Exhibitions, performances, workshops, and more await you during the fifth AMI Arts Festival in Kolkata

Reaching a milestone fifth year is the Kolkata Centre for Creativity’s (KCC) AMI Arts Festival 2024. This month-long interdisciplinary festival supported by Emami CSR will host a range of art exhibitions like My Kolkata in Kolkata 5.0 or IMAGINARIUM 4.0, talks, performances, and workshops across several venues around the city. We caught up with Chairperson KCC, Richa Agarwal on this context.

When asked about the curation, she mentions, “The festival’s curation balances intellectual and popular pursuits, with a focus on promoting Indian art and craftsmanship. It aims to give back to society by offering inclusive programming and celebrating diverse artistic voices among individuals with disabilities and the LGBTQIA+ community through special exhibitions, talks, sensory corners, performances, and film screenings. This festival seeks to create a platform for renowned and emerging artists and ignite a dialogue among art practitioners, academics, and experts, drawing inspiration from India’s rich creative ecosystem.”  

What caught our eyes were the initiatives to highlight disappearing art forms. Richa mentions, “We are holding exhibitions such as From Fields to Folk: A Journey through Rural Heritage at the Indian Museum, engaging various rural and urban museums, featuring insights from museologists, academics, artisans, and community leaders; and The Lost Treasures of Bengal showcasing traditional musical instruments from Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra’s collection.”

“With an aim to preserve these endangered art forms we are conducting workshops on topics such as folk songs of West Bengal and Bangladesh, sholapith, Krishnanagar dolls, and batik on leather. The goal is to revitalize these practices, connecting audiences to the richness of rural India’s cultural and artistic past. Karigari, an art market at KCC, preserves and promotes folk arts that are at risk of being forgotten, providing a platform for state and national-level award-winning artisans to share their talent.”, she continued further.

“A special performance of folk songs of Bengal and Assam and storytelling will explore the acts of affection and relationships beyond marriage among young brides. This focus on rural oral music aims to revive and preserve it for future generations,” added Richa.  

To conclude, we asked her about the performance line-ups which include quite a few Kolkata premieres. She mentions, “Expect to see both emerging talent at Utsav III, KCC’s platform for emerging performing artists, and renowned artists – some making their Kolkata debut. The theatre line-up includes celebrated artists like Kumud Mishra, Danish Husain, Suman Mukhopadhyay, and Manav Kaul. In music, bands such as Indian Ocean, Fakira, Chandrabindoo, and Hooliganism will perform. The genres range from traditional and classical to folk, rock, and contemporary styles like hip-hop.

For the complete schedule, venue and other details please visit KCC official website.