The artists were selected for the International Fellowship Program 2014, South Korea, for three months, during which they got an opportunity to collaborate with each other as

well as with Korean and other international artists who participated

in the project. The community-interactive art project focused on art-exchanges that brought together

people from various parts of the world. Chitrakar’s body of work was titled Who Will Love My Brother?, while Shrestha titled his work Drapery Project.

For the exhibition, Shrestha had created an installation piece out of cloth that was hung from the ceiling and draped all the way down to the floor. Speaking at the programme, Shrestha said, “The piece symbolises past connections and emotional attachment”. He then elaborated on the role that the government could play in uplifting this form of art. “I wish the Nepali government would do what it can to help nourish our own visual-art culture by providing financial, moral and logistical support. It’s not just the private players who should be doing this,” he added.

Chitrakar’s work, on the other hand, was a compilation of touching pictures of two brothers and the letters they shared after being separated in the North-South conflict. During the programme, Chitrakar stated that the project was an important achievement not just for him, but for the Nepali art community as a whole. “We got the opportunity to witness South Korean work-culture first hand. It’s something that could be inspirational for the upcoming generation of Nepali artists. Also, the image of Nepal and Nepali artists that we’ve left behind is very positive and they are willing to invite young and deserving artists in the near future. As a gesture of reciprocation, we are working on bringing some Korean artists to work, exhibit and even do workshops in Nepal.”

The artists duo stressed the importance of the government, people and artists working together to create the right environment that can help nurture Nepali visual arts.