New Delhi,
September, 2021
Glenfiddich presented award–winning artist, Raju Baraiya’s solo show, ‘Social Gathering’ in collaboration with Bestcollegeart.com. Raju Baraiya was named the winner of Glenfiddich ‘Emerging Artist of the Year 2019’ from India and was awarded a three-month residency at Glenfiddich distillery in Scotland. The exhibition showcases artworks that Baraiya created during and post his residency. The exhibition was attended by Sachin Mehta, Country Director, William Grant and Sons India, Payal Nijhawan, Head of Marketing, William Grant & Sons India, Kapil Chopra, Chairman of Board, EazyDinner, Veer Munshi, a renowned artist from Kashmir among others.
Glenfiddich Artists in Residence is a path breaking concept for emerging artists in India. It inspires emerging talent in the country to embrace the unknown, push boundaries and break new ground by enabling them to collaborate and showcase their art globally, under the mentorship of Andy Fairgrieve, the Global curator of the programme.
About his experience, Raju Baraiya said, “It is challenging to constantly redefine your skills through creative expressions in your art works. Glenfiddich’s Artists in Residence opened a new realm of possibilities and broadened my artistic horizon. I am grateful to Glenfiddich for giving me this life changing opportunity.”
Based in Baroda, Raju Baraiya’s art work springs out of the shift from a strong rural background to an urban one. Villages are unique spaces holding their intrinsic character. These spaces demonstrate an inherent belief about “what they are” in the “way they are”. Although with easily available technologies and ever-spreading urban boundaries, there has been a gentle merging of the two for the sake of communication and advancement. This nevertheless does not deprive the rural of its rural character. His inspiration comes from observing, correlating the rural, and the urban and vice versa. The continuous push and pull between the rural and urban makes him wonder and triggers his visual intrigue.
Payal Nijhawan, Head of Marketing, William Grant & Sons India said, “Glenfiddich Artists in Residence is a progressive art platform that celebrates the visionary spirit of emerging talent in India. The art scene in the country is constantly evolving with a great scope for experimentation – defying norms and taking risks necessary for meaningful growth. We’ve witnessed skilled and talented artists innovate and venture into art exploration – stirring the space with their creativity and imagination by virtue of the residency programme. It is a driver of change, fostering cultural growth and enabling emerging artists to showcase their best version to the world – limitlessly.”
The show is on at Art District XIII, F-213 A, Lado Sarai, Old M.B. Road, New Delhi.
The Artists in Residence Program has developed into an integral element of Glenfiddich’s tradition. Every year since 2002, some of the world’s most creative minds from around the world have been invited to live and work for a period of three months on site at the Glenfiddich Distillery. The artists have complete freedom to develop projects that are inspired by their surroundings and whisky making crafts. In fact, the program has seen many contradictory themes explored due to the dual nature of the surroundings – rich, rural yet at the same time industrial. The Artists in Residence program in India was instituted with Best College Art for the first time in 2012. The first Indian artist from Best College Art to win the residency in Scotland was Juhikadevi Bhanjdeo in 2012 followed by the very talented Yuvan Bothysathuvar in 2013, Chetnaa Verma in 2014, Krupa Makhija in 2015, Subir Hati in 2016, Biplab Sarkar Swain in 2017, Biplab Sarkar in 2018 and Raju Baraiya in 2019.
