Calcutta Art & Flea Project to bring sustainable indie fashion back in vogue

Art meets fashion in this exhibition to celebrate the best of indie designs
Collect your own piece of wearable art at Calcutta Art & Flea Project
Collect your own piece of wearable art at Calcutta Art & Flea Project

A group of youngsters from different colleges have come together to host the first edition of Calcutta Art & Flea Project at Baitanik tomorrow. Organised by the students of JU, St Xavier’s College, Loreto College, and NIFT, the exhibition aims to provide a platform to the young and lesser-known artists of the city.

“We are trying to revisit the concept of the flea market to promote affordable, sustainable and indie fashion, which allows the local artists to turn their ideas into products and their art into sustainable business ventures; like the one you witness on the streets of New York, Madrid or Paris,” says Rajit Bhattacharya, one of the organisers.

<em>Cute paper-made products by Card O Mania</em>
Cute paper-made products by Card O Mania

“The idea behind organising this event was that Kolkata as a city of culture has missed out on giving a platform to the youth where they can showcase their work. We wanted to create a monthly project where people could come together and inspire each other through their work- to compete with the best and sell their craft,” he adds.

There will be 20 stalls where you can find hand-painted tees, sustainable clothes, jewellery made of denim cut-outs, leather accessories, customised bookmarks, and gifting solutions, by some city-based and a few external labels, such as Art of Misanthropy, A Folk Store, Aghaz, Wearable Art, Card O Mania, and others. Here you can find Van Gogh or Kurosawa inspired Wearable Art, Freida Kahlo bags and purses by Riddhi and Pankaj, and funky stationery, all between the range of Rs 650 and Rs 1200.

<em>Calligraphy art by Letters by Ame </em>
Calligraphy art by Letters by Ame 

“When I had first blogged about this idea at my Instagram handle, two months ago, we got as many as 50 volunteers for this exhibition. We selected the quirkiest of them, depending on how niche, individualistic and personal their products turned out to be,” says youtuber and fashion blogger, Sreenanda Ganguli, who ideated the entire project.

You can browse through interesting artworks by sculptor Ayesha Dutta, mandala artists, Zeenat Kaisher and DivdRisht or pick up some funky and relatable pieces by Noodle Doodle by Roshni Bhattacharya. Talking Pots, a startup in Kolkata, who seek to replace the bouquet gifting culture with colourful potted plants and create awareness about the environment among people, will also be there.

<em>Roshni Bhattacharya can <g class=
Roshni Bhattacharya can

But the concept of the flea market and exhibition has been revamped into a social gathering, space which allows the interaction between different artists from rural as well as urban backgrounds, through open mic poetry sessions and workshops, like the one where you learn to create your own hand-painted clothes. “What we essentially wanted to create, was an ecosystem-from which new ideas and new thought processes can come up,” informs Rajit.

 While you can browse through the stalls, there will be food stalls too, by Artsy Café, Wanderwall, and Thickshakes, to take care of the hunger pangs and the closing ceremony will see some college bands like Metro and Tunir and band performing rock music and Baul songs by the Folks of Bengal.

Calcutta Art & Flea Project exhibition opens at Baitanik, Elgin Road on March 24, 12 pm

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