Hi Friends,
Today we want to share about this amazing festival we attended last month, called
St+art Festival
St+art Festival brings together 16 national & international artists to create murals, installations, workshops, screenings and socially relevant public art projects.
After creating India’s first ‘Public Art district’ in Lodhi colony, the St+art Festival made its way to Bengaluru this October. An initiative of St+art India Foundation - a not for profit public art initiative to make art more democratic, the festival was held from 1st to 30th October, 2016.
Conceptually, St+art BLR explored the two forms of impact which public art can generate - from smaller interventions that are relevant to local context which also tie a localised geography together, to large scale murals which have the so called ‘wow’ factor. Political, civic, gender, social issues were the topics of the narratives that the artists will develop across the course of the festival using multiple mediums and connecting on an on-ground level with the audience.
The festival is wholeheartedly supported by Asian Paints which shares the foundation’s vision of spreading art across public spaces in India, and has done so across the past 3 editions of the festival. St+art BLR is being generously hosted by the ‘Srishti school of Art and Design’, which will also provide access to their talented students who will actively engage in the projects as part of the ‘Art in Transit’ program which is Srishti’s public art initiative, and acted as a cultural partner for the festival.
12 Indian artists out of which 8 are from Bangalore, along with 4 international artists, worked in and around the MG Road, Cubbon Park, Majestic and neighbouring areas to create projects that have a strong local context. In collaboration with BMRCL, the Metro stations of Cubbon Park, MG Road and Majestic will also see artworks which will be built on narratives and stories from the region. The artists aim at creating conversations amongst the people who commute through these high footfall spaces everyday, and encapsulate the spirit of Bengaluru.
Besides pushing the bar of public art in the city with its catalogue of amazing artists, St+art Bengaluru will also nurture and engage 10 emerging artists who will range from design and art students from Bengaluru to upcoming street artists and will curate specific projects with them, including murals and installations in public spaces.
Mr. Amit Syngle, President Asian Paints “As the largest player in the industry, it is our utmost responsibility to add colour and create a vibrant and happy environment in India. In the tenure of the association with St+art foundation for the last three years in Mumbai and Delhi, we have worked on various street art projects across the two cities with a mutual hope to make art more accessible to the public. This initiative also aims at creating a more positive living by beautifying public space through Art and Colour. Our belief matches that of the St+Art foundation which brought us together as partners for”
Arjun Bahl, Co-Founder and Festival Director of St+art India Foundation said, “After St+art Delhi festival which culminated in March 2016 with two very impactful & successful projects i.e. the “WIP Show” made of over 100 shipping containers, covering a space of 35000 SQ/FT and attended by over 30000 in a month & first ever Art District In India, the Lodhi Colony Art District, we are very pleased to make Bengaluru our home for the next month. The festival is being hosted by Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology along with Art in Transit being our cultural partner”
Hanif Kureshi, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of St+art India Foundation said, “After coming from Lodhi colony, the structure of Bengaluru is different. We believe Bengaluru needs smaller interventions spread across the city and we hope that we can produce work which makes people think about art or question things, or start conversations. By the end of the festival we would also hope to prove that street art is not always about scale of the work, but also about smaller meaningful interventions through the city.”
Akshat Nauriyal, Co-Founder and Content Director of St+art India Foundation said, “Bangalore’s openness to public art presents a great opportunity to explore the use of street art to generate conversation around locally relevant stories. Through our projects which will be immersed in local context, we hope to engage with people in more direct manner, making them initiators as well as a part of a dialogue about their city, while also making their public spaces more interactive and playful.”
Giulia Ambrogi, Co-Founder and Curator of St+art India Foundation said, “Several of the most interesting Indian street artists are from Bengaluru and yet they never worked together before. The idea of focusing on Bengaluru and in general on Indian artists in this festival is to create a stronger and local driven art community which can further on generate a unique impact in the public spaces by talking about local issues and inhabiting the cities in an active way through art.”
Geetha Narayanan, Founder and Director Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology said, “Srishti always views partnerships with artists and arts organaziations as a great opportunity for our students. In addition artists+ students intersecting with the city allows fro rich conversation on contemporary public art practice.”
About St+art India Foundation
The St+Art India foundation is a non-profit organization that works on art projects in public spaces. The aim of the foundation is to make art accessible to a wider audience by taking it out of the conventional gallery space and embedding it within the cities we live in - making art truly democratic and for everyone. Across the past 3 years, the foundation has organised 4 St+art festivals in Delhi and Mumbai, creating iconic landmarks within these cities.
About Asian Paints
Since its foundation in 1942, Asian Paints has come a long way to become India’s largest and Asia’s third largest paint company, with a turnover of Rs. 127.15 billion. Asian Paints operates in 17 countries and has 23 paint manufacturing facilities in the world servicing consumers in over 65 countries. Asian Paints has always been a leader in the paint industry, pushing new concepts in India like Colour Ideas, Home Solutions, Colour Next, and Kids’ World.
Till next time....Keep it STYLISH By Nature !!
Join Me on
Blogger Comment
Facebook Comment