MELAKA: A 46-year-old housewife with a passion for art has grabbed a once-in-a-lifetime chance to display her paintings at an exhibition held at the Melaka Museum.
Dayaben Ritesh Ramani said she was elated to be given a dedicated space to express her artistic skills after many years of wanting an opportunity to do so.
“This is the moment that I have waited for all this while, and the organiser agreed to give me this opportunity after seeing my paintings.
“I am glad to join other artists from diverse backgrounds and age groups to showcase our talents,” she said in an interview on Sunday (Feb 18).
The mother-of-two said she found herself with the responsibility of taking care of her family and had no chance of taking part in major exhibitions earlier until the Melaka Museum gave her the opportunity to do so.
“This exhibition was an eye-opener for me as each of the artists who were present at the art gallery had their own painting styles while their artworks displayed were beautiful, diverse and colourful.
“I hope to shine in the global arena with this golden opportunity given to me for the first time,” she said.
Dayaben, who is from Kampung Lapan here, said she has been an art lover since she was young and loves capturing the essence of lives as well as heritage buildings in her works.
“I am focused on producing simple artworks to depict the Malaysian environment and cultural heritage,” she said.
Dayaben added she intends to preserve the cultural heritage before it fades away by capturing the tales of the past and conveying them through her contemporary art.
The two-day exhibition was opened by Melaka deputy tourism, heritage, art and culture committee chairman Datuk Zaidi Attan on Saturday (Feb 17).
Melaka Museum Board (Perzim) general manager Erne Hamsah was also present during the opening.
Zaidi said the art exhibition will be held on weekends during the car-free zone initiative at Bandar Hilir.
He said the exhibition is also a platform for dozens of local art lovers to express their passions as well as discover their boundless creativity.
