KATHMANDU, Oct 26: Siddharth art gallery in collaboration with four organizations -- Maiti Nepal, Rakshya Nepal, Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN) and Circus Kathmandu has organized a photo exhibition called ‘The true story mural project Exhibition’ at the Gallery’s premises in Baber Mahal.
Sponsored by UN Women and ZONTA International, the exhibit was jointly inaugurated by Wenny Kusuma, country representative of UN Women and Anuradha Koirala, founder and executive director of Maiti Nepal.
According to the organizers, the 14-day event is showcasing murals, photos, paintings, and a four minute documentary of the process behind the making of the murals and workshops. All artworks displayed at the exhibition are based on true stories related to girl trafficking, violence against women, child labor, discrimination and child marriage, among others.
The exhibition also features photos of murals made by artists of Maiti Nepal, Rakshya Nepal, Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN) and Circus Kathmandu. All four organizations have painted a mural each at different places in Kathmandu with the help of two professional artists namely Kiran Maharjan and Martin Travers.
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One of the murals was created by a group of 11 girls from Rakshya Nepal at Janabikas Secondary school in Matatirtha. This mural shows the condition of women in our society. The first image of a young girl sitting with her head in her hands shows that girls are still ill treated in our society, while the next image of a woman with seven hands having different tools in different hands symbolizes women’s ability to multitask and adopt multiple roles at once. Another photo of a leaf with a caterpillar changing into a butterfly is a symbol of girl empowerment.
Similarly, the exhibition also features a mural painted by young participants of Child workers in Nepal (CWIN) at Logo Fashion Industries in Pulchowk. Their mural is based on their personal experiences and plans for their future where they have painted a lady with a balance scale in her hand, symbolizing gender inequality.
Meanwhile, the exhibit also displays a mural by group of young women from Maiti Nepal, who have fallen victim to human trafficking. The mural was drawn with with the help of professional artist Martin Travers. The artists have described their real life incidents of being trafficked. The mural has a girl looking toward a bright future and birds spreading their wings ready to fly.
Likewise, participants of Circus Kathmandu have painted a mural at Tamarip Restaurant in Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur with the help of professional artist Kiran Maharjan. The artists have written ‘This is Contemporary Circus’ on the wall. This mural is a visual representation of what contemporary circus means to them and how it empowers them as individuals.
The exhibition is slated to continue till November 6.
