Nepal: a country approximately the size of Kentucky; a country with 75 districts and more ethnic and cultural groups than you can imagine.
Kathmandu: a city of such chaos, yet a culmination of many of the cultures; a rapidly developing city in need of fresh perspective.
Kolor Kathmandu: a project. A project to educate and stimulate thought. A project to bring people closer to art—art that is meaningful and backed with purpose. It's a way for the artists to express their own truth and for viewers to discover theirs.
Kolor Kathmandu is an initiative by Yuki Poudyal under the Kathmandu-based Sattya Media Arts Collective whose goal is to replace "visual pollution" with 75 murals representing the districts of Nepal. Many of the walls are covered political slogans, calls for strikes, and cheesy movie posters—even for a foreigner who often stops to take pictures of (or at least admire) everyday things, they get old. If the city could become a kind of art gallery containing images that inspire constructive thought instead, it could be engulfed by a sense of positivity and hope.
That's exactly what it's doing.
Local and international artists alike have come together to create the 75 murals due to be finished by the end of the month. Each artist brings a unique view to their mural when they combine the elements, impressions, and stories that make up their district. Whether they're focussing on a specific event—a mass suicide, a battle, an endangered animal—or tackling a broad spectrum of life and culture, they all prompt a reaction. It's difficult to walk by one without stopping to ponder. They are so different from anything else seen in the city.
Not only are they different from everything else on the walls, they are also different from each other. Each represents some aspect of Nepal's diversity. This is a way of educating the people about the other districts. One of Nepal's current challenges is finding the balance between diversity and unity. Education through art makes this possible.
Kolor Kathmandu is about being different. It's informative. It's thought provoking. It gives a voice to the people—artists, viewers, districts. As Poudyal put, "sometimes, it's meant to shake you out of you comfort zone." It always, however, makes a impact.
http://kolorkathmandu.sattya.org/
https://www.facebook.com/KolorKathmandu?fref=ts
Kathmandu: a city of such chaos, yet a culmination of many of the cultures; a rapidly developing city in need of fresh perspective.
Kolor Kathmandu: a project. A project to educate and stimulate thought. A project to bring people closer to art—art that is meaningful and backed with purpose. It's a way for the artists to express their own truth and for viewers to discover theirs.
Kolor Kathmandu is an initiative by Yuki Poudyal under the Kathmandu-based Sattya Media Arts Collective whose goal is to replace "visual pollution" with 75 murals representing the districts of Nepal. Many of the walls are covered political slogans, calls for strikes, and cheesy movie posters—even for a foreigner who often stops to take pictures of (or at least admire) everyday things, they get old. If the city could become a kind of art gallery containing images that inspire constructive thought instead, it could be engulfed by a sense of positivity and hope.
That's exactly what it's doing.
Local and international artists alike have come together to create the 75 murals due to be finished by the end of the month. Each artist brings a unique view to their mural when they combine the elements, impressions, and stories that make up their district. Whether they're focussing on a specific event—a mass suicide, a battle, an endangered animal—or tackling a broad spectrum of life and culture, they all prompt a reaction. It's difficult to walk by one without stopping to ponder. They are so different from anything else seen in the city.
Not only are they different from everything else on the walls, they are also different from each other. Each represents some aspect of Nepal's diversity. This is a way of educating the people about the other districts. One of Nepal's current challenges is finding the balance between diversity and unity. Education through art makes this possible.
Kolor Kathmandu is about being different. It's informative. It's thought provoking. It gives a voice to the people—artists, viewers, districts. As Poudyal put, "sometimes, it's meant to shake you out of you comfort zone." It always, however, makes a impact.
http://kolorkathmandu.sattya.org/
https://www.facebook.com/KolorKathmandu?fref=ts
