BHUBANESWAR: The colourful refashioning of the city for the upcoming men’s Hockey WC is nearing its completion. The mural paintings of various national and international artists at several places in the city like Vani Vihar, Jayadev Vihar, Acharya Vihar, AG Square, Rajmahal square and Gopabandhu square among others have completely altered the face of the state capital.
All such paintings will be completed by the artists by November 26. These paintings under the Street Art and Mural Project (STAMP) are based on various themes such as wildlife, crafts and hockey among others. Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) in collaboration with city based art colleges such as BK College of Art and Craft, Khalikote College, Orissa Modern Art Gallery and Bakul foundation had taken up this initiative to beautify the city before the mega event.
Apart from city walls, colleges are also being remodeled with paintings. Artists and students of BK College of Art and Craft and Khalikote College painted the walls of Ramadevi Women University recently. A 12-member team of artists were engaged in these paintings which were based on the theme of nature and women empowerment.
Artist Sarthak Mishra said, “We are working on this for the last five days and will complete our work by November 26. Our paintings are based on sports personalities, wildlife and culture of our state.” Another artist Smruti parida said, “We are attempting to showcase the beauty of our culture through our mural paintings.”
Sujit Mohapatra, a member of Bakul Foundation, said, “As part of the Street Art and Murals Project (STAMP) of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), we have mobilized five famous international street artists in Tracy Lee Stum, Anat Ronen, Zee Schindler, Julio Jimenez and Sayak Mitra. The team created paintings on the sidewalls of the flyovers on the National Highway in the city and created some iconic murals that gave Bhubaneswar its artistic stamp in the entire world.”
Tracy Lee Stum, who had visited the city twice as an arts ambassador of the US Government, created one of her biggest murals at 110 ft by 24 ft titled ‘Over the rainbow’. The mural celebrated the city’s development into a child friendly smart city. Artists of Orissa Modern Art gallery (OMAG) had painted murals of 65 women personalities as a tribute to the feminine strength of the state.
Founder of OMAG Tarakanta Parida said, “Art can be used in a constructive way for the betterment of urban zones and this initiative was the perfect way to achieve that. Urban planner Piyush Ranjan Rout said, “We have to preserve these artworks beyond the hockey tournament. Only than can we truly turn this city into a smart one.”
Murals on public walls of the city had become widespread since 2007 through the efforts of BMC. While the earlier paintings focused on issues such as cleanliness and plantation, new paintings are mostly based on the Hockey World Cup.