Goa’s rich historical and cultural heritage has inspired some of its greatest artists, from the late Francis Newton Souza whose eclectic works sell for millions of dollars to the iconic cartoonist Mario Miranda, acknowledged as one of the world’s great masters of line and space.
Goa gave the world India’s first avant garde artist – the late Francis Newton Souza. This genius of eclectic expressionism was one of the founders of The Progressive Artists Group that included M F Husain and S H Raza.
Mario Miranda’s cartoons reveal his humourous insight into the Goan pysche Portrait of Picasso by Francis Newton Souza, from the collection of Stanley Pinto
On a parallel plane, Mario Miranda gently but surely conquered the media space with his inimitable cartoons, comic strips and brilliant depictions of Goa and its people as well as some of the global cities he visited like Paris, London and New York.
Another cartoonist who has made a name for himself, especially in Goa is Alexyz aka Alex Raphael Fernandes. His overtly political offerings coruscates politicians, real estate developers and mining companies who are destroying this beautiful state.
Artists like Subodh Kerkar and Harshada Kerkar, Laxman Pai, Yolanda D’Souza Kammermeier, Viraj Naik, Rajan Fulari, Verodina Souza and her husband Francis Souza, Tanya Mendonca and Antonio da Costa have notched up Goan art on the international circuit from New York to Hong Kong.
The Goa College of Art is a forum for local students of art who need not move far away to hone their skills. The annual Fontainhas Festival of Arts in Panjim’s Latin Quarter has become a major attraction, showcasing the best of Goa’s artistic talent.