Bricks on the wall?

Its nefarious reputation as the den of decadence is all but lost. And today Sudder Street is a youth hub. That’s probably why Opashona Ghosh and her friends decided to host the first edition of Magic Wallrush at Kolkata’s backpacker haven a year ago. Last Sunday was the first anniversary of Kolkata’s first street exhibition and Magic Wallrush returned to its birthplace. “In between we hosted the exhibition at a rundown studio in South Kolkata and in Park Street too. But we were more than happy to bring it back to Sudder Street,we love the vibe of the place,” says Ghosh.

Arijit Sett,a student of Jadavpur University and founder member of the Magic Wallrush feels that it’s the ideal platform for creative youngsters. “Magic Wallrush is not limited to just one discipline. Apart from paintings and installations we encourage performing arts too. In fact we have quite a few impromptu performances during the event,” says Sett who is also a member of a band which performed at the event.

Photographs,painted t-shirts,shoes and caps,sketches and installations were on display at this open-air exhibition. Then of course there were musical performances and stalls selling youth magazines like Drighangchoo. “Most of the items here are for sale. We want to encourage these young kids to be professional artists,” says Ghosh.

The most happy consequence of the event is the fact that it has evolved as something more than a youth event. “It started off as some friends trying to do something new. But now we actually have established professional artists visiting us and that is very encouraging,” says Sett.

Though there are grand plans to make Magic Wallrush a “major alternative art festival” —“we are planning to take it to Mumbai”— Sett and Ghosh want make the quarterly event a biannual one. “Three months is not long enough for an artist to develop something new. We want to give the participators enough time to develop their work,” says Ghosh.