Art Rickshaw, an art school cum gallery founded by Shailaja Rungta and her daughter, Devanshi Rungta, in February 2016, has come a long way since then. With a mission to provide a creative space and platform to the city’s artists, without any discrimination, and to make art affordable, accessible and understandable, the gallery has been taking many novel initiatives.
Last year, Devanshi organised the Unicorn Street Arts Festival, held at Hindustan Park, which was a novel concept with unique art installations, live performances and numerous stalls selling attractive merchandise and delectable food. The ambience at the festival, attended by more than 10,000 people, was vibrant, colourful and energetic and displayed works of 40 participating artists.
In its second edition this January, the festival will celebrate Kolkata and the diverse and eclectic heritage of Bengal with more than 50 artists participating, including two from Chennai and one from Mumbai. It will also introduce the Memphis Art Movement with its geometric patterns and bold colours in acrylic, charcoal, mandala, brush lettering and others. Conceptually, the aim will be to transgress boundaries with thought provoking art installations, compelling onlookers to go beyond their mental, geographical and social boundaries.
The 2019 edition will see a 400 feet stretch of the Hindustan Park road painted by participating artists, with art installations adorning both sides of the road. “We are aiming at revitalising the traditional Bengali art forms like Pata Chitra and weaving and promoting new artists and local artisans,” says Devanshi.
There will be immersive and interactive art installations – something unique that the city hasn’t experienced before. Love Letter to the World, a 20-feet high and four feet wide roll of cloth displayed along the length of the building will let everyone write messages on it with the help of a built-in mechanism which helps the letters to keep rolling up. Besides, there will be a 20-metre long gown on display by their art partner Kolkata Centre for Creativity.
There will also be 40 stalls selling select merchandise and food apart from poetry, storytelling and photography sessions throughout the day.
Live performances of baul music, and kalaripayattu, a martial arts form from Kerala, will enthrall the visitors.
Luminaries from various fields of arts and culture including singer Usha Uthup, art curator and gallery owner, Rakhi Sarkar and writer Kunal Basu will be felicitated at the event.
Art Rickshaw is also committed to extending a helping hand to the less fortunate and holds free art and craft workshops for them at Rabindra Sarovar on Sundays to explore their hidden talents and help them take up art as a creative hobby.
The Kolkata Arts Lane Festival (KALFest’19) will be held on January 6, 11 am – 10 pm at Hindustan Park, Second Lane, Kolkata.