Aravani Art Project: Street Art for Transgender Rights in India
The Aravani Art Project, founded by Poornima Sukumar in 2016, uses street art to advocate for transgender rights in India. Based in Bangalore, the collective creates geometric murals that involve local communities, including transgender women, children from Dharavi slum, and sex workers from Sonagachi. Notable works include a mural at Freedom Park in Bangalore and 'Manidham Malarattum' in Chennai, honoring Tara, a 28-year-old sex worker who died from burns. Art director Sadhna Prasad developed the participatory style. Transgender artist Shanti Muniswamy describes how painting helped her recover from gender reassignment surgery. The project's name references Aravan, a figure from the Mahabharata, who is worshipped by transgender communities in Tamil Nadu.
Key facts
- Aravani Art Project founded in 2016 by Poornima Sukumar.
- Based in Bangalore, India.
- Uses geometric murals to involve non-artists.
- Works with transgender communities in Delhi, Coimbatore, Chennai.
- Also involved children from Dharavi slum and sex workers from Sonagachi.
- Mural 'Manidham Malarattum' in Chennai honors Tara, a 28-year-old sex worker who died from burns.
- Art director is Sadhna Prasad.
- Shanti Muniswamy, a transgender artist, participated in a mural at Freedom Park after her gender reassignment surgery.
Entities
Artists
- Poornima Sukumar
- Sadhna Prasad
- Shanti Muniswamy
- Tara
Institutions
- Aravani Art Project
Locations
- Bangalore
- India
- Delhi
- Coimbatore
- Chennai
- Dharavi
- Sonagachi
- Calcutta
- Karnataka
- Tamil Nadu
- Freedom Park