Visual Arts – Afsana

The Afsana Arts Weekend 2015 took place from 31 Oct to 1 Nov. The weekend had 4 events:

Gurmukhi Calligraphy workshop
Photography Basics workshop by instructors Sukhmindar Singh, Andrew J K Tan and Pervinder Singh
Hair and Makeup workshop by Bubbly J from Looks Studio
Art Jam (Painting workshop) at Arteastiq

It was an eye opener for some and a chance to exercise those creative arts muscles in all of us! Here are some pictures of the workshops that were attended by people from all age groups who came together to have an artsy weekend!

Gumukhi Calligraphy workshop

Participants were provided with templates and practice sheets to guide them in picking up some of the finer skills in calligraphy. With practice, many of them eventually walked home with a framed piece of their self drawn Gurmukhi calligraphy!

Photography Basics workshop by instructors Sukhmindar Singh, Andrew J K Tan and Pervinder Singh

Photography enthusiasts gathered to hear tips and tricks from experts before heading out for a guided hands-on photography walk in Little India. The group returned and shared their photos with each other, and described how they applied what they learnt during the walk, with the experts offering further suggestions for them to practice on.

Hair and Makeup workshop by Bubbly J from Looks Studio

Ladies of all ages came together for a chance to hear from an experienced fashion designer and makeup artist to understand the principles and techniques in looking their individual best. Not only did they walk away with new ideas to try at home, each participant walked away with a goodie bag filled with products for them to add to their toolkits!

Art Jam (Painting workshop) at Arteastiq

Getting in touch with their creative inner selves, budding painters had small bites to munch on while they brushed their imagination into reality. It was a an amazing family bonding experience with beautiful art pieces coming from the little ones and incredible detailed work from the practised elders!

For 2 years in a row, Gurjeevaan Singh has been holding his own exhibitions to share his stories and experiences.

Now a film student at La Salle College of the Arts, Gurjeevaan’s maiden exhbition, that had a feature on online news website Asia Samachar, Chup Kar Kay Beth Ja in October 2016 was such a success that he had a second run of the exhibition a week later!

The exhibition focused on stories of his grandmother and his journey in understanding her life and her love for the family. While the night was to celebrate his photography, Gurjeevaan roped in his talented sister to host the event and gifted cousins to perform a musical piece. There was even a tear-jerking video montage that surely made all attending reflect on their own relationships.

Buoyed by his success and support from friends and family, Gurjeevaan organised his next exhibition, Time Don’t Change in July 2017 covering his solo trip to scale Malaysia’s Mt. Kinabalu.

Just like the first exhibition, this too was a multi-sensory experience. With musical performances by his friends, a video covering his trip, Gurjeevaan wowed the crowd with his account of the challenges faced in climbing one of the highest peaks in South-East Asia. The video Gurjeevaan had filmed, edited and presented called “Time Don’t Change” is a documentary film about setting a goal of climbing Mount Kinabalu, facing tough challenges climbing the mountain, and his experience of staying with the locals.

Photos contributed by Phua Boon Wah

Don’t let Gurjeevaan’s tall imposing stature fool you. He’s a fun-loving guy who loves belting out catchy tunes and brightening up everyone’e day! Check out the fun and insightful video he made of his trip to Sabah, Malaysia!

Video from Gurjeevaan’s YouTube channel.

Gurjeevaan is indeed a trailblazer and we can all learn from his courage to give it a go! As he said in Asia Samachar’s article on his first exhibition when asked what he would advise others, “Just start something…It is important to keep improving yourself and opportunities will present themselves. When you do great work, people will come.”

Great work Gurjeevaan, and we look forward to supporting you in your next adventure!