Rouble Nagi

Rouble Nagi
Born	8 July 1980 Jammu & Kashmir
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	Slade School of Fine Art, London
Known for	Public Art Installations, Sculptures, Murals, Social work, Misaal Mumbai, Slum paintings
Website	roublenagi.com

Rouble Nagi (born 8 July 1980) is an Indian artist specialising in sculptures, art installations and paintings. Rouble Nagi is the Founder of Rouble Nagi Art Foundation, an NGO that conducts art workshops for children throughout India. The foundation aims to transform the community through art.^[1] She is also the founder of Rouble Nagi Design Studio. She has over 800 murals to her credit and has held over 150 exhibitions worldwide. She is a member of the India Design Council (IDC). She has taken up an initiative to start Mumbai beautification with ‘Art Installations’ in and around the city. Rouble Nagi is an Artist and Social worker working towards promoting young and talented artists from India and abroad. Through the Rouble Nagi Art Foundation in India, she has been conducting workshops throughout the country, with over 62 Balwadi’s all over India, she strives to take children to school through art.^[2] Her latest initiative named "Misaal Mumbai" is the first slum painting initiative in India, through which she has painted over 24000 houses till date. A project to paint houses in slums in Mumbai to give life to the slum and keep it clean and hygienic.^[3] Her unique paintings are collected by many including corporates, celebrities, Government of India and museums.

Early life

Rouble Nagi was born in 1980 in Jammu & Kashmir, India. She did undergraduate studies in political science and later studied fine art at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. She has also studied European Art at Sotheby's London.

Career

Rouble Nagi works in 33 different mediums including Ceramic, Glass, Tile Mosaics, Bronze, Stain Glass, Paint, Metal Relief (Brass, Copper, Aluminum ) Ceramic Tiles, Marble, Fibre etc. Her predominant work includes mural and sculpture work. She has done more than 800 commissioned art projects for Individuals ,Corporates ,Government and public art projects.

Rouble Nagi Art Foundation

Rouble Nagi Art Foundation one of the social initiatives initiated by Rouble Nagi that runs Balwadis with art programs in Mumbai slums to initiate children to come to school.The foundation aims to transform the community through art and education^[4].

It aims to organize Art camps for the underprivileged to give them a social platform for interaction with the society

The foundation has received support from Bollywood actors, including Salman Khan, Sohail Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Emraan Hashmi, Sushmita Sen^[5] and Zayed Khan.

Rouble Nagi Art Foundation has done a complete cleanup and has painted over the Abhyas Galli, where school and college students come to study due to electricity issues at their homes. Students had also assisted in this project.^[4] The latest initiative is called “ Misaal Mumbai” to paint over slums all over Mumbai and bring colour to other states in India as well.

Misaal Mumbai | Slum Painting

Rouble Nagi at a social event

“Misaal Mumbai” is another initiative Social Activist Rouble Nagi.^[6] It all began with Paint Dharavi in 2016 and now extended to Bandra West along with several sites in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. The project in Bandra West consisted of the painting of over 285 houses^[7] in Jaffar Baba Colony, Mount Mary, Bandra West. Rouble Nagi and her team along with help from locals and residents painted and cleaned the slums in these areas . By seeking the help of younger volunteers from art colleges and training them through painting workshops, Rouble Nagi and team ended up employing 25 students, thus enabling them to finish the project in less than a month. The stunning result was an explosion of rainbow hues that could be seen from far away, stretching from one dwelling onto the next.

The project also seeks to employ people so that it gives them a sense of ownership over the art painted by them they in their own community subsequently improving the condition of their houses. Street art provides a means for discussion. Colourful surroundings will significantly change, if not improve the lives of the local community^[8]. The main aim of this foundation is to give life to the slum while keeping it clean and hygienic. Misaal Mumbai is not just about painting walls, the foundation also organises medical camps for women and children, workshops on sanitation and hygiene are also conducted for the residents, workshops on the importance of Education, women empowerment and career guidance for the youth. Misaal Mumbai merely wants to create interventions, that hopefully would bring about other changes.

The aim of the Project “ Misaal Mumbai” is mainly to inspire others to set up projects of their own, be it in Mumbai or anywhere else. Misaal Mumbai is the first slum painting initiative in India. Misaal Mumbai is currently working in more than 13 slums in Mumbai including Dhobi Ghat (Colaba), Ambedkar Nagar (Cuffe Parade) Machhimar Nagar (Colaba) and Kamathipura and more. The present project is at Thane ( Indranagar , Dongripada , Patilpura and another 4 sites) and other cities in India.

The slums of Mumbai are home to millions of people, however, these areas are often drab and dirty. Rouble Nagi through her initiatives, is slowly transforming the city's slums into giant works of art^[9]. Rouble Nagi initially visited slums in her hometown to provide art classes for the children, this inspired her to do more.

Now, with the help of over hundreds of volunteers, her foundation is painting and beautifying slums all over Mumbai^[10]. Painting slums with bright paint are just the start. They even plan to install toilets and run hygiene campaigns for the residents. Misaal Mumbai is the first initiative for the betterment of people living in the slums and villages.

References

External links

• Official website