Sonakshi Sinha has made a mark in Bollywood, but not many know that she is also an avid painter. This creative aspect of Sonakshi and her older siblings, Luv and Kussh, who are passionate about photography, has given birth to a virtual platform for art collectors, connoisseurs and enthusiasts to purchase artworks across a range of mediums.
New Delhi: Sonakshi Sinha has created a niche for herself in the Hindi film industry, however, not many are aware that she is passionate about painting. The actress started sketching as a hobby while growing up and later took on to painting. She kept at it despite her busy career and honed her craft. In fact, she has even made an art room. This creative aspect of Sonakshi and her elder siblings, twins Luv and Kussh, who are photography aficionados, brought them together and gave birth to House of Creativity. It’s a virtual platform for art collectors, connoisseurs and enthusiasts to purchase artworks across a range of mediums including acrylic, oil, pastel, resin, and watercolour paintings, ceramics, photo prints, and mixed media works by emerging as well as established artists and the Sinha trio. Excerpts:
Q. What influenced you to start this passion project?
Luv: It all began from the introspection of how we have three in-house artists and there are so many emerging artists out there who are not able to get exposure or wide reach. So I thought of coming up with a platform that will allow us to work together and provide a platform to artists. This idea came to me a while back and I started working on it before the pandemic and then the pandemic hit.
So we had to continue working as it was a digital project and the pandemic didn’t affect it so much.
Q. Tell us about the process of zeroing down the artists for the platform?
Sonakshi: We’ve started with about 27 artists, there are emerging artists as well as established artists. It’s a collective effort, we have a wonderful team of arts manager and curators who helped us in the selection process as they are more involved in the world of art and have access to various artists. We wanted a whole range of artists, artworks, and prices on the website to make art more accessible to people.
Q. How was the decision taken to promote emerging artists with this platform?
Luv: We decided it as their work is so good but maybe they are not able to get the exposure they require. We are combining two different worlds, the art world, my sister has been involved with painting and I am helping the artists reach out to a larger audience. The outcome has been positive and seems to be working so far.
Q. What was your thought process before presenting your own artworks to the world? Were you a little apprehensive about it?
Sonakshi: Since we were confident, we went ahead and took the leap. I’ve been working as an actor for the last 10 years and I’m established in that field but the world of art is still relatively new for me. So I also consider myself an emerging artist. I’ve been painting for a while but it’s very difficult to break into an entirely new field of work. But I have that much confidence in my art that I know we’ll find an audience somewhere. For us, one of the main reasons behind starting House of Creativity was to help artists in terms of the next step and taking them forward. So for us, it’s crucial that we, as artists, also grow along with the platform and the artists that are on it. It gives me a high to see other people do good work and that drives me to continue doing quality work.
Q. How will House of Creativity help art aficionados in terms of making the right purchase?
Luv: We have a team of people for that. We have in-house art curators and an arts manager. They can be reached out through Instagram and the website. The goal is also to help people learn more about art as certain individuals are interested in purchasing art but don’t know what to buy. So we’re trying to make it a one-stop platform for them to get their questions answered as well as make an educated choice.
Sonakshi: Due to the pandemic, the art industry has been hit quite a bit as you’re not able to have physical exhibitions, people can’t go out to galleries, so for a lot of artists, their lives have come to a standstill. This is a way to help them reach out to a wider audience. Like today, a person sitting in the US can access our website and see the artworks. We have an interface where a person can click a picture of their room and see how the artwork will look in their room.
Q. Since you have been painting since childhood, did you always want to do something for the art fraternity?
Sonakshi: It started as a hobby for me while growing up, it was something that I was just good at. So I kept honing the skill. I began with sketching, then went into painting, and I’m self-taught. I’ve developed my skill to reach where I am today in terms of my artistic style. So I thought it was a great idea. I have so many paintings just stacked up. I made an art room but never knew how to take things forward. So I would want other people to have access to a platform, and knowledge and information as to how to go further after they’re done creating their beautiful pieces of art.
Luv: That’s one thing that we all have in common, we’re all self-taught. I haven’t attended any photography courses. My brother is also a self-taught photographer. I think all of us have just been creative since a young age and that’s another reason why we are so passionate about this project.
Q. When and how did you start photography?
Kussh: I studied journalism and part of that course was printing out photos the traditional way that includes going to the darkroom. From there, my love and passion for photography began. Later, I shifted to digital photography. So, I’ve been taught the basics but everything else I’ve learned by myself from studying, observing the work of other photographers, understanding why they took particular photos and the thought behind it.
Q. What do you intend to achieve with this platform?
Sonakshi: Our goal is that the artists should grow. I want to grow with them and for them as I feel it’s our responsibility to ensure their work gets out there and they do really well for themselves.
Luv: That’s also my goal and at the same time, show a different side of us, our creative side, to the world. Also, to showcase various types of artworks. We plan on having a residency at a later stage.