Block your calendar for an eventful December
December feels overwhelmingly packed with events right now. But this culture calendar will help you with exactly what you need to see
Never before has the life of a culture enthusiast been this hectic. It seems to be raining down concerts, festivals and exhibitions, some of which are taking place on overlapping dates. Unless you have the ability to teleport yourself or build a time machine in the next two weeks, chances are that you might end up missing some part of this over-programmed calendar. Some might say that this profusion of events in this year’s culture season is a testament to the vibrance of India’s art ecosystem. To make sure that you find an event to match your interest, Lounge has spotlighted some of these for the coming month, which offer depth of storytelling on issues that are pertinent to the times. There are interesting intersections between some of the exhibitions—for instance, the AMI Arts Festival and the Bengal Biennale showcase the state’s legacy of being a vital arts hub, and in others such as Show of Hands and Memory Fields, a heartwarming set of enduring friendships comes to the fore.
‘Like Air, I’ll rise’
The exhibition draws its title from Maya Angelou’s poem and features works by 12 women practitioners—artists, activists, poets, dancers, filmmakers and collectives. As the world passes through a difficult time, the artists try to build a vocabulary of hope. “[They] find shared spaces of resilience in private and public trajectories, anchoring their works in interactions within their communities as well as moments spent in self-negotiation,” states the exhibition note. On view at Experimenter, Ballygunge, Kolkata, till 4 January 2025.
A weekend with the classical arts
Ananda Dhwani Music Trust, a Bengaluru-based not-for-profit organisation, is hosting the eighth edition of the Whitefield Music Festival. Conceived as a platform to showcase and celebrate the joys of the classical performing arts, this festival has, over the years, featured leading personalities from the fields of Carnatic and Hindustani music and dance. This year, the two-day event will feature dance performances by Bharatanatyam dancer Malavika Sarukkai and Kathak artist Saswati Sen. The audience can look forward to performances by Begum Parveen Sultana, T.M. Krishna, Pandit Tanmoy Bose, Anantha R. Krishna, Indrayudha Majumdar, among others.The festival will take place at KTPO, Whitefield, Bengaluru, between 30 November-1 December, 4.30 pm onwards.
‘The Elemental You’
This is the first in a series dedicated to the practices of South Asian diaspora artists curated by Akansha Rastogi. The inaugural edition focuses on the practices of Simryn Gill, Neha Choksi and Hajra Waheed, who have engaged with the idea of “Earth” and their relationship with the natural world in some form or the other. For decades, the three have explored the rocks, stones, plants, flora and fauna as both materials and subjects. The ongoing show also features an artists’ roundtable—an interesting immersive concept, which features rotating interventions by five artists based on field visits, record-taking, micro-stories, the act of transferring traces of objects onto surfaces, and more. On view at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Saket, till 9 January, 10.30 am to 6.30 pm (closed on Mondays).
‘Multiple Legs of a Historically Wing-chopped Bird’
The solo show brings to fore an important artistic voice. Throughout his practice, Sajan Mani has brought together the personal and the political. Working between Kochi and Berlin, the artist has used the ‘body’ as a medium, a subject and a metaphor, to talk about pain, shame, fear, and more, in context of the marginalised communities of India. In this exhibition, he draws on his memory of parents working as rubber tappers in a village in North Kerala, and uses the material as ametaphor, witness and relic. “The rubber [he says] is a way of exposing the interconnectivity of persons and sites in a time period where, for Dalits, the binary theory of colonialism does not work,” writes Cleo Roberts-Komireddi in the exhibition note.The exhibition can be viewed at Shrine Empire, New Delhi, till 22 January 2025, 11 am to 6 pm.
AMI Arts Festival
Kolkata Centre for Creativity is currently hosting the fifth edition of this art and culture festival, with events taking place across venues in the city such as the Indian Museum, Victoria Memorial Hall, GD Birla Sabhaghar, and more. With nearly 200 cultural practitioners participating, the month-long festival includes photography exhibitions such as My Kolkata in Kolkata in collaboration with the Chennai Photo Biennale,a unique showcase of musical instruments from Bengal, a rural heritage show, Imaginarium 4.0, which is a group exhibition of emerging artists held with Emami Art, and a theatrical performance by actor-director Danish Husain.On showcase across venues in Kolkata till 22 December.
