5 Fascinating Incidents That Happened at The Art Market

Last week, I finally had the opportunity to visit The Art Market, which I had been pining to go to for months! 

The Art Market is, basically, an art market. 
Plus, it takes place every first Saturday of the month at The Yellow House, which is a snazzy and sophisticated restaurant. So, I knew the Art Market would also be a snazzy and sophisticated event. 
There were 5 interesting things that happened when I visited, which amazed my little, easily-amused fourteen year-old mind…

1. ArtLab

The first stall we visited was that of ArtLab's. I'd researched them a few months back, after seeing them featured in one of my favourite publications, and loved and respected them instantly. So seeing them there made me know I would like being in the Art Market immensely :D

Their approachable stall guy approached my sister and gave her two stickers of some illustrated faces, asking in Neplish, "Timi - you know who they are?" 

I knew that the faces were present-day Nepali heroes, and were part of their project, Prasad - which aims to inspire the Nepali youth and Nepalis abroad to lift up Nepali society through their art - so I told him we weren't Nepali, and started a good conversation, which led to Mom buying a print and Stall Guy giving me one of each sticker (woo yas~)

One found a good home, inspired me to make my violin case a work of art, and reminds me of my belief that giving my talent is a prasad (offering) to the One who deserves all :))

2. H11235

I was about to move on, but then Stall Guy told me one of their artists, Kiran Maharjan, aka H11235, was there too (like right next to him). 
From there I didn't know what to do next, because H11235 was my favourite ArtLab artist but I wasn't sure if I was a full-on fan and deciding if I'm a fan of one thing weighs heavily on my judgement, and I'd just learned H11235's real name from one of the prints on the table, which would've satisfied my curiosity, but meeting him irl? 

guys, sorry, I couldn't pick a single GIF, but I assure you, this was what I was doing inside my brain and that I am weird

Well, I wanted to tell him about how much I loved one of his murals, which I would always take note to admire every single trip to and from my violin rehearsals. 

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Awkward Sam

But all I got out was a phrase that included something like, "You did that mural with the girl with the *waves hands and emphasises word* hair, ayt?" 

Awkward Sam, why is it that you always like to come out on moments like this?????

Man! Anyway, H11235 is an outstanding artist who greatly contributes to the Nepali art scene, and I'm super inspired by his work and passion - even though I blew my first impression, I hope to meet this amazing dude again (Kathmandu's a small place yo xD)
Lol, but he gives an imposing first impression irl, so I couldn't help but draw his face with how I recalled it ahahha --->

3. Word Warriors

This was the third booth I dropped by. One of the dudes at this table wagered the postcard below for my reading skillz. After years of trying to read painfully small letters, undecipherable prints, and segas semte rcesxx, I was able to read it all in one go with little difficulty. 

True to his word, he gave the card and a remark of amazement for my feat, plus a remark, which I chuckled at, "I'm going to pay for this", to his stallmates. That meeting also persuaded me to check out their organisation, Word Warriors, "a Kathmandu-based group of young poets leading the spoken word movement in Nepal. We have been performing, conducting events, competitions and workshops, all over Nepal, sharing the platform that spoken word provides for youth expression and voice." 

The first time I heard about 'poetry slam' was at a Pecha Kucha event four years ago, and it has progressively been piquing my curiosity. I dunno, I might go for it because of this c:

4. Looking at other stalls

We pressed on to see the other stalls, managed by an array of magical people, with an array of magical things. I was a cheapskate didn't have enough money to buy the other stuff I admired from a distance (I regret not talking to those artists, at least), like…

• a chill dude's framed art which reminded me of chill, deep, amazing, and angsty Wattpad book covers, which was refreshing to see irl
• pretty buttons I did not know the meaning of
• a hipster dudette's photographs, and prints with a few rude words but were funny o_o
• a city engraved in stone
• a big tuk-tuk canvas
• a poster with a deep quote about buying from an artist

Anyway, here's the picture of all the stuff I got:

YAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!

5. Interpretations

I also found myself wondering about deep stuff, like, the state of and glory attached to being an artist, how interpretation and understanding was key to connect with art, what I could do to let the artists know without words that I was a true admirer, if I was really a true admirer, if I was overthinking about it all, and if the state of and glory attached to being an artist didn't really matter. 

Really, all these thoughts washed over like a big wave in my head, but then they were just drowned out by a tidal wave of one thought: Live in the moment. 
Sometimes I can see myself visiting past experiences or exploring new notions to understand what's happening before me, but I think the best approach to understand is to really just live in the moment. So that's what I did and that's how I recall this experience to you :)

All in all, going to the Art Market was one of the best Saturday afternoons I've ever spent.
It was where us patrons were privileged to appreciate, admire, and enjoy  the showcased creative genius, where the artists received the honour due them by their hard work and releases of imagination, and where we all enjoyed and celebrated art! Totes looking forward to go to the next one.


"Everyone is an artist" (Joseph Beuys),