Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nalin Kamat. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Nalin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I started drawing when I was 2 years old. Art has always been a part of my life. My Grandfather was a professional artist and his first gift to me was a box of crayons. By the time I was 12 years old, I started looking for opportunities to display and sell my work.

That is when I discovered that there were many barriers for underage artists to exhibit their work professionally. So I decided to create a gallery specifically for under 18 artists that would provide this opportunity to all young artists like myself.

The Little EGG Gallery was born.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In 2022, I acquired a gallery space in Midtown Toronto and started advertising for our first juried show to be held in Spring 2023. I wasn’t sure if this radical idea would take hold, but our first show boasted a sold out opening reception and a lot of interest from the local art community. This first success brought along a partnership with Salsa in Toronto, a Latin festival with tens of thousands of visitors. We hosted a Latino themed exhibition in June 2023 which received media coverage from the CBC, Toronto Star, and TLN Media.

Fast forward to 2024, Little EGG Gallery has exhibited nearly 1000 artworks of 350 under 18 artists from all around the world. We have exhibited at multiple international art fairs (Art on Paper NYC, Superfine Art Fair), and we held our first exhibition in NYC in April 2024.

We have also financially supported underprivileged young artists to allow them to exhibit their artwork in our shows. And we partner with local mental health organizations to provide hope and inspiration to many more.

In less than 2 years, we are on our way to achieving our mission to become the global venue to celebrate the next generation of contemporary artists. A place where every young artist can be recognized.

The media coverage continued over the last year, including an exhibition review on Hyperallergic and The Art Newspaper. I have been also profiled in CBC Kids and Reader’s Digest’s “Small but Mighty” cover feature.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

As an artist, I create my own charcoal from fire and use birchbark to sketch my inspirations. I translate these sketches into surreal depictions of the human body, limited only by the tonality of light and shade. My series is titled Transcendence “that which goes beyond”. Simply the creation of my art is the reward in itself.

However, the ability to share my art empowers me. The fact that through my art, I was able to create the gallery and provide that same experience to so many other artists transcends the creation of my art itself.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

One of the reasons I think underage artists are usually not considered “professional artists” is that their art is often never seen as having the maturity of older artists. But as Picasso said: “Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.“ The same sentiment was echoed by one of our jurors, David Griffin, a professor at one of the best art schools in Canada, OCAD University. “Children have more creatively when they are young, before they feel pressured to follow rules and styles in their work.” Art has no rules and Age should be no barrier to the possibility of art itself. When Little EGG exhibits the artwork of young artists, my hope is the art world will see and respect young artists as an equal creative, not just a child.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.little-egg-gallery.com/
• Instagram: @little_egg_artgallery
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089703630489
• Other: My Website: https://www.nalinkamat.com/

  Email: info@little-egg-gallery.com

Image Credits

All pictures taken by me.