‘Solitary Gardens’
In Sri Lankan artist Arjuna Gunarathne’s work, the vibrant natural world often acts as a refuge—a warm envelope that offers a lone figure or two some solace. In this ongoing show, the artist, who is now based in London, draws on stories of family and co-immigrants, who often feel a sense of longing for the homeland. The British pleasure gardens, with possible residues of flora from the former colony of Sri Lanka, offer a space of suspension and solitude against the grey stony backdrop of London.On view at Akara Contemporary, Mumbai, till 27 December, 11 am to 6.30 pm (Tuesday to Saturday).
‘Rabbit Hole’
Amitesh Shrivastava draws on that exact moment of freefall from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, when Alice is chasing the White Rabbit. The artist has interpreted the author’s creation of an alternate reality, with slowing down of time, skewed proportions, and more, in his six life-sized diptychs. As colours of blues, browns and reds form a whirlpool of sorts, and figures and objects dissolve into one another, the viewer can’t help but be transported to that moment of falling through an abyss.On view at Project 88, Mumbai, till 31 December, 11 am to 7 pm (closed on Sundays and Mondays).
‘A Show of Hands; in Memoriam: Gieve Patel’
There are some poignant images from this exquisite show curated by Ranjit Hoskote, which truly bring out the subject of human vulnerability that was so close to artist-poet Gieve Patel. These include Sudhir Patwardhan’sMarine Drive, Mahesh Baliga’sTwo Poets and Atul Dodiya’s Nayanar series. The exhibition brings together artists, who might be practicing across different styles and media, but are united in their connection with Patel.On view at both of Vadehra Art Gallery’s spaces in Defence Colony, New Delhi, till 10 January 2025.
Bengal Biennale
The arts and culture showcase, currently taking place across 20 venues in Santiniketan and Kolkata, is about highlighting the state’s past and the present. With over 100 participants and events ranging from exhibitions, music and theatre performances, workshops and conversations, this series of events is presenting the state’s multilayered heritage alongside some of the contemporary voices that are shaping its art ecosystem today.The biennale is taking place till 5 January 2025.
‘Memory Fields’
This exhibition marks 35 years of Gallery Espace and showcases the enduring relationships between the arts space and the artists. Curated by Gayatri Sinha, the show features 38 artists, who have not just been integral to Espace’s journey but also to the cultural landscape of the country. These include the likes of M.F. Husain, Manjit Bawa, Nilima Sheikh, Manjunath Kamath, G.R. Iranna, and more.The show can be viewed at the Bikaner House, New Delhi, till 12 December, after which it moves to the gallery to be on display till 15 January.
The Makers’ Trail
The city-wide festival of BLR Hubba is hosting the second edition of The Makers’ Trail, which will bring together architects, design studios and brands. Curated by Manju Sara Rajan, this year the number of collaborators has gone up to 17 with presentations and conversations by the likes of Phantom Hands, Olie Lighting, Small Shop and Oorja. The event will offer visitors an opportunity to visit home studios, which are generally not open to the public such as those of artists Clare Arni and Jayshree Poddar. A session to watch out for is by Padmini Govind of Tharangini Studio and Anuradha Chandrashekhar of ICH Next on the impact of new technologies on the design process and language of craft.The trail will be held across Bengaluru between 1-15 December.
Magnetic Fields
This annual contemporary art and music festival is celebrating its tenth year this December. To commemorate this occasion, it has collaborated with Berlin-based community radio, Refuge Worldwide, for a day of listening sessions and conversations with artists and producers such as CCL, Nishant Mittal and Moe. The lineup this year features Sofia Kourtesis, Monophonik, Sid Vashi, theatrical drag performance by Dragalactiq, a showcase of qawwals from Dargah Sharif Ajmer, a hand-built playground by SHED, and more.To be held at Alsisar Mahal, Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan between 6-8 December.
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‘So happy it hurts’ tour by Bryan Adams
The singer returns to India after a long hiatus—he had last performed here in 2018. The tour celebrates classics such as Summer of ‘69, Please Forgive me and 18 Till I Die with newer ones from his 2022 album, So Happy It Hurts, thus uniting generations in their fascination with Adams’ songs.The multi-city tour will start with Shillong on 10 December, travel to Gurugram, Mumbai and Bengaluru, finally ending in Hyderabad on 16 December.
