First Dalit Queer art exhibition begins

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 2: The first Dalit Queer art exhibition titled ‘Jaat Byawastha Ra Yaunikata: Kalamarphat Pratirodha’ (Caste and Queerness Resistance through Art) began at Nepal Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) on Thursday.

 Jointly organised by the Nepal Academy Fine Arts under the Handicrafts and Contemporary Painting Department, and the Samari Uthan Sewa, the art exhibition will be continued till December 6.

 Inaugurating the exhibition on Thursday, Minister for Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation Sudan Kirati expressed that societal discrimination based on caste and gender was gradually evolving.

Chancellor of the Academy Naradamani Hartamchali also addressed the programme, emphasising the need for combating gender and caste discrimination through artistic expression, starting from the academic level. 

Bimala Gayak, the programme’s president, highlighted how artists are raising the voices of the oppressed in society through their artwork.

Artworks by Naradamani Hartamchali, Lalkaji Lama, Saurganga Darshandhari, Sanjay Bantawa Rai, Aruna Hingmang, Dineshwor Mahato, Sudarshan vikram Rana, Sunita Rana, Pramila Bajracharya, Ajay Uparakoti, Bipana Maharjan, Nar Bahadur BK, Dipendraman Banepali, Ishan Pariyar, Jyoti Khadka, Kamal Adhikari, Keshav Raj Khanal, Kishore Nakarmi, Man Bahadur Pariyar, Natasha Pariyar, NB Gurung, Padma Sundas, Poonam Kumari Das, Prashant Acharya, Rahul BK, Roshen Munikar, Sabita Dangol, Sarita Mandal, Shiva Hari Gyawali, Sujan Shiva, Suman Nepal, Sunil BK, Sunil Harijan, Susma Shrestha, Usina Maharjan and others are on display.