Abir's Annual Show
First Take 2024
FIRST TAKE 2024 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.
Eminent Jury Members of First Take 2024
Gigi Scaria
Born in southern Kerala, India, in 1973. In 1995, after completing a Bachelor ..
Gigi Scaria was born in southern Kerala, India, in 1973. In 1995, after completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram, Scaria moved to New Delhi where he undertook a Master of Fine Arts at Jamia Millia University. While both of his degrees were in the discipline of Painting, he has developed a cross-media practice. Scaria works across painting, photography, installation, sculpture, and video. His work explores issues of urban development, particularly in relation to migration, economic development and urban architecture. He is interested in the quality of social space in a drastically changing urban environment, with concomitant implications on psychological experience. Since 2000, Scaria has exhibited widely in India, and has participated in major exhibitions and residency programs internationally including in Australia, Brazil, China, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Korea, Italy, Norway, Sweden and the USA.
Work represented in major curated exhibitions and biennales in India and internationally, including Venice, Singapore, Kochi-Muziris Biennales; Smart Museum, Chicago; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Kunstverein Frankfurt; Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne; Kunsthaus Bern; Fredric Jameson Gallery, Duke University and Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel. Work also exhibited in curated exhibitions at National Gallery of Modern Art (Mumbai), Jawahar Kala Kendra (Jaipur) and Lalit Kala Academy (Chennai and New Delhi).
Jagannath Panda
is an Indian contemporary artist. Born and raised in Bhubaneswar, Odisha,...
Jagannath Panda (b. 1970) is an Indian contemporary artist. Born and raised in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Panda completed his Bachelor’s in the Fine Arts from B. K. College of Art & Crafts, Bhubaneswar, in 1991. Later, he pursued a Master’s in Sculpture at M. S. U., Baroda, in 1994. In 1997, he was invited to Fukuoka University of Education in Japan as a visiting research fellow; he then gained another MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art, London (2002). During these years of study, Panda won many prestigious awards, including the National Academy Award from Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi (1995), the All-India Award from the South Cultural Centre, Nagpur (1990 & 1994), the Alice Boner Memorial Award (1991), and London’s C.I.I.C. Centre Prize (2002). Panda has exhibited widely, with solo gallery shows in Tokyo (1998), London (2006, 2009), Berlin (2011) and San Francisco (2012) as well as frequent exhibitions in New Delhi and Mumbai. Other prestigious venues that have exhibited his work include the Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan (1997); the Royal College of Art, London (2001, 2002); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, and the Devi Art Foundation, New Delhi (2008); Essl Museum, Vienna, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai (2009); the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (2010); Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art, France, and MAXXI Museum, Rome (2011); the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, and Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2012); the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi (2013); Avatar, exhibition at London’s Halcyon Gallery 2014, Crystal Cities 2017, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi. Crystal Cities 2018, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum and Vadehra Art gallery, New Delhi. Panda’s work has been exhibited at numerous art fairs, including the Armory Show, New York (2008), Art Basel in Basel and Miami (2008), the International Contemporary Art Fair (FIAC), Paris (2008), Art HK Hong Kong International Art Fair (2011) and Art Dubai (2012). Among the collections in which it is held are the Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka; the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; the Fine Art Museum, Chandigarh; the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi; and the Devi Art Foundation, New Delhi. His works been commissioned by prestiges institution; Hindustan times building, Century Tower in Mumbai, T2 Mumbai, and NMACC Mumbai. In 2011, Panda launched the Utsha Foundation for Contemporary Art. He has also curated Art and Ecology: Search for Sustainability in Bhubaneswar’s Buddha Jayanti Park and BAT 2018 (Bhubaneswar Art Trail) in Bhubaneswar. The artist currently resides in Gurgaon with his artist-wife and son.
Manish Pushkale
Born in 1973 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, Manish Pushkale is an...
Born in 1973 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, Manish Pushkale is an acclaimed artist whose work has resonated both nationally and internationally. With an academic background in geology, earning an M.Sc. in Geology from Bhopal, Pushkale's unique perspective on the natural world profoundly influences his art.
Pushkale's career is marked by an impressive array of solo exhibitions, spanning from the early 1990s to the present day. His works have been displayed in prestigious venues around the globe, including the Asiatic Museum of Arts in Nice, France, Musée Guimet in Paris, Akar Prakar in Kolkata and New Delhi, and Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal. Noteworthy exhibitions like "To whom the bird should speak?" and "Tracing the Cartographer’s Trail" exemplify his ability to weave intricate narratives through his art.
