. Subodh is the Founding Director of the Museum of Goa (MOG) and has exhibited widely in India. Some of his major exhibits include Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London (2018) India Art Fair, New Delhi (2018). ‘Reimagining Gandhi: An Artist’s Vision’, works for Serendipity Arts Festival (2017), Goa. ‘Moses and the Plastic Ocean’, Busan Biennale, South Korea. ‘Carpet of Joy’, an installation which aimed at spreading awareness against littering in Saligao, Goa. (The installation was created using one lakh fifty thousand discarded plastic bottles and was visited by over two lakhs people over two months). India Art Fair, New Delhi. Installations for BRICS 2016, Goa. India Art Fair, New Delhi. ‘Sculpture by the Sea’, Aarhus, Denmark (2015). ‘Janela- Migrating Forms and Migrating Gods’, A Collateral Event presented by MOG at Kochi Muziris Biennale (2014). Label 201 Gallery, Rome. ‘Sparsha- Touching the Senses. Ritual and Contemporary Indian Art’ at Kunstmuseum, Bochum, Germany. ‘Sculpture by the Sea’, Cottesloe, Australia. ‘Water Bodies’, exhibition organised by INKO Centre and Arts Council (Korea) in Chennai. Apart from these exhibitions he has participated in a number of other shows, and has also lectured on art worldwide, including at UCL, and Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Veer Munshi

Artist/curator born in Srinagar Kashmir, he studied fine arts (painting)

Artist/curator born in Srinagar Kashmir, he studied fine arts (painting) from M.S.University Baroda and now lives in Delhi/Gurgaon since the past 28 years.He has addressed a range of subjects in the course of his artistic career for three decades, but exile remains his most fundamental condition and preoccupation. Munshi consistently used his art to reflect his anguish at the situation in his home state, his pain and struggle spilling over onto his canvas, making a human rights statement. He has constantly sought to highlight the turmoil that comes with his separation from his heritage’ Veer has had more than a dozen solo shows some of them being, in Bangalore. Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi, Edinburgh Scotland, Perth, Australia and at the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. His works have been chosen to be a part of important, Curated group shows all over the world, prominent amongst these being, at 2019 Kochi Muzriz Biennale, 2018 Dhaka art summit, 2018 India art fair, 2017 Serendipity festival Goa, 2017 Familiar Stranger, Center for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney, Australia, 2016 The Eye and the Mind: at Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, at China Art Museum, Shanghai, Beijing, China , , Serenity of Desolation, an invited project at Indian Art Fair, New Delhi (2014), Zameen at Art District Gallery, New Delhi, (2014), The Sahmat Collective at Smart Museum of Art, Chicago (2013), The Needle on the Guage at Adelaide Festival Centre and CACSA, Adelaide, Australia (2012), Back to School: Baroda 1979-89, Palate Art Gallery,N.Delhi (2011-12), Symbols and Metaphors, at Centre of International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata (2010), Art for Humanity at Coomaraswamy Hall, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai (2007), Presentation of Works at World Social Forum, Karachi, Pakistan (2006), India-Korea Contemporary Art Exhibition at Kwang Hwa Moon Gallery, Seoul, Korea (2003), and 11th Asian Art Biennale at Dhaka, Bangladesh (2004)., Veer has curated 12 solo and group shows in India . He was honored with senior fellowship and the National Award from Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

Umang Hutheesing

Umang Hutheesing is the scion of one of the India’s most historical family, he

Umang Hutheesing is the scion of one of the India’s most historical family, he grew up in a rich cultural, artistic and philanthropic environment with lineage tracing back 1200 years. He went to the Babson College, USA for his under graduate studies in Business Science. He further acquired a Banking Diploma in Japan. He has travelled the world extensively, gaining insight on the different world cultures and traditions. He is currently president of the Hutheesing Design Company which was established by his family in 1881 in partnership with Lockwood deforest and Jewelry Designer Louis Tiffany. The company has great lineage of being the First Indo American partnerships and one of the First design company in Asia. The company has won 9 International gold medals for its work which includes the East Wing of the White House (U.S.A) Kensington Palace in London and many other important buildings. Many of his company’s product are in international museums. Umang Hutheesing is also the founding President of Hutheesing Heritage Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving and promoting India’s rich culture heritage. The foundation has collaborated with prestigious international museums like National Museum of Bahrain, Borocco museum in Mexico, Miho museum in Japan, Smithsonian Institute U.S.A. amongst others. He also works as an advisor with World Monument Fund, Global Heritage Fund and other international organization in the field of art, cultural and heritage. He is managing trustee at Hutheesing Visual Art Center from past 20 years. This institute was created by the Hutheesing family as sister’s Institute of Tagore, Shantiniketan for the promotion of Visual Arts. Umang is also a member of the Governing Body of Ahmedabad Education Society, a seven-decade-old education society that is the largest in Western India with over 28 institutes and 40,000 students. He also serves on the Governing Body of Karnavati University. He is visiting faculty in many educational institutes including Oxford University, U.K and Howard University, USA. He has worked as creative director and contributor for National and International Media including American Vogue, Paris Match, British Vogue, Times of India and television channel 9x and many other. He has worked on important film projects such as “Mystic India”, which has won awards in numerous countries as the finest IMAX film production. Umang is a fashion designer and has dressed many world royalties and celebrities. Over 300 of his collection has been displayed in International museums as living textile heritage. He is the only Indian and one of the few International non- French people to be invited on the board of Centre Pompidou, world’s largest and most important contemporary Art collection and museum in the world. He has been knighted by the Royal House of Anjou, Naples for his International peace and brotherhood

