Interacting with art can often feel like being inside an artist’s mind. But have you ever been inside an artist’s soul?
DAG Museums’ The City as a Museum festival gave Kolkatans a chance to interact with the work of great artists and also experience their personal spaces with nine unique events from November 18 to 27.
My Kolkata brings you some highlights.
Revisiting the Tagores
The opening event was a confluence of architecture, history and music as people explored Prasad Tagore Palace, the heritage residence of musician and scholar Pramantha Tagore of the Pathuriaghata branch of the Tagore family. Every corner of the house had stories to tell, from the regal staircase to the expansive pillars. After an insightful conversation on the Tagore family’s relationship with music and theatre, Pramantha Tagore enthralled the audiences under the house’s moonlit courtyard with the stirring sounds of his sitar.
Relearning the fresco
Few places boast of a fresco painting collection to rival the Hooghly Imambara. On November 19, DAG conducted an art workshop by Sumantra Mukherjee on its premises, where visitors learnt about the history of the monument and traced the tales of every painting. The breathtaking view of the Hooghly from the Imambara’s clock tower (inspired by the Big Ben), right after witnessing its inner workings created the greatest painting of all.
A world within a home
A tour of artist Shanu Lahiri’s home in Lake Town personified the word ‘multitudes’. The house felt immensely cramped under the weight of the art that had been packed into every single corner. At the same time, it felt limitless because of the scale of Lahiri’s work and passion. Her paintings also offered insights into her mind, indicating her ideas of feminism and art for the people. The experience was even more intimate because her daughter took people through her work, regaling them with quirky and memorable stories about Lahiri.
Living with science
J.C. Bose is one of Bengal’s most celebrated names. But his fondness for art has rarely been explored. DAG arranged a unique walk on November 23 to Bose’s house museum at Acharya Bhavan and the next-door Bose Institute, drawing parallels between his professional and personal lives as both an academic and patron of the arts. The evening was enriching not just because it gave a glimpse of his intricately designed scientific instruments, but his equally aesthetic business card!
An artist’s retreat
Located a mere 90-minute drive from the city, time stands still at the Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary. Named after the renowned sculptor who heavily campaigned for its ‘sanctuary’ status, DAG took its guests on an idyllic stroll across the wild bushes and obscure trails, with the gentle hooting of birds for company. This was followed by a visit to Bhaskar Bhavan State Museum, the house-museum of Chintamoni Kar and his wife Amina, where people examined his iconic sculptural style, with a focus on motifs about mother-son, religion, landscapes and the human body.
Pebet
The festival culminated with Pebet, a traditional fireside story told by Manipuri children to their grandparents at the Satyajit Ray Auditorium, ICCR. Directed by Heisnam Kanhailal, the story is traditionally about a mother bird flattering a greedy cat to protect her children. The production not only stirred audiences with a story, but also sparked a debate on power vs privilege and the chaos of the socio-political times we live in.
“The City as a Museum aimed to expand the cultural map of our city. We hope that after the festival, people become ambassadors of these spaces and advocates of the artists, taking more people along to see their work,” said Sumona Chakravarty, vice-president of museums at DAG.