In addition to his solo ventures, Pushkale has also engaged in two-person exhibitions with esteemed artists such as S.H. Raza and Julia Ziegelmaier. These collaborative efforts have been showcased in cultural hubs like Paris, Venice, Munich, and New Delhi, highlighting the dynamic interplay between his work and that of his peers.
Pushkale's influence extends to group exhibitions as well, with his pieces featured in numerous prestigious shows worldwide. His participation in events like the Artissima Art Fair in Turin, the Bharat Bhavan Biennale, and international art festivals in Thailand and Kyrgyzstan underscores his versatility and broad appeal. His art has been curated and displayed in major cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, London, and Paris.
The accolades Pushkale has received throughout his career reflect his significant contributions to the art world. Among his many honors are the Shikhar Samman by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in 2020, the Grand Award at the 7th Bharat Bhavan Biennale in 2018, and the Bharat Nirman "Make in India" award in 2017. His prestigious residencies, including those in France and Mumbai, as well as awards like the Raza Foundation Award and the Junior Research Fellowship from the Government of India, further cement his status as a leading figure in contemporary art.
Pushkale's works are held in esteemed collections, such as the Lalit Kala Akademi, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Bihar Museum, and international institutions like the Institute of Advanced Studies in Nantes, France. His participation in numerous art camps worldwide—ranging from Mexico and Egypt to South Africa, Switzerland, and the USA—demonstrates his commitment to fostering a global artistic dialogue.
Beyond his artistic creations, Pushkale has made significant contributions to the broader cultural landscape. His collaboration with Rajiv Sethi for the Smithsonian Festival in Washington and his curatorial efforts for various exhibitions reflect his multifaceted engagement with the arts. Additionally, his editorial work, including the October 2011 issue of Varta and his role as assistant editor of "Aroop," a journal of visual arts published by The Raza Foundation, showcases his dedication to art journalism and scholarship.
An accomplished author, Pushkale has penned several publications, delving into themes of psychology, philosophy, and contemporary socio-cultural issues. His notable works include "Safed Sakhi," "Akath," "Ko Dekhta Raha," and "Aage Jo Peeche Tha." His insights into the art world are further shared through his regular columns in Hindi newspapers such as Lokmat Samachar, Prabhat Khabar, Amar Ujala, and Jansatta.
Manish Pushkale's artistic journey is a testament to his profound impact on the contemporary art scene. Through his exhibitions, collaborations, and literary contributions, he continues to inspire and influence the world of art with his unique vision and creative prowess.
Mithu Sen
is a conceptual artist who explores myths of identity, and their intersection...
Mithu Sen is a conceptual artist who explores myths of identity, and their intersection with the structures of our world, whether social, political, economic, or emotional and performs her work across mediums to explore hierarchies and conventions with particular reference to ‘myths’ of language, sexuality, market, and marginalisation. Braiding grotesque fiction, personal ephemera, and piercing humour to obscure societal codes, the by-products of her conceptual practice take the forms of drawings, sculptures, poems, performances, videos, and installations.
Sen works fundamentally as a performer, tangling with the politics of language, disciplining of bodies, conventions of society, and polite impositions of the art world. Known for her provocative, alluring, and playful examination of these hierarchies, Sen is committed to perpetual unbecoming through performative interventions, symbolic and linguistic counter-narratives and intricate territorial tracings.
Sen received her BFA (1995) and MFA (1997) from Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India; and a PG diploma (2001) from the Glasgow School of Art, UK.
Sen has exhibited and performed in major international forums including Sharjah Biennale 15, UAE (2023); sonsbeek 20-24, Arnhem, (2021); APT9-9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane (2018); Kunstmuseum, Wolfsburg (2018); Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai (2018); Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi (2017); Guggenheim Museum, New York (2016); Unlimited: Art Basel (2016); Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Michigan, USA (2014); Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2014); Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna (2014); Dhaka Art Summit (2014); Tate Modern Project Space, London (2013); Zacheta Museum, Warsaw (2011); and National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (2008), among other forums and institutions.
She recently had her major survey show at ACCA, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne in 2023.
She was awarded the Skoda Prize in 2010 and the Prudential Eye Award for Contemporary Asian Art in Drawing in 2015.
Veer Munshi
Born in Srinagar Kashmir studied fine arts (painting) from M.S.University...