Eminent Jury Members of First Take 2018

Amit Ambalal

Amit Ambalal (b.1943) lives and works in Ahmedabad, India. He qualified in

Amit Ambalal (b.1943) lives and works in Ahmedabad, India. He qualified in Arts, Commerce and Law. A self taught artist he joined the family business before taking up painting full time in 1979. Amit's engagement with the arts extend to a wide ground of historical research, documentation and collection and his particular interest in the Nathdwara School of Painting which has also inspired him in his own work. He has authored a book “ Krishna as Shrinathji” by Mapin Publications in 1987 (reprint in 1997). Amit's first solo exhibition at the Hutheesing Visual Arts Centre in Ahmedabad (1980), was followed by more than 40 solo exhibitions of paintings & sculptures in Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Amsterdam, Sidney, Singapore and London. The most recent being an exhibition of sculptures & drawings at Gallery Espace, Delhi (2014). Select group exhibitions include the Bharat Bhavan Biennale (1990); Sixth Trienniale, India (1986) and exhibitions in Amsterdam, Harvard and Perth. Amit's works feature prominently in noteworthy public and private collections like the National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi, Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum, London, amongst others. He is the recipient of the Gujarat State Lalit Kala Akademi award (1968), AMC award (1974), the Civitela Reneieri Foundation Fellowship, Italy (2003), ‘Gaurav Puraskar’ by the Gujarat Lalit Kala Akademi 2008 and ‘Kalilas Lalitkala Award’, 2012.

Muzaffar Ali

Muzaffar Ali is a filmmaker, fashion designer, poet, artist, music-lover,

Muzaffar Ali is a filmmaker, fashion designer, poet, artist, music-lover, revivalist, and social worker. He belongs to Royal House of Kotwara in India. A painter from childhood, he realized that paintings could express a more intimate form of aesthetics and he was attracted to the medium of collage and sketches. A romantic at heart, he has an acute sensibility towards culture, art and beauty. In some of his collages, he incorporates old postcards and photographs to create a nostalgic effect. He is well known for his creation of Rekha as Umrao Jaan and has directed many documentaries and short films based on Awadh, craft, culture, exploitation of women and Sufism. His interest in craft and fashion clothing motivated him to design clothes and his brand ‘Kotwara’ aptly revives the traditional crafts of Awadh. Born in Kotwara, Muzaffar Ali attended the La Martiniere College in Lucknow. Along with nine one-man shows of sketches and collages, he is also instituted the Rumi Foundation with a vision to promote Sufi music festivals – including the Jahan-e-Khusaru in Delhi. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2005 and the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award in 2014. A thinker and a dreamer and Muzaffar Ali is Art – Personified!

Ravinder Reddy

Ravinder Reddy – one of India’s eminent artists is recognized for his

Ravinder Reddy – one of India’s eminent artists is recognized for his sculptures that depict a bold style at a bold scale. The most defining feature of Reddy’s art is his depiction of the feminine beauty in traditional and contemporary Indian culture. His depictions are voluptuous, sensual, exaggerated in its presence and open to interpretation. Many of his sculptures are larger than life heads with wide eyes, blocky features and garishly coloured skin. These are depictions of women modeled after and inspired from everyday life – women you see selling vegetables or brightly coloured modern college women wearing jeans or an emulation of traditional Indian women with jet black hair covered with jasmine buds and adorned with jewellery. All of them stand tall, proud and unflinching and the love with which he portrays them makes them all beautiful. Born in Suryapet village Andhra Pradesh, Reddy’s academics has taken him to MS University in Baroda, Royal College of Art and Goldsmith College of Arts in London. He is currently based in Vishakhapatnam and has taught art at the Andhra University. His sculptures have been exhibited across the world and he has been felicitated with several awards including the National Acedemy Award in Sculpture, the Lalit Kala Akademi and the Sanskriti Award in Arts.

