Kolkata Centre for Creativity marked its foundation day on November 21 with the inauguration of the fifth edition of the AMI Arts Festival, a vibrant month-long celebration of creativity and culture that will also commemorate the centre’s six years in the city. Set to be on till December 22, the festival will bring together exhibitions, discussions, performances, workshops, film screenings, and more, with the objective to underscore the KCC’s mission to foster artistic innovation and dialogue in Calcutta.
The opening ceremony saw the presence of classical dancer Alokananda Roy, historian Rudrangshu Mukherjee, filmmaker Sudeshna Roy, singer Lopamudra Mitra, dancer Priti Patel, sarod maestro Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, former ICCR regional director Gautam De, and theatre critic Ananda Lal. After the lamp was lit to commemorate the beginning of the fest, a dance performance by Korok Biswas followed. The evening ended with a music collaboration by Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Piya Chakraborty, titled ‘Kothao Amar Hariye Jawar Nei Mana’. Audiences sang along to popular favourites like Suzanne, Jeno kichu mone korona, Tumi na thakley and Tomake chai.
Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Piya Chakraborty during their musical session.
The AMI Arts Festival will encompass a variety of cultural offerings over the month. From Fields to Folk: A Journey through Rural Heritage (November 22–29) at the Indian Museum will celebrate World Heritage Week with traditional art, crafts, music, and discussions with artisans from 20 rural and urban museums. Karigari (December 19–22) will focus on traditional crafts, textiles, and endangered folk arts, featuring nationally acclaimed artisans. UTSAV III (December 5–6) at Victoria Memorial Hall will present emerging dance, music, theatre, and poetry artists. Key musical performances include Prabh Deep live (December 14), a rock opera and Chandrabindoo live (December 19), Shujaat Khan (December 20), Hooliganism (December 21), and a grand finale with Fakira and Indian Ocean (December 22) that will wrap up the fest.
The theatre lineup promises to be equally exciting and includes 10 productions, spread over venues like the GD Birla Sabhagar and the KCC Amphitheatre. Visual art enthusiasts can explore the Affordable Art Fair (December 11–17), which will have works by established and emerging artists on display, available at accessible prices.
Richa Agarwal, chairperson of KCC, shared her thoughts regarding the festival on the inauguration day. “On the occasion of the inauguration of the AMI Arts Festival, I am filled with immense pride as we mark six years of Kolkata Centre for Creativity on November 21, our foundation day. This year’s festival reflects the vision of our founders, R.S. Agarwal and R.S. Goenka, embracing a harmonious blend of popular and intellectual art forms,” she said.