For Richa Agarwal, it was a mission to turn Kolkata Centre for Creativity into a vibrant and experimental multidisciplinary art hub bustling with activity and nurturing young talents from both the spheres of fine and creative arts. Four years down the line, the chairperson of KCC and CEO of Emami Art is mighty happy to see the centre stolidly surging ahead taking new paths to turn arts more inclusive and universal cutting across all mediums. Despite facing the worst of the phases during the second and third years due to the pandemic, Richa made sure that the centre turned every adversity into an opportunity to test newer and interesting ideas and adapted to the need of the hour. Hence KCC successfully charted a new digital roadmap and invented a whole new online art festival called Ami Arts Festival in December 2020, featuring over 150 artists, 350-plus artwork, multiple workshops and live performances.
Buoyed by the incredible response Richa turned the online festival into a physical one extending for three days at Nazrul Tirtha in collaboration with Biswa Bangla and HIDCO with a special focus being on sustainability. And this year, the third edition of Ami Arts Festival saw a nine-day celebration of arts in all forms replete with live performances, workshops and craft bazaar among other attractions.
But Ami Arts is not the only feather adorning Richa’s cap. The resolute woman has spearheaded several other innovative projects throughout 2022. To know more we got chatty with the chairperson of KCC and CEO of Emami Arts in between her busy schedule.
How does it feel to see KCC turn 4?
I am very hopeful and I realized that if the pandemic couldn’t dampen our spirit and initiatives, nothing can. Our quality of events is getting better and attracting so much more footfall, encouraging us to think positively. There have been some hits and misses and we are still in our childhood phase at KCC where we are going through a trial-and-error process. During our first year, we were very excited and had spread ourselves a little too thin but Covid taught us to become more streamlined in our approach. We focussed on a few things rather than undertaking too many projects.
KCC has really made an impact in the city within a very short while…
Even if I say we changed something in the art world it would be a very bold statement to make in a city like ours which has a very old legacy of art and culture. We never would want to take credit for that not now, not ever. We can say that we found our link in the whole art fraternity and we are learning from that to grow further. Our work is getting noticed very organically and without much conscious effort on our part because the mandate we got from our founders RS Agarwal and RS Goenka was so well-laid out that we had a clear vision from the very start.
This year Ami Arts Festival turned into a 9-day event with great footfall.
We started the festival in a really small way and we never thought we could catapult it to this level. We started out during the pandemic primarily because we were getting a lot of distress calls from people both connected to the art world and otherwise. We could understand their plight but doing something individually and in pockets didn’t make much sense. It was much more practical to create a whole system out of it and hence Ami Arts was born. This year the nine-day festival at Rabindra Tirtha had distinct programmes, each of which was equally fun, engaging and intellectually curated to gauge every art lover’s attention. With this festival, we aim at creating a holistic platform for art lovers and would love to see this grow as a multi-dimensional fair that people can block their dates for.
Tell us about your other initiatives.
We did a lot of method acting workshops and other such interesting things. In November this year, Emami Art Locus in Focus presented EA Experimental Film Festival which showcased very unique films by emerging filmmakers who are often not heard in the popular circuits. Also, KCC Arts Laboratory presented a brilliant theatre act put together by Debasish Ray called Ravan Reloaded. It was a site-specific experimental production that lent a new perspective to the story of Ravan. Besides these few interesting projects, we curated art exhibitions both by established and emerging artists of global repute throughout the year.
How do you define art?
When we say art, we are not talking about fine art alone. I feel art is a way of life and as a concept there’s always a sense of aesthetics in all of us. Whether it’s as basic as cooking the wholesome Khichdi or decking up one’s house, all of it requires a sense of art and aesthetics. Arts is not limiting, it’s universal and unites all beyond the social, political, financial and religious boundaries. Also, to appreciate art, you needn’t own it, that’s the beauty and magic of art.
Your plans for 2023?
A lot of planning is needed to execute an exhibition and to realize its scope, so, we want to use our resources better. We just want to concentrate and do better what we are doing for the next two years unless something very exciting and interesting turns up.
How have you been enriched through this journey?
I am learning every single day with every single minute spent at the centre. I have understood one thing it’s impossible to ever know it all. The intention is to do the right thing and be honest and truthful to myself. I have a fabulous team and each one puts the best foot forward, right from the woman at the front gate who smiles at everyone, to the one at the executive level, and I am thankful for that.