Sculptures from Shail Utsav to beautify different locations of Lucknow!

An eight-day All India Contemporary Sculpture Camp titled Shail Utsav got underway at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) in which ten sculptors from different part of the country are preparing their artwork.

Sculptor Girish Pandey, Ajay Kumar, Awadhesh Kumar and Mukesh Verma from Lucknow, Shailesh Mohan Ojha, Santo Kumar Choubey and Rajesh Kumar from New Delhi, Pankaj Kumar (Patna), Avni Patel (Surat), Nidhi Sabhaya (Ahmedabad) and six carvers from Rajasthan are participating in the camp.

Curator and dean-principal at Faculty of Architecture, AKTU, Vandana Sehgal says, “We are planning to place these sculptures at various places in the city and we are taking the help of Lucknow Development Authority in this. Sculptors are using their own vision in creating abstracts and I am sure they will be creating beautiful works of art. We keep organising camps but for them first time a camp is being held.”

Sculptor Avni Patel talks about the art piece she is preparing, “I am trying to depict the connection of moon and water with my work. Since we are organising this in architecture college, I’m making abstracts with a circle as a base. I am a student from 2022 batch and since then I have been deeply into stone carving. I got inspired from my father who unfortunately could not follow his sculpting passion and went into drawing art form.”

The camp was inaugurated by senior sculptor Pandey Rajivnayan, Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts and Performing Arts, Dr Shakuntala Mishra National Rehabilitation University.

Co-coordinator Bhupendra Kumar Asthana informed that students from AKTU, College of Art and other budding artistes will be visiting the campus during the camp to witness live sculptures being prepared.

“After the camp is over, we will be showcasing these masterpieces on the campus and thereafter will be shifted to their different locations to beautify Lucknow,” adds Sehgal.