Second edition of Namma Art Bengaluru festival celebrates pan-India creativity
In this photo essay, we feature some highlights from the exhibition titled Mapping Periphery & Centre, along with curator insights.
Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 990 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.
This month, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath (KCP) celebrated the second edition of its ‘Namma Art Bengaluru’ national festival. The first edition last year reportedly brought together 100 artists from 30 cities and towns across India.
See our coverage of earlier exhibitions at this popular cultural hub here. KCP’s most popular event is the annual Chitra Santhe, regarded as India’s largest street fair for art.
The programme of Namma Art Bengaluru this year included a series of masterclasses and panel discussions called Creative Dialogues. At a time when the Indian art market is witnessing a promising phase of growth, this platform provided an opportunity for the wider public and art community to connect, learn and exchange ideas.
Alongside the main fair, the indoor galleries featured a special exhibition put together by Goa-based art historian and curator Lina Vincent, titled Mapping Periphery & Centre – A Pan-India Dialogue. It featured the diverse artistic practices and narratives of more than 60 accomplished artists across the country.
“The exhibition foregrounds the discussion of centre and periphery, not only investigating the physical and geographical reflections within this diverse, once colonised nation, but entering into, and questioning the uneven relationships it generates,” Vincent explains in the curatorial notes.
Selected artists from across India responded to the exhibition’s theme in a multitude of ways. “They brought together visual commentaries that touch upon mapping and memory, engagement with landscape and place, as well as musings on local and global histories,” she adds.
The artist lineup, some of whose works are included in this photo essay, includes Arunkumar HG, Balaji Ponna, Bhartti Verma, Chippa Sudhakar, Girish Kulkarni, Harsha Durugadda, Kanchan Chander, Manveer Singh, Nikhileswar Baruah, and Prashant Pandey.
Other featured artists are Rani Rekha, Ruchita Madhok, Shanker Kumawat, Shweta Raina, Venugopal VG, Shyam Pahapalkar, Venkat Raman Singh Shyam, Harsha Kancharla, Mayur and Tushar Vayeda.
“Art is meaning. It is a mirror to individual and collective thoughts and experiences. It is fed by reality but is also a bridge to the imaginary,” she tells YourStory in an interview.
Vincent points to a number of developments in India’s art ecosystem. “There is a trend toward exploring traditional forms like miniature painting,” she observes.
“Mediums like printmaking and ceramics are getting their due. As a curator, I do not differentiate between work based on mediums but welcome all forms of truthful expression,” she explains.
Her platform, Lina Vincent Arts Consultant (LVAC) operates at the intersection of arts education, curation, and research. “At LVAC, we do educational programming, including talks, workshops, and interactions. We also develop curriculum and work with schools and colleges,” she adds.
She calls for more awareness about art in India. “Art appreciation needs to be introduced in junior school, and sustained as part of academics – not just an 'extracurricular' activity. That way, adults will have a notion of responsiveness towards arts and culture,” Vincent signs off.
Now what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule and harness your creative side for a better world?
(All photographs taken by Madanmohan Rao on location at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath.)