Myself Ramesh, doing Mithila painting since childhood in Madhubani. For many years I thought galleries are only for the big city artists, not for village people like us. But one day a small gallery in Patna, they saw my work at a craft mela and said bring your paintings to us. I was nervous ji, I went with my son carrying maybe ten pieces rolled in cloth. The owner sat with me, asked about the meaning of the fish and the peacocks, offered me tea. He sold two pieces in the first month and I thought I am dreaming.

That was maybe fifteen years ago. Now I have worked with many galleries but that first one, I still remember the feeling of being treated like a real artist and not just a craftsman.

What about you? Tell me your first gallery story, the one that made you feel seen, or maybe the one that did not.