Connection, reflection, conversation: How IAF artists assess impacts of their creativity

Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 885 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.

In this photo essay, exhibitors from the India Art Festival (IAF) in Hyderabad share insights on the different genres of art, how their styles evolved, and what success could mean for them. IAF’s next edition this year will be in New Delhi in November (see our coverage of earlier editions here).

Hyderabad-based artist Sushmitha Singh has a background in fashion design. “But I consider life itself my greatest teacher,” she tells YourStory.

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“These days, my artistic focus lies in creating pieces that explore emotion, memory, and silence – the kind of silence that speaks. Whether through mixed media or traditional forms, I try to translate what cannot be said in words,” she explains.

She regards art as both a mirror and a map. “Art reflects the parts of life we often miss. It also guides me through emotions that I can’t fully articulate,” Singh adds.

“Art is quiet conversation between soul and canvas. It is a place where vulnerability and courage meet,” she describes.

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Sushmitha Singh

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Sushmitha Singh

Her style walks the line between realism and emotion-led abstraction. “It is fluid, introspective, and often layered with textures like memory itself,” Singh says.

“I love playing with contrasts: softness and sharpness, stillness and chaos. If anything defines my work, it is the feeling it leaves behind rather than the form it takes,” she adds.

Indore-based Mona Jain describes her artistic style as a blend of intuition, emotion, and spiritual energy. “Influenced by my study of colour and Vastu, I use hues not just for beauty but for their vibrational impact,” she describes.

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“My work often reflects harmony, balance, and inner calm. I do not follow rigid techniques,” she says.

Instead, she allows each painting to evolve naturally. “I let colours and forms speak their own language. My style is subtle yet expressive, rooted in silence and soul, where every stroke is a meditation and every canvas tells its own quiet story,” Jain explains.

For her, success as an artist is not measured by awards or sales alone. “Success is about the depth of connection—both with myself and with those who experience my work. It is about staying true to my voice, growing through each creation, and expressing something real and honest,” she affirms.

“If my art can touch even one soul, stir a feeling, or start a quiet conversation within, that is success. Recognition and commercial milestones are beautiful, but the true reward is the journey of self-discovery through every brushstroke,” Jain adds.

Sketch artist Ritvik Agarwal sees success through resonance. “Success is when someone sees a sketch and feels something, whether it is nostalgia, curiosity, or calm,” he describes.

“Recognition and commercial growth are validating. But the deeper reward lies in knowing my work creates connection and conversation around the places we inhabit,” he emphasises.

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