Seema Kohli

Seema Kohli is an artist thriving on imagination, ideas, philosophies,

Seema Kohli is an artist thriving on imagination, ideas, philosophies, stories of interesting lives, recreating them in paintings, sculptures, and performance. Her art celebrates beauty, sensuality and brings to the fore the various aspects of a woman – her physical attributes, her intellect, her dreams and realities. She works in both small and large formats with layers of drawings and colors. Her works are inspired from spirituality and explore with them, a poetically elegant and richly sensuous female form. They are a gesture of the divine, a prayer to the eternal self and a way of meditation. Seema Kohli lives and works from her studio in Delhi. Over the past 30 years, she has had over 20 solo shows in Venice, Brussels, NY, Dubai, Singapore Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore. She has also participated in International Bienniale’s including Venice, Shanghai and India. International Art fairs across Hong Kong, Basel, Beijing, Madrid and India. Murals created by her are displayed as public art at the Delhi International Airport, Mumbai International/Domestic Airport, the Defense Ministry, Tata Residency and many more. Seema has been felicitated by the Lalit Kala Akademi for being an achiever as a woman in Contemporary Indian Art.

Vijay Bagodi

Vijay Bagodi is one of the celebrated artists whose artwork reflects

Vijay Bagodi is one of the celebrated artists whose artwork reflects expressions in the form of remembered tales, legends and myths. Emotions resurface in his works that carry the past into the present and present into the future. Vijay has been a working in the printmaking medium for more than twenty years. His works are based on his observations of life around him, both personal and social. His personal favourite art form is etching, followed closely by woodcuts, lithographs, serigraphs and monoprints.Born and brought up in Gulbarga, Karnataka, his interest in drawing and painting was inspired by watching his mother make 'crafty' items for the family and decorating the front yard with complex 'rangoli' patterns. He went to Gulbarga's art school to study painting, and finally came to Baroda where he studied Diploma in Painting and Post Diploma in Printmaking (Graphic Arts), Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S.University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat State. He has participated in several art camps, workshops and all major State, National and International Level Exhibitions in India and abroad over the years. Vijay Bagodi has been so devoted to printmaking that he has been making and exhibiting prints consistently for the last 30 years. His work has been appreciated and exhibited in almost all the important international print biennales and triennales in places such as Bangkok, Sarcelles (France), Bangladesh, Taiwan, Slovenia, the USA, Germany, Hungary etc. He was also invited to participate in Kaleidoscope, an exhibition of contemporary South Asian and Indian artists at Square One Gallery, New York, in 2004. Some of his other notable achievements are the "Show Stopper: Impressions from the South East" at The Crossroads Gallery, Florida USA, Solo Exhibition of Selected Works and Honored as Eminent Printmaker in November at M M K College of Visual Arts, Gulbarga and many more.

Eminent Jury Members of First Take 2017

Johny ML

Johny ML is a writer, translator, art historian, art critic,

Johny ML is a writer, translator, art historian, art critic, art curator, editor of art magazines, poet and a prolific blogger. He has three post graduate degrees in Creative Curating, Art History and Criticism, and English Language and Literature. His blog, www.johnyml.blogspot.com is a platform for his continuous response to various issues he addresses within the art world and a variety of other realms. He has authored eight independent books so far and has contributed to various volumes. He is a well-known translator who has translated thirteen books so far. Johny ML lives and works in New Delhi.

Manu Parekh

Born in 1939 in Gujarat, Manu Parekh completed a Diploma in

Born in 1939 in Gujarat, Manu Parekh completed a Diploma in Drawing and Painting from the Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai, in 1962. Parekh’s early work explored the relationships between man and nature, as according to him, this was an energetic link that had to be celebrated. The artist also points out that, since then, contradictions have formed the basis of his artistic practice, no matter the subject or genre of his works. Parekh held his first solo exhibition of graphics and paintings in Ahmedabad in 1968, and has not looked back since. His most recent solo shows have included ‘Banaras – Eternity Watches Time’ presented by Saffronart and Berkeley Square Gallery, London, at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2007; 'Banaras' at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, in 2004; 'Portraits of Flower and Landscapes of River' at Jehangir Art Gallery and Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2003; 'Ritual Oblations' at Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, Sakshi Gallery, Bangalore, and Sakshi Gallery and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 1999; and 'Small Drawings' at Sophia Duchesne Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 1991. Parekh has also had solo shows at BosePacia Modern in New York and at ARKS Gallery in London. Parekh was awarded the President of India's Silver Plaque and the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society Award, New Delhi, in 1972; the National Award from the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, in 1982; and the Padma Shree from the Government of India in 1992. The artist lives and works in New Delhi.

