How it started: "While traveling for theatre performances all over the country, from big
cities to remote villages I realized the importance of community art spaces- not only to for
the actual performance but also to build audience, to give a creative motivation to artist
within each of us. When we shifted to wonderful community of Gopuri, the idea of having
such common creative space for artists came up. We wanted to create a space where
artists belonging to all art forms can come, stay and spend peaceful time in the company
of nature and let the stream of creativity flow from their souls naturally! And let the
community to develop their taste for art forms." - Ojas SV.
How it was done: There was an old dilapidated structure, that we felt could be renovated
for such a space. It was used as a cattle shed in its prime, but had been abandoned since
a few years. About 80% of the materials used in the renovation, were salvaged from
nearby structures that were in ruins - bricks, stone slabs for flooring, country roof tiles for
the roofing, even a cart-wheel that was re-used for decoration. Very little material was
bought from the market - painting, electrical, and plumbing material, a few kadappah
slabs for the seating and a few tin sheets for the roofing. Labour for the renovation work,
was mostly hired labour, which added to the bulk of the cost, with a few volunteering
sessions by local people for wall plastering, cleaning, etc.
