Nazrul Tirtha recently hosted three days of art, craft, movies and music when Kolkata Centre for Creativity organised Ami Arts Festival, in association with Hidco and Biswa Bangla.
An array of events took place. Some 150 paintings by more than 50 artists were displayed on the walls, documentaries by Goutam Ghose and several films for children were screened and music was presented by artists like Sahana Bajpaie, Rene Singh and Lopamudra Mitra. There were stalls selling handicraft and handmade jewellery and Art Street outside Eco Park Gate 1 was done up on the theme of New Town.
“This is the second edition of Ami Art Festival and it’s not just a festival of art and culture but a celebration that boosts creative thinking and the local spirit. We wanted to create a space for budding artisans to meet established ones and share the same platform,” said Richa Agarwal, chairperson, Kolkata Centre for Creativity. “Last year we organised this event on a small scale on our premises in Anandapur on the Bypass, but this time we wanted to go out to people. The response is amazing.”
Upal Sengupta (right), a resident of AE Block, conducts the origami workshop The Telegraph
The inaugural ceremony was attended by the consul general of Japan in Calcutta, Nakamura Yutaka, conservation architect and head, department of architecture, Sister Nivedita University, Manish Chakraborti and managing director of Hidco, Debashis Sen.
The festival also had a number of workshops such as on sketching, pastel and watercolour painting, cartoon and caricature, mask making and origami. The origami workshop conducted by singer Upal Sengupta of the music band Chandrabindoo proved to be a big draw.
“Origami is great exercise for the brain. It helps increase concentration and precision at work. I had an origami book in my childhood and would practise following it,” said the singer, who said he returned to the hobby while planning a concert theme. “And I’ve been taking it more seriously since then.”
Upal made an origami crane, dragon but due to lack of time his dragon could not be finished in class. Ritam Banik, a teenager, was one of the students in this class. “I am interested in origami and have tried a few on my own at home so when I heard about this workshop I decided to come along. It was a bonus to be learning it from one of my favourite musicians,” smiled the resident of New Town’s CD Block.
The mask-making workshop was also well-attended. “Masks are used for various purposes like dancing, hunting and drama. Each mask is different from the rest, in accordance with its use. Each state in India has its own kind of masks,” said Tamal Bhattacharya, who conducted the workshop.