Goddesses, Games and Music, new exhibition goes on show hosted by KCC and Indian Museum  

The exhibition showcases objects of art in the broad categories of Gods & Goddesses, games and music
Ekka Gari in Ivory from 19th century Murshidabad
Ekka Gari in Ivory from 19th century Murshidabad

Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC), in association with the Indian Museum, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, has jointly curated an exhibition called Rhythm: Goddesses, Games and Music to commemorate International Museum Day.

The exhibition highlights the theme, Museums as Cultural Hubs: The Future of Tradition and tries to demonstrate the role of museums as a network which promotes cultural awareness among people and helps in introducing and sustaining cultural threads, from the past into the future generations.

<em>Chess Board in Ivory (32 pieces), 19<sup>th</sup> century</em>
Chess Board in Ivory (32 pieces), 19th century

We are thrilled to be associated with the Indian Museum to curate an exhibition that celebrates Art. The idea behind the exhibition is to showcase how museums can act as networks and collections of two organizations. The partnership between Kolkata Centre for Creativity and Indian Museum shows the perfect ‘rhythm’ between the contemporary and traditional,” says Richa Agarwal, Executive Director, KCC.

In keeping with the recommendation of The International Council of Museums (ICOM), all the museums will be aiming at partnerships with other cultural hubs, so that they become part of the mainstream bodies which educate and invigorate communities at the local level.

<em>Devi II by Krishnendu Porel (Oil on canvas) 2013</em>
Devi II by Krishnendu Porel (Oil on canvas) 2013

The exhibition Rhythm: Goddesses, Games and Music will showcase 33 works from Kolkata Centre for Creativity and 23 from the Indian Museum, and as the name suggests, it combines artworks that relate either to female divinities, objects of play or indoor games like the Chess Board in Ivory with all 32 pieces, which dates back to 19th century.

There are figures, in the act of playing a musical instrument, such as K Muralidharan’s Krishna 2006 (mixed media on canvas) or an Ink on paper painting of Madan Mohan Krishna in Tribhaga posture, standing on a lotus and playing a flute, along with real figures of movement- such as the Ekka Gari in Ivory from 19th century Murshidabad and Nikhil Biswas’s watercolour on paper. In fact, the Crocodile vase from Jaipur is the oldest piece which dates back to 200 years.

<em>Nikhil Biswas (watercolour on paper)                                     </em>
Nikhil Biswas (watercolour on paper)                                     

The curators, Reena Dewan, AVP, Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC) and Rajesh Purohit, director of Indian Museum, tell us- art of any kind, be it music, dance or even the art objects, signifying some sort of play, are created in a rhythm. No art representation can ever exist outside this rhythm, as it plays a pivotal role in manifesting the aesthetics and visual forms in a synchronised order.

However, when the goddesses are represented in an art form, they have a different rhythmic order altogether. Since the concept of gods and goddesses primarily based on belief, their representation leans towards a cosmic realisation, and thus represented in a cosmic order. Despite that, the portrayal of a goddess in an image captures a definite rhythmic order.

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