Art 17 : an all-encompasssing show of aesthetics by Kanoria

A full course meal for art adorers, with Piraji Sagara’s grand display of paintings and sculptures being the headline show – Art 17 is expected to be an all-encompassing creative festival for Ahmedabad connoisseurs to savour. Distinctly connecting various mediums of art with other faculties of creativity, Art 17 promises to be a stimulating concoction of aesthetics.

A space that celebrates creativity in aesthetics, Kanoria Centre for Arts has been a hub of artistic activities in Ahmedabad for 33 years now. An institution that moved above art education and believed in providing an artistic experience to the city dwellers, this time Kanoria hosts an innovative creative festival titled “Art 17”. The festivity would include elements that an ideal art fraternity event should consist. Enriching art talks with distinguished delegates, exclusive exhibition of Piraji Sagara’s works, Pichwai as well as Tapestry exhibition along with KCA Artist’s annual display and traditional craft workshops – all coinciding with the 75th birth anniversary of KCA founder Urmila Kanoria. All the activities shall happen over the weekend of 17-18th March, 2017.

Let us have a look on the planned activities and explore the reason on why every Ahmedabadi should be a part of this :

Remembering Piraji

One of the main attractions includes an exhibition showcasing the life and art of National Award winning painter of India, Piraji Sagra. With numerous accolades, like Gaurav Puraskar, KalaRatna Puraskar, and other titles Piraji Sagra’s significant contribution in India’s art segment is through different forms of collages made of wood and other materials. The display includes paintings, collages and sculptures made by Piraji over different time periods, is a tribute to the founder member of KCA. The exhibition will be spread across the campus and will remain open for public until March 29, 2017.

Kanoria Centre for Arts Annual Display

Every year Kanoria curates a display of artworks done by the resident artists of the centre. The freshness and thought variety is what characterizes this display and this year won’t be any different. The KCA Annual display will showcase works of 13 artists having a mix of paintings, collages, digital arts and sculptures at the KCA Classrom till March 19, 2017.

Pichwai Exhibition by Kuldeepak Soni

Touching the cultural aspect – the grandeur Pichwai paintings of Gujarat and Rajasthan revisit Kanoria. Pichwai literally means a large cloth painting, that serves as a backdrop to the Idol, and is sometimes intricate enough to narrate the various leela’s of Lord Krishna as Shrinathji. Kuldeepak Soni grandson of National Award winning artist Badri Lal Chitrakar will be displaying his art expertise in the traditional form of Pichwai art. Kuldeepak’s work is known for its re-interpretation without losing on the core symbolism and motifs of Pichwai. These ornamental artworks will be on display until February 19, 2017, at Galleria 30 withing the KCA Campus.

Tapestry Exhibition by RP Rajen

An exhibition showcasing vibrant weaves by RP Rajen, a graduate of JJ School of Art is going to be a new visual experience for many gallery visitors of Ahmedabad. The creations will primarily be based on the artworks of SH Raza. RP Rajen has carved a niche for himself, through sustained work in mixing the two forms – painting and weaving. His, is an innovative approach in creating an art piece using two forms of art. The hand woven paintings will be on display until February 19, 2017.

Art Talks

An enriching line-up with delegates emerging from the creative fields of art, films, poetry and theatre will join to share their perspectives on contemporary art and aesthetic practices. The line up being Leena Yadav (films), Rahul Vora (theatre), Sharmistha Mohanty (poetry), Sudarshan Shetty (visual art) are expected to be an integral part of it. The second session titled ‘Patronage and Art Collection’ aims to explore the cognitive approach of collectors of contemporary art. Sangita Jindal (Chairperson, JSW Foundation), Sonal Singh (Christie’s, Mumbai), Niyatee Shinde (Curator) are the panelists on the subject.

Its good to see this quality of line up in the Art Talk sessions, which are otherwise rare in the city.

Music Concert

How can a celebration be enjoyed without songs? The ballot has come up with a Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Cafe evening where the band will be blending traditional Kabir Vaani with contemporary tunes and rhythms. The Kabir Cafe concert has been scheduled on March 17, 2017, at 07:30 PM. The creative corner of Creative Yatra at Art 17 would also comprise a busking corner for budding musicians to display their talent.

Craft Workshops

Since ‘Art 17’ is all about experiencing creativity, the festival has organized three craft workshops exclusively for city dwellers. The workshops will be conducted by skilled artisans, who have been doing Wood Block Making, Mud-Mirror Work, and Zardosi Hand Embroidery since decades. These are dying craft skills, and the workshop aims to develop empathy among the citizenry towards these rare skills – all of these by way of experience. It is a welcome initiative to introduce crafts as a learning experience.

Shopping, Eating and Social

The open Chauraha cafe at KCA is a favoured destination for artists, the Art 17 celebrations will add to the conversations that happen over the picturesque campus. KCA shall also provide pop us booths for people to buy art literature and souvenirs. A film by Sukhadia Herleker, that traces the journey and impact of Kanoria’s work shall be launched at the event.

For its aspiration to take the discourse of Art and Aesthetics to a larger community and for its approach of culminating diverse art forms into a dedicated time and space – the Art 17 is expected to be a table turner festival for art loving community of Ahmedabad.

CreativeYatra.com is a partner in the Art 17 event and shall be covering stories from the celebration throughout its duration. Follow #CYatArt17 and #Art17atKCA for all the updates

Images Courtesy : Kanoria Centre for Arts

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