Madhvi Parekh

Madhvi Parekh, born in 1942 in Sanjaya, a village in Gujarat, is

Madhvi Parekh, born in 1942 in Sanjaya, a village in Gujarat, is a self-taught artist. Living and working out of Delhi, she has created a space for herself in India’s contemporary art practice, reverting for inspiration to her childhood village left far behind. Her work remains true to her rural inheritance, and, at the same time, reflects in the contemporary world. With a personal well-articulated language of expression, Madhvi positions herself in a space outside the tradition–modernity discourse, while crossing borders both ways. Over the last 45 years, Madhvi has participated in numerous solo shows, including AI-Khaleeja (Kuwait, 1985), and several significant group shows, notably Play (Turkey and Yugoslavia, 1985), Watercolour by Four Women Artists (Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, and Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay, 1987), Contemporary Art: Sahmat (Lalit Kala Akademi, Delhi, 1990). She has also participated in several artists’ camps and workshops, and auctions held at Sotheby’s (Bombay, 1989), Sahmat (Delhi, 1989), Asprey (Bombay, 1990). The Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India sponsored a documentary on Madhvi and her artist husband Manu Parekh in 1992. The Last Supper her most recent body of work is a series of reverse painting on acrylic representing Madhvi Parekhs’ reflections on the life of Christ. First exhibited in Calcutta in 2011 in Calcutta at the St Thomas Chapel, Bisop’s College it has since been shown at the following venues: 2017: Church of Santa Monica, Old Goa 2016: St. Paul’s Cathedral, Calcutta 2016: National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru 2013: Visual Art Gallery, New Delhi Madhvi received the National Award for Painting, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India in 1997 & 'Kailash Lalit Kala Award by Chitrakutdhamt Trust (2017) and a Certificate of Merit, International Women’s Exhibition at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi, India in 1975.

Walter D’souza

Known primarily for his practice in the print medium- wood

Known primarily for his practice in the print medium- wood cut to be specific, Walter D’souza is dedicated to creating an ever evolving vocabulary through art. He has worked closely with architects to explore new definitions in design, such as the possibility of converting the large wood blocks used as the form work of relief sculpture. He has executed several murals like installations within architectural art. Besides printmaking his work also includes glass painting water colors and sculptures. Together his work explores a language that is characteristically loaded with symbolic and allegoric meaning. He studied painting and printmaking at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University, Vadodara (1983). Walter is also a teacher. He has taught the Basic Design Program at the School of Architecture, Ahmedabad (1987-2006), Drawing and Sketching at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Gandhinagar (1998-2001) and Drawing at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad (1998). His works, especially prints, have been a part of numerous shows nationally and internationally including at the International Print Triennial in Finland (1993), 8th Asian Art Biennial, Bangladesh (1997), Multiple Encounters (2004 and 2012) New York, USA and the 17th International Biennial of Prints, Sarcelles, France (2016). In 1997 he was appointed Commissioner for the 4th Bharat Bhavan International Biennial of Prints, Bhopal, India. He lives and works from Ahmedabad and Aldona (Goa).

Eminent Jury Members of First Take 2016

Vrindavan Solanki

Vrindavan Solanki is a prolific Indian master artist recognized

Vrindavan Solanki is a prolific Indian master artist recognized internationally. He has well over 200 exhibitions behind him, over 40 of which were solo – including in London and New York. He has won several prestigious prizes throughout his career, including the Gold Medal & First Prize of the Bombay Art Society in 1970, the Takhman 28 Print award for Etching in Udaipur in 1984, and the Drawing Prize of All India Art Exhibition, LKA, in Lucknow (UP) in 1996 – to name a few.

Mallika Sarabhai

Mallika Sarabhai is one of India’s leading choreographers and

Mallika Sarabhai is one of India’s leading choreographers and dancers, in constant demand as a soloist and with her own dance company, Darpana, creating and performing both classical and contemporary works. She has a PhD in organisational behaviour and has been the co-director of the prestigious arts institution, Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, for nearly 30 years.

Karl Antao

Karl Antao -from Mumbai he had studied at Sir J.J. Institute of

Karl Antao -from Mumbai he had studied at Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art Mumbai (1990) his works are interactive in nature , evolving from the organic state and taking a definite shape and concept ultimately. Karl is one of most sensitive and celebrated artist of Ahmedabad.

Pavan Bakeri

Managing Director - Bakeri Group; Technologist and Arts

Managing Director - Bakeri Group; Technologist and Arts enthusiast; Explorer, Entrepreneur; philanthropic interests in Academia and Urban issues; nominated for one of France's highest civilian honours Chevalier de l'Ordre Nationale du Merite.