An exhibition titled Husn-e-Karigari-e-Awadh at Arthshila, Santiniketan, promises to take the audience through the lives of artisans from Awadh and the processes behind their creation of crafts.
The inaugural event on September 16 was part of the opening weekend of Luft-e-Lucknow, a mini festival curated and organised by Lucknow Bioscope that aims to share Lakhnaviyat in its tangible and intangible treasures.
The exhibition has been curated by Nimra Rizvi and designed by Oroon Das and Surajit Das.
Artist and entrepreneur Askari Naqvi took the audience on a cultural journey of Awadh and Lucknow through a performance titled Mehfil-e-Tarannum on September 17. The composition interlaced with couplets, songs and commentary based on different ragas written in various Indian languages, poems by sufis and saints, songs by Begum Akhtar and Assemun was compiled and composed by Naqvi.
The inaugural weekend of Luft-e-Lucknow ended with a discussion titled ‘Engaging with Public Histories’. The panelists for the discussion included Madhavi Kuckreja, development livelihood professional and human rights activist; Noor Khan, retired principal of Karamat Hussain Muslim Girls PG College; and Nimra Rivzi, known for her research on 18th and 19th century Awadh. The three shared some of the early interventions and efforts by Sanatkada, an entrepreneurial initiative in documenting and disseminating the oral history of Lucknow.
Nimra Rivzi (centre) with the visitors at the exhibition Puja Das
“I have been following the wonderful work done by Sanatkada over the years and was keen to collaborate with them to bring a flavour of the cultural aspects of Lucknow for audiences in Santiniketan,” said Ruchira Das, artistic director, Arthshila. “As a multi-arts centre, Arthshila endeavours to bring a diverse range of programmes across art forms. In the course of this event, visitors will not only get to see the beautiful exhibition, but will also be able to enjoy a concert, listen to a talk about public histories of Lucknow, watch films on crafts from Awadh, participate in workshops and demonstrations by master craft-persons from that region and a lot more.”
The exhibition will be open till November 13, from 11am to 7pm, excluding Mondays and holidays.