Madras Art Weekend
The third edition of the Madras Art Weekend will showcase the latest intersections in art, design and culture. One of the focus areas this year is the Jamakaalam, an old textile art form from southern India. While the weekend will open with ‘Threaded Visions’, a textile art exhibition in collaboration with Milaaya Art Gallery, the gallery exhibit will feature works by galleries such as Art Alive, Art Nouveau, Dhoomimal Art Gallery, Sarala’s Art Centre and Gallery Sumukha. Then there is Sujata Setia’s A Thousand Cuts, which features portraits and narratives around the domestic abuse patterns within South Asian communities.The art weekend will be held across multiple venues in Chennai between 12-15 December.
Mahindra Kabira Festival
The eighth edition of this annual festival, held against the backdrop of Varanasi’s ghats, once again brings together artists and cultural practitioners who respond to the universality and timelessness of mystic poet Kabir’s teachings. This year, the Mahindra Kabira Festival will feature a Carnatic quartet conceptualised by Shreya Devnath, a set of folk and theatre songs in Mehfil by Anadi Nagar, which resonate with Kabir’s idea of nirgundhara, Dastaan-e-Kabir by Himanshu Bajpai and Pragya Sharma, a session with the Aravani Art Project, and Kabir Baani by Madhup and Sawani Mudgal.The festival will be held across venues in Varanasi between 13-15 December.
Serendipity Arts Festival
The ninth edition of this multidisciplinary festival is all set to take place across 22 venues in Panjim, with over 200 projects spanning dance, visual arts, music, culinary arts, theatre, craft and accessibility. There is ‘Multiplay’, which blurs the boundaries between the artist and the audience, and the artworks come to life over time through participation. A music performance, The Three Divas, features vocalists such as Usha Uthup, Aruna Sairam and Runa Laila, which brings together different musical traditions. Then there is‘ Come Eat With Me’, an interdisciplinary performance that delves into the complex relationship between caste and food.The festival will be held across venues in Panjim, Goa, between 15-22 December.
NCPA x META
For the first time, the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai, will be showcasing four award-winning plays from the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards Festival to celebrate the latter’s 20th anniversary. The four-day showcase will feature productions such as Andha Yug in Hindi based on the text by Dharamvir Bharati, Agarbatti in Hindi and Bundeli about the struggles of widows in a post-massacre society, Raghunath in Assamese about hope in the face of a tragedy and Do You Know This Song in Hindi and English about grief and rediscovery.The plays will be staged at the Experimental Theatre, NCPA, Mumbai, between 19-22 December.
Chennai Photo Biennale
The fourth edition of the CPB invites the audience to reflect on the purpose and process of photography, while exploring its role in a world inundated with images. This year’s biennale is rooted in the theme, ‘Why Photograph?’, inspired by the work of Dayanita Singh. A series of exhibitions by both emerging and established artists look at the intersections of visual culture and ethics of representation. In ‘It’s Time. To See. To be Seen’, photographers from across the world will engage with themes of identity, gender and visibility. Jaisingh Nageswaran is all set to curate the show, ‘Vaanyerum Vizhuthugal (Roots that Reach for the Sky’, featuring 12 artists from Tamil Nadu on ideas of culture and heritage. The CPB4 Open Call showcase will showcase works by emerging photographers from 30 countries.The fourth edition will take place across multiple venues between 20 December 2024-16 March 2025.
Jaigarh Heritage Festival
The year will end with a new festival on the horizon, which will add to Jaipur’s cultural landscape. Jaigarh, one of Rajasthan’s oldest medieval forts, will serve as a backdrop to a number of folk and classical performances. The invite-only opening night will feature a performance by Malini Awasthi, classical dancer Rukmini Vijayakumar and percussion ensemble Talfry. All days will start with morning ragas by the likes of Sandeep Singh, who is credited with the revival of bowed string instruments such asdilruba,followed by performances all day long by Kalbeliya dancers, folk poets, Jogiya sarangi players, and more. The craft courtyard will feature craftspersons from the city.The festival will take place at the Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur, between 27-29 December.
—Compiled by Avantika Bhuyan with inputs from Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran
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First Published:29 Nov 2024, 11:30 AM IST
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