Art Scene India: Public Art

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18 Feb 2020

Art and Sustainability

The month long public art initiative at VR Bengaluru, Whitefield celebrates sustainability with innovative art installations and activities

The ongoing Whitefield art collective WAC2020, now in its 5th edition, was inaugurated on 7th February, at VR Bengaluru, Whitefield, better known as the Black Box. The evening saw the unveiling of the art car, painted by the art collective, Aravani Arts Project, by artist and President, Kochi Biennale Foundation Bose Krishnamachari and festival curator Sumi Gupta.

Art car painted by the art collective, Aravani Arts Project

Since this year’s theme for the festival has been sustainability, the art, and all the activities are built around it. Sumi Gupta explained, “The Whitefield Art Collective since its inception in 2015, is committed towards the environment and sustainable processes. We are also focused on ensuring inclusivity for our events and nurture new talent; we always make sure we support and highlight student artists’ efforts, ensuring we give them credit on display panels positioned next to each artwork."

The inauguration of the festival was followed by a walkthrough of the art around the mall, and a fireside conversation between Bose Krishnamachari and Sumi Gupta, which brought up several relevant and interesting aspects related to public art, the Kochi biennale and the associated challenges. Bose reiterated how important it was to create spaces for conversation around art, and how informal spaces too contribute towards incubation of ideas and innovation. Incidentally, Bose’s solo exhibition The Mirror Sees Best in the Dark is going on in Kolkata till March 10.

Indian Peacock by Nithin Sadhu and Rahul KP

During the art tour one saw, ‘Preserve the Pride’ an installation made of corrugated fibreboard by Bandana Jain, which derives inspiration from the doorway of a Buddhist shrine at Ajanta Cave. It is fashioned out of 10,000 cut-outs of recycled corrugated fibreboard and alludes to the challenges in imagining our countries, cities and landscapes without the familiar remnants of our past. According to the artist, “I don’t want to protect the environment. I want to create a world where the environment doesn’t need protection.”

Humpbacked Mahseer by Nithin Sadhu and Rahul KP

Rahul KP and Nithin Sadhu of the Bangalore Creative Circus have created Namma ‘Tiger of the Cauvery’ out of metal scrap. The Humpback Mahseer often referred to as the “Tiger of the Cauvery river” is on the brink of extinction and the large installation lets you enter through the mouth and know more about the fish’s ecology and habitat through the process. Highlighting the issue of sustainability and the effects of climate change, the artist duo wonder, “does our development plan for the future accommodate such unique and rare species”? This installation has been created with scrap collected from trash collection drives along the Cauvery river and across Bangalore, and the project was commissioned by The Wildlife Association of South India (WASI) to draw attention to its conservation effort.

The Digital Wave By Romicon Revola, AR embedded Digital Print

'The Digital Wave’ by Romi Revola

The augmented reality installation ‘The Digital Wave’ by Romi Revola speaks of the times we live in. Even with technological advancements in the 21st century, women are still fighting for equality at various levels. The digital layer that makes the work of art come alive represents the rising fourth-wave feminism (with the use of internet tools). The art installations and activities have been curated by Artflute.

The inaugural evening also saw a spectacular fashion show by students from JD Institute of Fashion Technology, which showcased ‘Wearable Art’ designed around the theme of sustainability, with garments created out of biopolymers, recycled materials, seeds embedded in the fabric and so on.

Head over to VR Bengaluru, Whitefield and check out the art on display, in addition there are several activities to engage all age groups. The festival continues till March 7th.

Schedule of activities

Re-Imagine Bengaluru: 22nd – 23rd February

UnGallery-Spaces Beyond:22nd February

Art Cinema: 23rd February

Art Bazaar: 29th February to 1st March

Basement Art Project: 1st to 5th March

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7 Feb 2020

Art News: Fifth Annual Whitefield Art Collective 2020

The festival will run from 7th February 2020 to 7th March 2020 at VR Bengaluru, Whitefield Main Road.

This year's theme is Sustainability

Launches today: Whitefield Art Collective (WAC), the award-winning public art initiative, announced the inauguration of its month long fifth edition. WAC2020 will encourage creative explorations around the theme of “sustainability”, through partnerships with leading institutions and notable individuals from the artistic community.

This year, the collaborators include Shristi Institute of Art, Design & Technology, JD Institute of Fashion Technology, Bangalore Creative Circus, Indian Garbage Collective, The Broke Artist Collective, Aravani Arts Project, and Synaesthesia Collective & Art Flute.

Ajanta Caves: Preserve the Pride by Artist Bandhana Jain

WAC 2020 is supported by YujKutumb, The Yog Foundation. As for previous editions, VR Bengaluru as part of its Connecting Communities© initiative that aims to encourage civic pride, strengthen the local economy and enhance the city’s national and international image, will be the primary venue partner. WAC 2020 is also supported by The Waverly Hotel & Residences, Gravity Events, Burger King and Grover Wines.

