In appreciation... ~ Art of Punjab

In appreciation...

The end of this year marks ten years that I have dedicated myself to solely creating Sikh art. It certainly was never a path my younger self imagined I would be on. A chance meeting with Khushwant Singh's 'A History of Sikhs' thrust such powerful imagery into my mind that I tossed aside all notions of a career in animation film making. In truth, I barely made it half way through the first volume before I started painting. After two years of honing my style, I quietly released my first official painting at the Toronto Sikh Film festival art auction in 2006. A bidding war ensued that night and a substantial amount was paid for the first canvas art print of my Banda Singh Bahadur painting.

To this day, I am grateful to that generous benefactor because he gave me the much needed boost of validation which spurred me to keep on this path. I am so thankful that in the past ten years my work has enabled me to meet and collaborate with some of the finest individuals and institution builders within the world wide Sikh community. I have been able to pursue this passion and along the way work with the marvelous people who bring us SikhNet, Sikhchic, Seva Food Bank, Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada (SHMC), Sikh Research Institute (SikhRI), SikhExpo to name but a few. I have also been privileged to build partnerships with institutions outside of the Sikh community such as the Royal Ontario Museum by showcasing artwork such as a recent painting about the heroic efforts of Sikhs in World War One. It enabled me to speak with audiences unfamiliar with the immense contribution of Sikh soldiers who numbered in the hundreds of thousands but has rarely been recognized. Finally, this year also closes with work contributed towards an upcoming CBS documentary about the importance of Guru Nanak dev ji in the evolution of South Asian religions.

All this has happened with the support of the Sikh community, both close to home and across the globe, who have nurtured and encouraged my creative endeavors in the past ten years. I know that I've barely peeled back the first layer of what makes up the tremendous history of the Sikh Nation and I hope that you will be there with me to see what the next ten years bring.

Humbly Yours,

Kanwar Singh