Ashmina Ranjit: Different Voices - an alternative billboard space

Ashmina Ranjit is not a new name for art lovers and feminists. A visual artist who has been working on women's issues and generating awareness for numerous social and political issues, her works focus on social injustice, human rights violations and war using a wide range of media.

When she started out in 1987, only paintings and sculptures were considered art in Nepal. She wanted to break this concept so she came up with Sutra Art. Sutra Art sought to work as an alternative institute for nurturing creativity and challenging conventional art forms while questioning who true artists really were. Ashmina wanted to broaden Sutra’s horizons by involving creative people from different fields, not just artists, and thus started Lasanaa. During the CA elections, Lasanaa, in collaboration with Women Down the Pub, started an innovative attempt at creating awareness in the form of a billboard project called Different Voices. These billboards stressed gender equality as a crucial part of democracy.

V.E.N.T! Magazine talked to Ashmina to learn more about the billboards, her art and the projects that she is involved in.

Tell us about Lasanaa and Women Down the Pub.

Women Down the Pub (WDTP) is a network of feminist artists. I came in touch with them on my trip to Denmark. What fascinated me about WDTP was their similarity to the Charitraheen Cheli movement that was going on in Nepal at that time. The Charitraheen Cheli were a group of unidentified women who spoke out against patriarchy in Nepali society. Male domination is not uncommon in a country like Nepal but I was captivated that even in a country like Denmark, women were fighting for equal rights. Lasanaa is a non-profit art trust. It serves as a learning site and also an alternative art institute trying to bring about positive change in society through art.

Tell us more about the Different Voices billboard project that started in 2008. 

It was a collaborative project between Lasanaa and WDTP. It was time for the CA elections and everywhere there was talk of a ‘Naya (new) Nepal’. In Naya Nepal, we wanted the age old perceptions of gender to change. We wanted to address everything related to gender parity, from the tiniest problems in every household to the big political issues. We felt Naya Nepal should address the issues of women. We wanted these issues to be brought to the surface for public discussion and to be considered while policy making.

Why this particular medium?

We wanted as many people as possible to hear what we had to say. If we had opted for a simple gallery exhibition, only a handful would have seen us. We wanted to reach both ordinary people and the policy makers at the same time. So, that is why we chose hoarding boards.

Where are the billboards located?

At Putalisadak, above the Radhakoti Arcade.

Who financed it?
   
The Danish Embassy and Danish Centre for Culture and Development (DCCD).

What has the feedback been like?
   
Lots of people have seen the billboards; how well they understood it is questionable but people who did see it as a new form of expression and were very appreciative. We’ve gotten lots of warm and encouraging feedback. The only thing that has bothered both us and the audience is the location. We wanted the billboard to be somewhere around Maitighar or Singha Darbar but the rent was too high. Finally, the billboard that we settled for was way above the eye level and many people complained they had difficulty finding it.

What do you think is wrong about the billboards in Kathmandu?
   
Billboards are a commercial space but at the same time they are also public spaces. It is sad to see that these spaces portray women as commodities. An ad for a whiskey brand contains the tagline, Nothing Satisfies Like Virgin. It is very appalling to see that something this disrespectful towards women is so easily accepted in society and the hoarding boards are just another medium supporting this bias.

How is there a bias in art?

There is no bias as such in the space and coverage given to female artists. They have just as many opportunities as males do and the media covers their work well. But, deep down there is a problem. That is why there are so few female artists. Due to gender roles, women don’t have enough freedom to pursue what they want and so there is very little female participation in different fields. All the great artists have been male. It is not that there were no female artists but in the process of writing history, females were ignored and were left confined to the crafts: stitching, sewing and knitting.

Any future plans?

We will be focusing on fruitful workshops, discussions, and gatherings. The discussions may only be among 15-20 people but they will convey the message to more people and then these people will convey it to still more people. This is how we hope to spread our ideas. We want to carry out art workshops and exhibitions even outside Kathmandu. We hope to achieve activism through art by merging gender issues and art.

What can individuals do to help Different Voices?

You don’t have to be engaged with Different Voices to be involved in this cause. You don’t have to come here and speak to be involved. I don’t have to guide you for this. Each individual should ask themselves what they can do to make a difference and act accordingly. It is about social responsibility.

To find out more about the Different Voices billboard project, Lasanaa and Women Down the Pub, go to differentvoices.org.

Interview by Bhrikuti Rai, Divyani Shiwakoti and Elipha Pradhananga, and photography by Sangam Silpakar, Kathmandu University Media Studies students.