I AM
In the society we live in, there are still a lot of stigmas attached to
a career in arts. Further, these increase many folds if it is after you leave
your already established career in the field of engineering. “I got a
scholarship to study engineering in Russia but while pursuing my Ph.D. degree I
realized that it wasn’t what I wanted to do. So, I dropped out and moved back
to India”, says Aakshat Sinha, Curator of Identity Art Marathon.
From 2000 to 2006, Aakshat explored a lot of fields to make a living for
himself but was never content at heart. It was only in 2007 when Aakshat
started realizing his true calling. Aakshat says, “I have canvases lying
around in my house as my mother has a keen interest in painting and it was just
a regular day in 2007 when I picked one and started to draw. I enjoyed it so
much that I got myself enrolled in a weekend course at the India Habitat
Centre.” What started as a weekend course pushed him to pursue a one-year
diploma course in fine arts. Subsequently, he even did a post-graduate diploma
course in cultural management. By 2009, Aakshat started holding exhibitions,
residency programmes, and art events that were widely appreciated and
acknowledged by people.
Aakshat possesses a keen interest in philosophy. He believes that an interdisciplinary approach is very crucial in the growth of an individual. He wants to keep experimenting and innovating in the field of art. With these ideas in mind, Aakshat brought to life his very own entity, Identity Art Marathon, profoundly known as I AM.
Identity Art Marathon started in 2019, is a marathon of multi-disciplinary art events scheduled over 4 weeks. In its first edition, it featured almost 40 events including theatre, film making, poetry, heritage, comedy, fashion, music, and much more. There were workshops on Painting, Film Making, Theatre, Music, Cartoon, Doodling, Animation, Resin art, and Book Cover design. When we asked Aakshat how I AM happened, he said, “I wanted to curate something in the summer of 2019. One day I was at Arpana Fine Art Gallery, New Delhi and I got to know that the gallery was being rented out at 1/4th of the cost. So I booked it for 25 days. It was later that I conceptualized I AM.”
‘I AM’ stands for a sense of affirmation. He believes that the moment we
believe that we exist, everything falls into place and that’s why he curated
the whole enterprise to amalgamate different art forms. This year Aakshat plans
to take it digital. When we asked Aakshat to share his life lessons with us, he
said that “I have understood that there is always a scope for learning. No
one can know everything. Now it is easier for me to accept that I am a learner
in each field. Further, I cannot dictate people. I can only try and push them
forward. Another important learning for me has to be patience. I have learned
the value of patience the harder way and I cannot stress enough how important
it is to be patient.” Aakshat’s journey and thoughts can make any
individual ponder upon how they lead their lives. It is important that we understand
who we are, our strengths, and our weaknesses as only these will help us
achieve milestones effectively.
