It's the season to get tattooed and also to splurge on some original artwork. Qamash — Festival of Art and Music is scheduled to be held on July 13 and 14, at the Jodhpur Gardens studio of Kaiwa Tattoos and Alternative Arts. The brand is also a hosting partner for the festival, alongside the online art platform Art of Misanthropy, and marketing consultant Paulami Niyogi. The two-day event was conceptualised as a means to bring together body art, music, fine art, hand-made merchandise, and will also feature musical acts, pop art exhibits, open mics, live story-telling and of course, live tattoo sessions.
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“We had an idea about what we wanted, and Sreeraj Mukherjee of Kaiwa Tattoos, Paulami and I, we got to talking and ran our ideas past each other, and tried to come up with a different kind of platform. The idea behind it was to essentially try and create a space that’s one-of-a-kind, especially since Kaiwa is not just a tattoo studio, but also an art space. Moreover, Sreeraj and I have wanted to collaborate for a long time, and the idea for this festival made sense. Since this is the first edition, we are starting out on a small scale, yet we do hope to accommodate bigger events in the future, depending on how this one goes,” Mohona Bhadra, the artist and illustrator behind Art of Misanthropy, tells us.
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Famed indie singer and songwriter, Soham Bhattacharya, is one of the many live acts performing at the fete. The event will also host some open mic sessions and walk-in tattoo sessions, where you can get freestyle or customised tattoos. Kaiwa Tattoos and Alternative Arts specialise in stencilling and freehand tattoos; you may have come across their stunning anime and mandala tattoos on their social media handles. Art of Misanthropy’s artwork is wildly popular on social media too. Bhadra’s collection of paintings in acrylic ink, eco-friendly totes and gouache pieces, have found immense resonance among people.
The artist reveals that two of her original framed artworks, namely, Fierce and Moonwitch, will be up on sale at Qamash. “My pieces primarily centre around women and nature, although lately, I’ve been focusing more on nature-oriented pieces. For Qamash, two of my framed originals will be on display and will be available for sale as well, along with my prints and original merchandise, ” Bhadra tells us.
Art of Misanthropy’s products are priced in the range of Rs 40 (for printed bookmarks and stickers). Rs 250-275 (for notebooks), Rs 250-400 (for prints), Rs 450 (for t-shirts), Rs 550 (for cotton totes), while framed originals are priced between Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,500. Entry to Qamash is free. On July 13 and 14, 12 pm to 9 pm