An explosion of art

When it comes to art, it is important not to hide the madness," reads artist Nadia Azavedo's poster for the art event, as she borrows from poet Atticus' verse. And this madness is exactly what this bunch of 12 talented illustrators and cartoonists are out to display when they come together for a four day art event ‘Cartoonists and Illustrators of Goa 2017'.
Conceptualised by artist Fabian Gonsalves, the exhibition will begin on November 9 at Kala Academy, Panaji. Having been in the illustration field for a decade, Gonsalves has worked in a variety of media be it print, web and online games and has had the opportunity of interacting with plenty of other creative minds from different parts of India. "I met a lot of freelancers and creative groups from other places like Chennai, Kerala, Mumbai, Pune and even the Gulf, and noticed that Goa lacked the same sort of creative environment. When I returned to Goa in 2016 and attended various art events, sales and exhibitions thought I noticed that a change coming. People were more receptive to new ideas and art," he reveals. For this healthy art culture to grow, it was important for like minded artists to come together and start an initiative to share their work with the people, he realised. Thus after almost two years of scouting for people, he finally zeroed in on the selected 11. "Sometimes its futile to just wait for someone else to come and do what needs to be done. It will speed up only if we Goans step up and showcase what we are capable of, and that we deserve the exposure and can meet international standards of illustrative design," he says, adding that he himself will be showcasing something entirely new than the usual style that he is known for.

Vesley Carrasco
Another Fine Arts graduate, Vesley Carasco currently works in an animation studio in Goa while also freelancing whenever he can. "However in the field there are numerous issues we face with some clients at times such as undervalue, late payments, dishonesty, vague work descriptions and also on personal levels there's off course plagiarism. That being said there is also a lot of support, appreciation, rewards and praise," he says, adding that the upcoming illustrator event will give the abundant talent in Goa a chance to showcase their own distinct styles. "Unlike conventional art this appeals more so on commercial bases stretching out to story book illustration, newspaper, magazine, web, animation, merchandise, comics and so on. There is real talent here, even to complete on an international platform but the spotlight is dim and that's what we want to change," he says.

Cornelia Sequeira
The art bug caught Cornelia Sequeira at an early age, she admits, while recalling vivid memories of her sitting with her mum making cards from books of ‘Bambie' and ‘Pixies'. Watching the many animated movies further inspired her to try replicating these herself and with time she began creating her own characters. After graduating from The Goa College of Art, and majored in Illustration, she did a course at Art and Animation School Goa and further developed her skills in pre production trained by some of the best artists in India

Rohit Chari
Rohit Chari who runs Red Cavas in Goa believes that people need to be made aware about the vast amount of talent in the state. "Most of the time an illustration related work or a story book ilustration is outsourced from out of Goa because people think that there are no artists in Goa who do this kind of work. Although social media has sort of changed this, these kind of events will help illustrators reach out to those who are not on social media," he says, adding that he will be showcasing mugs, postcards, calenders and customised caricature frames.

Claire Soares
After previously working as a visual designer in Pune, Claire Soares is currently working as a graphic designer for a company in Goa and believes that the upcoming event is wonderful platform for Goan artists to showcase our artistic talents. " I will be displaying and selling paintings, badges, cups, notepads, etc all designed in my signature style," she reveals.

Malcolm Rebello
A graduate from the Goa College of Art, Altinho, Malcolm currently works at an IT company in Pune. Apart from this however, he continues to wow people on social media and art events all around and has been a part of quite a few noted exhibitions. And he too admits that the art scene in Goa is changing for the better. "I think the content that is displayed and the way it is displayed is changing in Goa. Lots of flea markets, unique exhibition shows, installation shows, which is inspiring the younger generation and helping to fuel up the passion of the existing professionals working in the field," he feels, adding that there need to be more illustration events happening around Goa to bring in more fresh talent and showcase the existing professionals so as to raise the bar high for the progress of art in Goa in terms of quality, jobs opportunities and exposure for local artists.

Govit Morajkar
Govit Morajkar enjoys doing pen work and often rides off to historical places to sketch. Old architecture brings me alive," he admits, crediting his skills to his father. Govit has also been inspired by his art teacher Hanuman Kambli and Jude Mascarenhas who he states inspired him to draw differently. Alexyz Fernandes
One of Goa's noted cartoonists Alexyz, is absolutely looking forward to the reactions of people. " I could be the grandfather to many of these young talents," he says in his usual jovial manner. "It has been great fun interacting with these young artists and it has also inspired me to raise my level." For the exhibition, Alexyz will be doing all canvases of which three will be crowded Goan scenes. "The other three will deal with under the belt, over the belt and with no belt at all," he says mysteriously.