In our 11th episode, we have visual artist Wang Rana Gurung in conversation with fellow visual artist Chand Bhattarai, as he recalls his beginnings as an artist and goes on to share how he has been involved with his local communities through his artwork. They are both incredibly creative members from the Voluntary Artists’ Studio Thimphu community (VAST).
Our guest speaker Wang Rana Gurung is a talented visual artist and works at Thimphu Comics Studio. He designs and illustrates children’s books, comics, and graphic novels. He has worked with various Bhutanese and international creative communities, including WWF, Save The Children, and Art Biennale. His work has appeared in comics and graphic novels like BUMPA, Garpa, Lam Drukpa Kunley, and Bystander Anthology. Occasionally he provides art classes and workshops.
Our guest host Chand Bhattarai is also a brilliant visual artist. He has illustrated over twelve children’s books so far and is also an animation filmmaker based in Thimphu. His natural approach to art is free-spirited, experimental, and avant-garde. Some popular children’s books Chand has illustrated include Batoo, Khakey, and Lolay and Kado Goes to the Tshechu.
“I don’t want my art to just hang on the wall looking pretty. It excites me when my work provokes the viewers to think and