Bose Krishnamachari, President, Kochi Biennale Foundation will inaugurate the festival by unveiling the annual VR Art Car, painted this year by the Bengaluru based women and trans-women art collective-Aravani Art Project. The unveiling will be followed by a fireside chat between Bose and WAC Curator Sumi Gupta, at the Living Room of The Waverly. The inaugural event will culminate with “Wearable Art” - a show by JD Institute of Fashion Technology at Skydeck.

Work by Student of JD Institute of Fashion Technology

Speaking on the occasion, Sumi Gupta, Curator of the festival said, “I am thrilled to steer this fantastic public initiative in its fifth year. This edition of WAC has incredible collaborations with institutions and student artists from across Bengaluru, creating a vibrant platform for large-scale installations & sculptures. Over the next month, WAC 2020 will bring together a community of connoisseurs, art students, patrons, and the citizens of Bengaluru in a celebration of the city’s art and culture.”

The month thereafter will see the show widen its scope and scale. Lined up are an Art Dessert Festival, Art Cinema Screening, Art Bazaar, a Children’s Art Competition with more than 500 kids from the city’s premier International Schools geared up to participate.

Reincarnation by Artist Sangeeta Abhay

‘Women in Art,’ a panel discussion moderated by Sreemoyee Piu Kundu will take the stage on Day Two of WAC 2020. With panelists Sumi Gupta, Curator; Shonali Bose, Director, Writer, Producer and Seema Kohli - Contemporary Artist; the discussion promises to be engaging. For the record, this will be the first episode of Season 2, part of the ongoing Salon with Shree series held in association with the Whitefield Literary Society to be held on February 8th.

Humpbacked Mahseer by Nithin Sadhu and Rahul KP

WAC 2020 is all about celebrating art. VR Bengaluru will morph into a hub of artistic innovation, blending aesthetics with creativity. WAC 2020 promotes regional art and artists by featuring a unique mix of programming and commissioned works, in partnership with regional institutions; all interwoven within the theme of sustainability.

Schedule of events:

Fine Art I Sculptures I Installations: 7^th February to 7^th March

Salon with Shree- Women in Art:            8^th February

Art Dessert bazaar with LBB: 8^th-9^th February

Children’s Art Competition:    14^th -15^th February

The Art Yard:    14^th -15^th February

Re-Imagine Bengaluru:    22^nd – 23^rd February

UnGallery-Spaces Beyond:    22^nd February

Art Cinema: 23^rd February

Art Bazaar:    29^th February to 1^st March

Basement Art Project:    1^st to 5^th March

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5 Nov 2018

Art Bengaluru 2018 - A Celebration of Contemporary Art

Art Bengaluru 2018 - Ongoing at UB City

The 2018 edition of Art Bengaluru brings together 17 Indian artists across 24 exhibits to UB City, the centrally located mall in Bangalore. This year, one can see photography, mixed media artworks, oil paintings, acrylics, pen and ink drawings, sculptures (from wood, steel and paper) and video projects, all arranged aesthetically adopting a cohesive approach, and there are some very interesting works to be seen at the mall. Since, it's a public space, anyone can walk in to view the art. The exhibition scores high in terms of accessibility, display and lighting. With several outreach programmes the footfall is expected to be high.

Art Bengaluru 2018 at UB City, Public Art, Photograph courtesy Prestige group, Art Scene India

Saju Kunhun

Art Bengaluru 2018 at UB City, Prestige Group, Public Art, Photographs Art Scene India

Balan Nambiar

The display has been put together exceedingly well and it begins at the foyer with Balan Nambiar's large stainless steel sculptures and continues inside the mall with his enamel works and a large painting by Gurudas Shenoy (a 20 ft multipanel work on the ground floor, which forms a stunning focal point). His natural and urban semi-abstract canvases form an extensive collection at Sublime Galleria on the 8th floor as well.

Vipta Kapadia and Kavita Jaiswal are among other artists that are displayed on the ground level and their abstracts - quiet and meditative by the former and heavily textured and layered by the latter are captivating. The large linear hillscapes in pen and ink on paper from 1986 by D Venkatapathy, the senior founder member of the Cholamandal Artist Village are intricately detailed in black and white.

Gurudas Shenoy

Parvathi Nayar

The centrally located exhibits of the 2nd floor showcase works by Parvathi Nayar, Romicon Revola, Ashu Gupta and Saju Kunhan. Parvathi’s graphite drawings explore water in its simultaneous ubiquity and scarcity, portrayed through the entire spectrum of perspective - from bird’s eye to microscopic. Romicon video works offer an interesting narrative, where one invites the viewer to contemplate and meditate on a single drop of water and the other engages with the phenomenon of the urban sprawl. She says, "The urban sprawl is like the mythical hydra: a creature that grows two new heads every time one of its heads is cut off."

Romicon Revola

Bothysathavur , S Ravi Shankar & Ganesh Selvaraj play with symmetry with paper and wood, 'these exhibits are tethered by strict geometrical forms employed by the artists; from the perspective-altering curves and lines of Yuvan’s work on plywood, to Ravi Shankar’s architectural laser-cut paper sculpture that transform in different angles of light, and Ganesh’s intense assemblages of magazine paper on board'.

