Thursday, 03 June 2010 06:26
"Eyes Empowered'
Nepal's First Exhibition of Deaf Art
Dates: March 10 -12, 2010
Partners: Nepal Deaf Art & Culture Society (NDACS) & Laxmi Bank
"Eyes Empowered'... Nepal's very first exhibition of Deaf Art finally became a reality. The dates were March 10 to 12, 2010. The venue selected was Hotel Himalaya, Kathmandu. Visiting and participating Deaf delegates came from the cities of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Orissa and Kolkotta in India. In all, 32 of them. Then we had 10 Deaf Guests from the UK. Finally, more than 100 Deaf assembled from Nepal, the host country.
March 6th to 8th, we had the 32 India Deaf delegates arriving at different times in groups. Laxmi Bank, our partner for the event, put them all up at the exotic resort, The Park Village Hotel. March 8th afternoon: joyful reunion of old Deaf friends, getting to know new ones with lectures and presentations in Sign Language in the Nepal Deaf Art and Culture Society (NDACS) premise. March 9th, it was time to go to the exhibition premise, Hotel Himalaya and set up the works of art, some 100 of them, mostly oil on canvas plus some digital copies.
March 10th, early, around 8:00 am, the bus left The Park Village Hotel with all of us, India Deaf and some Nepal Deaf, on way to the exhibition venue. It was pure excitement! What was the program flow?
First, we got the audience sitting in the order planned. To the right of the stage sat the Nepali Deaf. To the left, we had India Deaf delegates. Behind, the Nepali Deaf we had the British Deaf with their Interpreter. Flanked by these two groups, at the center, sat all our Hearing Guests inclusive of Media.
Our sponsor, Laxmi Bank booked two halls. In the first hall, we had an introductory presentation. There was a movie specially made for the occasion and based on famous Deaf Personalities from around the world. Then, the welcome speech delivered by the NDACS Chairperson in Nepali and Indo-American Sign language. Simultaneously!
This was followed by an introduction of Deaf Artists, Anirban Dasgupta, Rasmi Amatya, Ganesh Shetty and Sriptathy Konnada. After this, a few words from CA Deaf Member Raghavir Joshi and President, Nepal Deaf Federation, Ramesh Shrestha. All of these addresses and introductions were visually enlarged on the screen. Part of Deaf Culture. Among the Hearing, we amplify the voice. We Deaf 'amplify' the image!
Finally came the ribbon cutting ceremony. We had to move to the other hall. Who did the honors?
Four little Deaf Girls from the Kathmandu School for Deaf Children. The girls looked so very smart in their school uniforms and tight plaits! They led the way to the Exhibition Hall. Surrounded by Government Ministers, CA Members, Industrialists, Diplomats and Academicians and Deaf Leaders, they gracefully cut the ribbon and walked into the hall.
The exhibition was a beautifully alive display of colors. As mentioned earlier, we had some 100 works of art tastefully exhibited and spread throughout the hall. The works were grouped under the names of the participating artists. Guests were visibly taken aback! They were not prepared to see what they saw. Deaf Art.... this was a first time for them. But so artistic, so colorful, so thought provoking, so alive with Deaf expressions.... many said this was an experience of a life time. Talking over coffee and refreshments served the first day of the exhibtion, one lady from the US said she has been working in the field of 'Disability' for many years but never had she seen anything quite close to the program she witnessed that morning!
But the exhibition was not the only highlight of these three days. We had motivational lectures and presentations on self -improvement/spirituality and professional development complete with stage interviews with Deaf Role Models... all conducted in Sign Language. Surely, a first timer in the history of the country! We Deaf felt proud and thankful.
Today we look back and yes, those days, are days to remember. Nepal's first exhibition of Deaf Art, 'Eyes Empowered.' An assembling of India Deaf, Nepal Deaf and British Deaf all under one roof... united by our culture, the Deaf Culture nurtured by our beloved language, the Sign Language!
