Contrary to popular belief, Bangalore is an art hungry city always seeking more. In an attempt to satiate this hunger, Deepa Subramanian, founder, Galerie de’Arts, hosted Of Masters and Heroes, an art fair with modern master painters C. Dakshinamoorthy, P. Perumal, A. Viswam, N. Manoharan and P. Gnana in a celebration of the fourth anniversary of her gallery this weekend. "Vidya Gnana Gouresan, an art curator from Singapore put the show together. They showed in Singapore and Delhi prior to this," says Deepa.

What makes it dear to Deepa herself is that the artists are from Chennai, which is also her hometown. “These master artists work closely with us and we were keen to bring them to Bangalore for an art camp,” she says.

What prompted Deepa to host an art camp of this calibre was to give Bangalore’s art-hungry people, a show beyond the regular. "An art camp is an ideal way to kindle interest for the medium among people. It's the closest way you can get to art, see how the artist uses his brushstroke, the colours he prefers and observe his signature the technique. Importantly, one gets to interact with the artist along this process," explains Deepa.

In kindling a participative art forum of this nature, Deepa seeks to "give voice to an experience". "Art is an expression of life. Unfortunately, it has always been conceived as a serious space, which can be occupied only by people who have an inclination or flair for it. But the fact is there is a living artist in each one of us. To tap and explore this talent is the first step to appreciating art," she says.

Of Masters and Heroes has already generated tremendous interest among young art lovers and others who are keen to watch the artists at work. "Beyond it all, it is a very emotional experience for the artists to create work amidst people and to get instant feedback, which is normally not the case," signs off Deepa.