The Art Market, held every first Saturday of the month at the Yellow House in Sanepa, has grown to become one of the most eagerly awaited events in the Capital today. Apart from being a forum for local artists to showcase and market Nepali products, the Art Market also provides a space for like-minded individuals to network and collaborate. In this interview with the Post’s Alisha Sijapati, Sylvain-Holmgren speaks about the early days of the Art Market, its growing popularity and what inspired her to make Nepal her home. Excerpts:

How did the idea of introducing the Art Market come to you?

I like to promote arts and local products. Infact, being a foreigner in Nepal, I feel the local artists and artisans have a lot of potential to do better and have not received the right amount of recognition. The Art Market started out as an initiative to promote contemporary art scene in Nepal and to make art more accessible to the general public. While having a conversation with Nayantara Gurung Kakshapati, of The Yellow House and photo.circle, she was excited to collaborate and was happy to provide Image Ark with the space to host the art market every month. 

Did you anticipate that Art Market would grow to become such a much-awaited monthly event?

Well, when we started Art Market, I was hopeful that this platform would increase the products that are made in Nepal. Art Market is the contemporary, well designed, quality local products that we promote.  I am glad that it has. 

The Art Market has given a positive encouragement to the local artisans and the crowd has been steadily growing every month. With time, so many art markets have mushroomed in Kathmandu since Image Ark launched its first at The Yellow House, which is great to see as well.

Can you tell us a little about your company Image Ark?

We have split Image Ark in three parts. We have an art gallery, we sell our boutique and art products and we have a production studio as well. We are into film making, photography, communications and designs. Image Ark looks after development and social issues as well. Everyone at Image Ark has their own specialty and it’s a great place to collaborate for work and have fun working at the same time. We want to create contemporary styles and designs here and want to set our identities through our designs. We recently did the designs for Labim Mall and made sure all the signs and symbols had a Nepali touch to it.

What kind of products has Image Ark created so far?

We have created our own local handmade bags and have also come up with jewellery from up-cycled products. Along with that, we recently printed a painting in a scarf. As part of Image Ark we cater to various clients from packaging to labelling their products. We also create personalised stationeries for them.

When, how and why did you come to Nepal?

I was working with the UN for a long time. I always wished to be posted in Nepal but somehow I never got the opportunity. There was a time when I decided that I want to settle down and live in one place for good and that was in Nepal. So, I came here in 2012. Image Ark had been was formed in 1983 in Kenya, so I just wanted a physical office for myself. The sole reason I wanted to be part of Nepal was that I always had Nepali friends wherever I worked. So, I thought this would the best place I’d fit in.