At the peak of the first lockdown last year, Bengaluru-based theatremaker and storyteller Akhshay Gandhi — who runs Still Space Theatre, a multi-disciplinary ensemble of artistes — reached out to performing artistes from rural regions of Karnataka to help them tide over the crisis. “In the process, we realised that we need to invest in artistes’ communities. We identified 45 artistes who got a grant. 

We introduced them to the digital platform and helped them organise themselves,” shares Gandhi about the #forartistsandarts initiative. So, when the second wave struck, Gandhi and his team extended their support to artistes from different corners of India. “Apart from raising funds, we felt that if we equip these artistes with technology, it can lead to an artistic exchange,” he tells us.