The Need of a South-Asian/Desi Diaspora Art Platform
Desi & South-Asian diaspora art needs an unproblematic platform where people can post & work on their craft unashamedly. The “Art Darbar” Discord server, I made, is the first step towards this kind of platform, where everyone can get their shine without some paywall or elitist barrier attached to it. There is so much to our community, & the lack of this kind of platform, is an injustice to the amount of diversity we have. It’s also an injustice to the artists who don’t have an outlet to sharpen their craft & collaborate with others around them, especially with the cultural barriers some of us face. A lot of the diaspora lacks artistic friends & mentors who push them to be there best, artistically, as well. This server can be used as the first stepping stone that isn’t Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, or some random blog site, where you can refine your art, find mentors/friends, collaborate, be inspired, & showcase your art to help build a brand for yourself.
In the server we encourage every artist to post their social media links, art website, store links, & Artstation portfolios, so we can hype each other up on every platform. We are also doing weekly showcases on the “Art Darbar” social media pages, to give people a platform & a reason to post their art/be active. Contests & incentives to post art, will also be something that will be a part of the community in the future. Some curation will be done at the start, but hopefully it will become something that is all-inclusive, where everyone can get their shine & build their niche. The goal is to make the community self-sufficient, in a way that everyone can reach their niche/audience. While also staying efficient in pushing artists to make sure they are comfortable in showcasing their self-expressions. All of this is in the hopes to expand the “Art Darbar” into blogs, bigger platforms, & other outlets to showcase our art. While maintaining that foundation of inclusivity & wholesomeness.
There is so much potential to the diaspora that has yet to be fully realized in the world, it has huge range from contemporary Indian Miniature paintings to some South-Asian sample-based music from the United States or the United Kingdom or anywhere. The kind of melting pot I envision for this platform, was highly inspired from the Anandpur Darbar (The Sikh Court), where the art presented in the court saw no bounds on who can participate. Any religious (or non-religious) backgrounds (Sufi, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Agnostic etc.) from any South-Asian backgrounds (Punjabi, Bengali, Afghan, Persian, Indian, Pakistani etc.) that are a practitioner of any artistic craft (photographers, poets, musicians, digital-artists, fashion designers, etc), from anywhere (United States, UK, Australia, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, etc) are welcome to the “Art Darbar”! It’s all for artists, by artists.
Link to the Discord Server: https://discord.gg/HhyWVf9hxf
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theartdarbar/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artdarbar
