Freedom struggle comes to life through artists who lived through it

Sir JJ School of Art, Architecture and Design in Mumbai will open a new gallery on Monday with an exhibition titled 'Swaraj: Freedom We Saw, Freedom We Painted'.

The exhibition features 43 rare paintings from the institute's archives, most created between the 1940s and late 1960s, many publicly displayed for the first time.

The artworks depict pivotal moments such as Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha, the Civil Disobedience Movement, the Quit India Movement, and Partition.

The exhibition will be inaugurated by state chief secretary Rajesh Aggarwal at the recently restored Dean's bungalow, which has been converted into a museum and art gallery.

Vice-chancellor Him Kumar Chatterjee initiated the exhibition after discovering the paintings in the university's archives.