Our 1st Reveal of The Curators Behind Our Exhibitions - Who Are They | How Do They Create?

We are now only 2 weeks away from the launch of our FabrianoInAcquarello - Watercolour Symposium - 2022 so we thought it timely to introduce you to some of the Country Leaders who work side by side with FabrianoInAcquarello - Curator Anna Massinissa to bring together Artists from over 80 Countries to Exhibit and share through Workshops and Demonstrations at this iconic 10 day Symposium - which Anna has Curated in the town of Fabriano Italy for the past 13 years!

Working with Anna Massinissa to be part of this annual FabrianoInAcquarello - Italy Symposium is a real honour, the standard that Anna has set for this Symposium is high, Country Leaders and Curators are asked to source and share, to bring the talent and skills of their country Artists to the fore for this Symposium.

Many Leaders are well equipped to manage this selection process as they are Curators who create, produce and manage large Events, including  Watercolour Exhibitions in their own right, in their Country of origin, creating and producing stunning showcases/exhibition of Artworks of all genre!

So let me introduce one such Leader and Curator ........... 

Curator - Atul Panase - UAE

A Curator is usually driven by a vision, either internal from their own art practice or community based.

In 2017/18 Atul Panase and 2 colleagues *(Note below the full autobiographies) were honoured with the task to take the vision of World Art Dubai and create and bring this international event to fruition 2 years in a row. World Art Dubai has over time has cemented its role in being a major catalyst in the local, regional and international conversations on art from the Middle East and surrounding region (MENASA – Middle East, North Africa & South Asia), and putting art from these territories onto the global map.

These two years were major influences on Atul, who along with this massive load curating such a large body of Work for World Art Dubai, Atul has continued to curate many other projects, including the important events in the UAE. associated with the celebration of the unique stories encapsulated in the Exhibition entitled - 'Azadi ka Amrit Mohotsave' with the theme as India@75 being hosted by the Consulate-General of India, Dubai - running globally from 2021 for 2 years.

With the implode of public events due to the restrictions of the last two years - Atul did not falter but as a creative Artist and Curator, he evolved his vision to reach out to the world, suffering the isolation and impacts and took his skills to another level to touch people from their homes, engaging them to 'PicAnyPicAndPaint' ........... using the power of social media to choosing Artists to choose any photo they found in the local paper or any magazine and produce a vibrant painting inspired by these 'finds'.  

This is the style of initiative that enables a Curator to move forward and explore and touch people with their curated 'Exhibitions'. The project took off and Atul now has a pictorial history of over 250 Works, based on the images published in the papers, an ongoing record to the times during the pandemic which he plans to share and showcase in conjunction with other Artists and countries.

So we asked Atul some questions to clarify the impact of this last 2 years and where he is hoping to inspire and work next:

• What are the drivers that trigger you to plan an event, is it the annual Art Dubai scenario which is massive and has so much heritage since the inception in 2007 – do you work within that framework and timeframe mainly - or are you planning outside that box as well?

In the near future I see this place especially Dubai as the biggest art hub which will bring ease to have the art business booming among East Asian countries, the Middle East, Europe and the African continents. Due to a perfect positioning this place becomes a most acceptable bridge between the countries as it is considered for business purposes including the import and export. In the current scenario all the big exhibitions and events are already attracting so many small and big countries nearby and the rate of success is now making every single event go for the bigger and bigger as time passes. 

• How do you position yourself against this backdrop, which this year announces it is moving to engage artists in conversations not just from the Middle East and surrounding region (MENASA – Middle East, North Africa & South Asia) ......but to Latin America as well – how does this impact your curatorial ideas and planning?

I was the curator for one of the biggest shows here in Middle East which is known as the World Art Dubai in 2017-2018 and since then I see the involvement and participations increasing every year and because of that the acceptance for different types of art and approach is getting wider which actually brings you many bright chances of going ahead with taking new risks by holding new shows while having different new contemporary themes and concepts.

• How has the past 2 years impacted your support/sponsor/artist base .............. the mental health and wellbeing aspects as well as the financial aspects and is this something that you are planning to change up and manage differently for the future?

So initially just when the covid wave was about to hit the whole world very badly, I was all gearing up for my travel to attend the 11th FabrianoInAcquarello - the watercolor festival in Fabriano, Italy but then by the first week of March it as crystal clear that this on't be happening any more as we were witnessing the lockdown situation everywhere including in Dubai-UAE where I live. Never experienced such uncertainty in all the directions, personal as well as on the professional front because this time the question was not about 'how to earn to survive' but 'how to survive from this ongoing pandemic' and the answer was very simple and organic which was 'just believe in yourself and keep practicing art'. As always it did help me to come over the fear of uncertainty and anxiety. For the first time in my life I could believe how digital media and different digital social media platforms can become such a powerful support system even for an artist like me not only to survive but thrive with help of conducting online classes and workshops other than selling paintings online.

• Do you think this past period will influence your choice of subject and theme for your Shows?

Covid brought us so many challenges to deal with but the outcome was astonishing as another pandora box was open for people to realise how this pandemic makes you learn new things and with the wider acceptance of the modes of conducting events we start to understand the value of digital art and presentation. Now since the introduction of new NFT platforms I as a curator can't think of going ahead with any event or curating any show without thinking of 2D, 3D art form as well as the presence of VR and AR. As the world will have a more advanced approach of leading life while many operations will be taken over by AI and this change will bring a major shift in the field of art too.

• Just thinking about pre Covid and post Covid – is your approach now very different and has the emotional purpose of what you do impacted the way you will go about ‘Curating’ Events now for the future?

That's very interesting question to answer because for me the Work From Home (WFH) system wasn't new as I was operating from my home since I started my creative carrier in Dubai and as a matter of fact, I had the most peaceful creative time without having crazy pressure of deadlines which really helped me to review my wish to do list and complete my unfinished works which were pending since very long.

 I am happy and proud to share that during these difficult times when nobody was allowed to meet and greet people or work together; one of my social media challenges has become viral and we had wonderful creative interaction with each other. To my surprise this challenge which was trending with the hashtag #PickAnyPickAndPaint went viral and more than 250 artists from all around the world participated. 

About my different approach to curating the shows.. Yes, now there will be a wider approach towards it as now we have another way of connecting with audiences internationally which is the digital media and every single exhibition or event will have to consider both ways of holding it which is virtual and actual. So that ways any event will have the wider reach and wider range of audiences can be covered through digital platform as no one need to travel to a particular place to attend because of the easy access all can join the ongoing activities in real time.

• How is technology impacting your Event presentation – are you trialling:

o   digital projection
o   online Exhibition
o   digital catalogues
o   digital receipt and management of your Art Show  ........... of your Artwork and management of sales etc notification to Artists etc ....?
 
All these points.. or rather factors have become the essential parts of any show in the future because of the futuristic approach and that's the best way of getting the advantage of the new era which we have already entered into because the future is digital, you accept it or not :)

Below - The Graphical Story - Atul Penase

2021/22  #PickAnyPickAndPaint - Atul Panase reaching out to the World!

Senior Artist Atul Panase - Curator of the Exhibition entitled - 'Azadi ka Amrit Mohotsave' with the theme as India@75

2019 - 4 Country Exhibition

2018 - Art Dubai Curating for a 2nd Year

*2017 - Atul Panase - Jeff Scofield and Zaahirah Muthy - Curate Art Dubai

2017 Fluid Moment

2016/17 Colours of Pride

For more information and perhaps to have a conversation with Atul Panase you are welcome to visit his Facebook page and his Instagram links from there:

ATUL PANASE - FACEBOOK