Born in Srinagar Kashmir studied fine arts (painting) from M.S.University Baroda who now lives in Delhi/Gurgaon for last 32 years. He has addressed a range of subjects in the course of his artistic career that spans 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 canvass. Making a human rights statement rather than a political one, he has constantly sought to highlight the turmoil that comes with his separation from his heritage, and to highlight the increasingly the narrow space that exists for culture and art in his state. He is also convinced that art. Because of its universal nature, can play a significant role in the resolution of the Kashmir situation
His works have been chosen to be a part of important, often curated, Group Shows all over the world, prominent amongst these being,
2023 India art fair presented by Icon gallery new York , 2022 Disruptors show at high line gallery New York 2019 Infra project at Kochi Muzriz Biennale curated by Anita Dubay, 2018 Dhaka art summit curated by Diana Campbell , 2018 India art fair N.Delhi, 2018 Anti memoires”curated by Ranjit Hoskote at Serendipity festival Goa, 2017 DISSENSUS south east artists show at Bikaner House New Delhi curated by Bhawna Khakar, Familiar Stranger at A4 Center for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney, Australia, curated by Mikala Tai (2017), The Eye and the Mind: New Interventions in Indian Art at Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, at China Art Museum, Shanghai and Minsheng Museum of Art, Beijing, China (2015), Lament curated by Amit Mukhopadyay at Art Konsult Gallery, New Delhi (2015), Serenity of Desolation, an invited project at Indian Art Fair, New Delhi (2014), Zameen at Art District Gallery, New Delhi, curated by Ranjit Hoskot (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 (2012), On The Edge of Vision: New Idioms In Indian and Italian Contemporary Art organized by the Italian Cultural Institute, New Delhi, with the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi at Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata, and at National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai and New Delhi (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). In 2002, he was honored with senior fellowship and the National Award from Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
Veer has had more than a dozen Solo Shows in India, Australia, Switzerland, and Scotland, significant among them being, Kashmir: 2018 Solo show at Gallery Sumukha Bangalore..Insider Outsider at Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai (2015), Shrapnel at BNG Foundation, Mumbai (2009), Shrapnel 2 at Birla Academy of Art, Kolkata (2010), Shrapnel 3 at Latitude 28, New Delhi (2012), Encounter at Art Alive & India Habitat Centre New Delhi (2006), Zodaic Gallery Espace (2006) and at E C Galleria, Edinburgh Scotland (1997), Gallery Burswood in Perth, Australia and at the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland (1996).Exile-Gallery Art heritage (1992)
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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...
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 ...
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
Ramesh Vedhanbatla
V. Ramesh, born in 1958 in Andhra Pradesh, pursued his Bachelor of Fine Arts ...
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
Rm. Palaniappan
Rm. Palaniappan born 1957, Devakottai, Tamil Nadu, is an alumnus
K. S. Radhakrishnan
K. S. Radhakrishnan was born in Kottayam, Kerala, in 1956. He went to
Vasudevan Akkitham
Vasudevan Akkitham was born at Kumaranallur, Kerala in 1958. He
Eminent Jury Members of First Take 2019
Brinda Miller
Brinda Miller is a celebrated and well- known Fine Artist who
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
Veer Munshi
Artist/curator born in Srinagar Kashmir, he studied fine arts (painting)
Umang Hutheesing
Umang Hutheesing is the scion of one of the India’s most historical family, he
Eminent Jury Members of First Take 2018
Amit Ambalal
Amit Ambalal (b.1943) lives and works in Ahmedabad, India. He qualified in
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
Seema Kohli
Seema Kohli is an artist thriving on imagination, ideas, philosophies,
Vijay Bagodi
Vijay Bagodi is one of the celebrated artists whose artwork reflects
Eminent Jury Members of First Take 2017
Johny ML
Johny ML is a writer, translator, art historian, art critic,
Manu Parekh
Born in 1939 in Gujarat, Manu Parekh completed a Diploma in
Madhvi Parekh
Madhvi Parekh, born in 1942 in Sanjaya, a village in Gujarat, is
Walter D’souza
Known primarily for his practice in the print medium- wood
Eminent Jury Members of First Take 2016
Vrindavan Solanki
Vrindavan Solanki is a prolific Indian master artist recognized
Mallika Sarabhai
Mallika Sarabhai is one of India’s leading choreographers and
Karl Antao
Karl Antao -from Mumbai he had studied at Sir J.J. Institute of
Pavan Bakeri
Managing Director - Bakeri Group; Technologist and Arts