Azara’s art activism through ‘ARTRA’

By Dilshan Boange

Art thrives through initiatives of activism that are passionate and committed towards the propagation of art for the value it has as ‘human expression’. ‘ARTRA’ is one such form of activism that has a youth basis as its driving force. ARTRA is a publication that was founded by Azara Jaleel who admits to being no artist but an ardent supporter of the arts.

A past pupil of Methodist College, Azara holds an impressive list of credentials that relate to both academic and professional spheres. A graduate in English (Hons.) from the University of Colombo, her other academic qualifications include a Higher Diploma in International Relations from the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies, a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Azara Jaleel

A participant in a student exchange program to the University of Virginia, USA which was hosted by the US Embassy in Colombo, Azara also has work experience in Business Development working at HSBC, and also in Communications and Sustainability at Unilever Sri Lanka. In an interview with the Sunday Observer’s Montage, the versatile youth who is a committed art activist spoke about her project, the ARTRA magazine, and what its journey in the Sri Lankan cultural landscape.

Excerpts:

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself and your areas of interest when it comes to art and literature.

A: I am an optimist, lover of imaginative spaces and thoroughly enjoy meeting individuals who are passionate about what they do and learn from their experiences. My academic background is in the studies of English Literature, Communications, Marketing and International Relations.

I am not an artist, but I am a firm believer of art as an effective medium to explore thoughts and voice perceptions. The fact that art has no restrictive characteristics, allows the artist to articulate and present his subject matter exactly the way s/he wants. Therefore, art is a medium that is not prejudiced, so I love supporting any form of art, be it painting, creative writing or creatively presented bolts and nuts.

When it comes to literature, my favourite novels and authors are from varying genres and timescales. My favourite authors include Paulo Coelho, Mitch Albom, favourite classics Gone with the Wind, Alice in Wonderland and Wuthering Heights. Carl Müller’s The Jam Fruit Tree, Shehan Karunatileka’s Chinaman are definite favourites, so I read anything!

Q: How was the ARTRA magazine conceptualised? Give us the background story.

A: ARTRA was given birth with a simple and single thought – to provide a platform for artistic expression. I knew that there were many collectives that were promoting different forms of art in and around Colombo; few poets reading their works at a coffee shop, musicians jamming and sharing their compositions at warehouses, interpretive visual works on social media networks.

Creative writing

So, I though it would be great if there was a platform that could highlight and curate these works of art, be it visual art; creative writing; music; dance; poetry; theatre while also promoting the agenda’s of artists, art collectives and art galleries, so that the platform is cohesive and includes an array of perspectives. With these intentions began the social media networks of ARTRA and a few months later, ARTRA magazine – aiming at providing content to different types of art lovers in an attractive and compact publication.

Q: What does the publication bring out as its prime focus? What makes it to the pages of ARTRA?

A: ARTRA’s primary focus is to promote contemporary Sri Lankan artistry; when it was launched its primary objective was to provide a platform for artistic expression however, now it has also evolved into an imaginative space where artistes explore and experiment with their works of art. ARTRA’s aim is also to function as a curated space that imparts knowledge with artistic agendas so that readers gain an understanding of diverse characteristics of art in every issue of the magazine and online platforms.

A variety of content related to art make it to the pages of ARTRA. From the 8th issue, the section ‘Works of Art and Personalities’ will highlight insights by professionals in the art field for critical content that will help the reader deconstruct the workings, gaps and strengths of the subject discussed. For this issue we have Ajai Singh, the president of Colombo Fashion Week (CFW) deconstructing the SL Fashion industry and CFW’s role in supporting this industry. In the future, we will have professionals such as Saskia Fernando, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Kapila Palihawadana sharing their insights in their respective areas of specialisation.

The section ‘Art circles’ highlights the agendas of artistic bodies and their concurrent initiatives in this section; space has been given to art collectives that function consistently to promote Sri Lankan art including Barefoot Gallery, Saskia Fernado Gallery, Colombo Art Bienalle, Colombo Fashion Week, Goethe Institute, the Gratien Trust, Mind Adventures, CoCA, natanda, Lionel Wendt theatre and gallery.

Whilst the section ‘Art performances and reviews’ highlight different works of art by emerging artists, it also provides critical reviews on art performances during the respective months of the issue. ‘Born free art’, a term used by ARTRA, highlights a new kind of photography whilst the art calendar section highlights the art event details for the months of the issue.

Anyone who has something to say creatively with an agenda can contribute their works to editorial@artra.lk

Art community

Q: How would you say ARTRA helps the art community in Sri Lanka?

A: ARTRA serves the art community in the following ways:

* ARTRA provides space for artistic bodies to highlight their works of art on a continuous basis on ARTRA magazine and the online platforms.

* We promote professional or emerging artists and their works of art.

* Provide opportunities for emerging artists to publish their work and provide publicity for their respective agendas.

* Highlight all the art events that take place in Sri Lanka via ARTRA magazine, weekly art calendars and sms alerts.

* Provide artistic direction to artists who seek our guidance.

* Finally, we carve a holistic space for contemporary Sri Lankan artistry on a continuous basis to promote diverse identities globally via partnering with international art fairs and art bodies. Our next international venture will be with the Dhaka Art Summit in 2014.

Q: Publishing isn’t an easy avenue of work to get established in. How does your project sustain itself?

A: ARTRA is a culture and an art space; since it is for and by the art community of Sri Lanka, I guess the element of relevance and celebration makes it a sustainable publication.

The fact that the different sections on ARTRA aim at different types of art lovers and content seekers, for example, readers who are interested in finding out critical content in the art field; photography lovers; those who just want to find out interesting art events and what its highlights; those who love attractive visual work and design layouts; all find it riveting. So, I guess ARTRA is able to capture the interest and support of a larger audience, which in turn creates sustenance for the magazine.

Q: Does the youth of today show enthusiasm for art and literature? How do you see the scope for youth activism when it comes to the arts in Sri Lanka?

A: The youth of today are very enthusiastic about art. They are not intimidated by art as the older generation because of the opening of online spaces which the older generation did not have; therefore the latter had to produce work which were of very high calibre for the public to notice. The fact that the younger generation have a space to experiment with their work, get critical feedback from friends and critics, helps them improve and develop their productions.

This has encouraged many people to experiment with their artistic abilities. In the present context, art is given a lot of prominence in Sri Lanka. There are a significant amount of art initiatives by art bodies, the government, non-governmental organisations and the corporates in developing the artistic talents of young people. The fact that sustainable programs have been launched to promote the lives of artisans in rural areas helps create an infrastructure for an art industry, which is great.

Art will flourish further, if it becomes an industry, because it is only then that artists will have the luxury of time to completely focus on their work without worrying about a day job which will help them get through their everyday expenses.