AMI Arts Festival that started as a one-day event three years ago at Kolkata Centre for Creativity, will now be a nineday extravaganza with a host of performances, exhibitions and workshops at Nazrul Tirtha in Newtown. The festival that celebrates the rich culture of Bengal’s legacy through art, music, food and more will take place between December 17 and 25.
While star performers like Anjan Dutt, Iman Chakraborty, Arko Mukhaerjee Collective and others will enliven evenings with their music, a host of folk performances including Qawwali, Kattaikkuttu and more will add to the extravaganza. Art exhibitions by homegrown artists including The Visual Archives of Kulwant Roy, Living a Dark Night by eminent printmaker Paula Sengupta, and The Afterlife of Performance ft. Nikhil Chopra will be a treat for art connoisseurs.
(L-R) Pramila Shah, director cultural events, Anamika Kala Sangam Trust; Richa Agarwal, CEO Emami Art and chairperson, Kolkata Centre for Creativity; Reena Dewan, director, Kolkata Centre for Creativity; and Anuja Kajaria, curator and merchandiser, The Gallery Store, cut a cake to celebrate the fourth anniversary of KCC
During the logo unveiling, Reena Dewan and Richa Agarwal was joined by Daniel Sim, deputy head of post, Australian consulate general in Kolkata, and Gianluca Rubagotti, Italian consulate general in Kolkata
“I am very excited. What we started as a personal dream has grown to what KCC is today. The kind of events we are doing and participation we get is incredible. Quite obviously it’s not the optimum level that one would look at but it’s an eventuality. Even AMI Arts Festival was started at a very small scale. We did it on one floor of Emami Art building and this year it has grown to a nine-day festival with so much of participation, theatre, talks films; it’s growing and I am looking forward to December,” says Richa Agarwal, chairperson, Kolkata Centre for Creativity
There will also be talk sessions, online and on-site, and workshops on visual and performing arts. Also, AMI Arts Festival will host a Canadian Film Festival on December 23 and 24 showcasing four films with Canadian-Indian connect based on issues of LGBTQ rights, environment, violence against women and others. The festival will culminate with AMI Arts Award that is presented to recognise contributions by young artists and artisans in the field of craft, contemporary arts and performing arts.