On the first floor, photography and photo media by Devangana Kumar and Rohaan Sulaiman are exhibited. Devangana recreates postcards from mid-nineteenth century that are based on Indian servants employed by British and which presents them as commodified subjects. The artist's large format digital recreations attempts to reinstate dignity and identity and humanise them. "Rohaan’s documentation of Naga tribes and wildlife explore themes of migration, adaptation to rapidly evolving habitats and preservation of tradition," according to Abhishek Naidu, curator.

Pallon Daruwala

Pallon’s exhibit features a selection of works from the new edition of his Vertical Horizon series, which aptly titled, capture a diverse series of subjects and settings that are as thought provoking and disorienting as they play with the 'normal' and turn around perspectives.

Curated art walk with exchange students from Garden University, Spain

Ms. Uzma Irfan - Festival Director, Art Bengaluru & Director, Prestige Group

The featured artists include Balan Nambiar, Gurudas Shenoy, Kavita Jaiswal, Vipta Kapadia, Chandan Bhowmick, D Venkatapathy, Yuvan Bothysathavur, S Ravi Shankar, Devangana Kumar, Rohaan Sulaiman, Parvathi Nayar, Romicon Revola, Ashu Gupta, Ashish Dubey and Pallon Daruwala.

Ms. Uzma Irfan is the Festival Director, Art Bengaluru & Director, Prestige Group

More details on Art Bengaluru 2018 here http://www.artbengaluru.in/

Art Bengaluru at UB City, Vittal Mallya Road, 11am onwards is on till November 18

Edit: Updated 02 – 18 November 2018

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31 Oct 2018

Art News: ‘Art Bengaluru’ is back with its 8th Edition

‘Art Bengaluru 2018'– Bengaluru’s popular Art Festival is back with its 8th Edition

At UB City from 02 – 18 November 2018

The City of Protagonists by Saju Kunhan at Art Bengaluru 2018 at UB City, Bangalore,

Image courtesy Prestige Constructions

The media preview today of ‘Art Bengaluru’ offered glimpses into a well curated art exhibition, which brings together 17 Indian artists across 24 exhibits. With its inception in 2011, ‘Art Bengaluru’, the city’s first 10-day art festival was launched with the aim of celebrating art in its various forms. The idea behind it was to bring a multitude of artists and artforms from across India and the world under one roof, thus promoting art awareness as well as a deeper understanding of the arts. The 2014 edition featured artist Liu Bolin from China, popularly known as the 'The Invisible Man', and during the inaugural evening of Art Bengaluru, he performed and ‘disappeared’ into a bookshelf, even as the people watched (read about it here).

Over the years, the art festival has grown from strength to strength and has gravitated towards more serious art and artists. The exhibition this year includes artists Balan Nambiar, Gurudas Shenoy, Kavita Jaiswal, Vipta Kapadia, Parvathi Nayar, Pallon Daruwala, Romicon Revola & Saju Kunhan amongst others.

Painting by Gurudas Shenoy at Art Bengaluru 2018 at UB City, Bangalore, Image courtesy Prestige Constructions

Large stainless steel sculptures by Balan Nambiar at the entrance create a striking visual. The rest of the exhibits are distributed across floors, Gurudas Shenoy's paintings are on display on the ground floor and at Sublime Galleria. Overall, the display is cohesive and follows distinct narratives on each floor - abstracts around natural and urban landscapes, ephemeral abstractions, architectural renderings in the form of assemblages, digital recreations of mid-nineteenth century postcards and photographs that re-orient perspectives are some of the works that you should watch out for.

The art festival offers a great opportunity to visitors and shoppers to engage with art in a public space, and for its entire duration, anyone can walk into the premises and view a diverse spectrum of mediums and styles, displayed with museum-class display infrastructure under one roof.

According to Uzma Irfan, Conceptualizer / Organiser, Art Bengaluru & Director, Prestige Group, "The language of art, as expressed through sounds, colours, shapes, lines, and images, speaks in ways that words cannot. Whether you experience the arts as a creator / artist or as an art lover, you can gain great pleasure and enjoyment from all kinds of art.”

Ganesh Selvaraj - Doing the same expecting difference at Art Bengaluru 2018 at UB City, Bangalore, image courtesy prestige constructions

With curated art walks, the festival also aims to contribute to art education among both children and adults. Art Bengaluru 2018 has partnered with several schools (Parikrma Centre of Learning, Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology and Dr. Beltran’s Animation School, to name a few) to take their students through curated walks to help them better understand and appreciate the arts. Abhishek Naidu, Curator, Art Bengaluru 2018 offers, “Art Bengaluru’s aim has always been to aid in the Bangalorean front of that fight by bringing a selection of works from a diverse set of artists to UB City, thus bringing a much-needed injection of art to the city, along with a wonderfully disarming onslaught of emotion, insight, perspective and reflection that is unique to an enriching art experience.”

Art Bengaluru 2018 will start on 2nd Nov with an evening that will also include musical performances by Aman Mahajan (Pianist), Nush Lewis (Harpist), Raman Iyer (Saxophonist), and The Flying Drummers.

Edit: Updated 02 – 18 November 2018

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