Visitors get walking knowledge of art at Summit

A few months ago,she approached the school with the proposal. “The curatorial walk seemed appropriate because last year we had noticed that there were people who wanted to discuss art at the summit. They just did not know whom to approach,” Natasha Ginwala (24),a masters student who is one of the five student leaders at the summit,said.

Five curatorial walks were conducted on each day of the summit. While the first began at 12 noon,the last was at 6 pm. “We decided to keep the time span for each walk under an hour. Each student was free to pick a theme,” John Xaviers (30),who is pursuing his PhD at the school,said. Even before the summit opened on Wednesday,Xaviers was at the venue to plan out a curatorial walk with other students. “We wanted to invite a discussion through the theme. I chose to showcase the influence of graphic design on painting,” Xaviers said. During his 20-minute walk,he led a group from a Subodh Gupta canvas to a Julian Opie artwork,followed by T V Santosh and Manjunath Kamath.

Ginwala,on the other hand,decided to concentrate on installation art. “It has existed in India at various levels,even when the term and the label of ‘installation art’ was not in use,” Ginwala said.

The participants were given a handout with a brief on installation art before they were taken for the walk that included,among others,a look at Subodh Gupta’s monumental work,Gandhi’s Three Monkeys,and aluminum and copper wire work by sculptor El Anatsui,a sculptor from Ghana,at the Sakshi Gallery booth.

“The students have an understanding of art and they can provide a critical perspective. In the context of the summit,they could help people understand art and provide a critical insight,” Shukla Sawant,associate professor at the School of Arts and Aesthetics,said. Even as students experimented with curating,the beneficiaries were the uninitiated. “It helps put things in perspective,” photographer Abhijeet Singh Chauhan,who participated in a walk on Friday,said. He had a suggestion though. “The walk could have been a bit longer with more background information on art in India,” he said.

Soon at NGMA

The Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA) is planning guided tours for children at the National Gallery of Modern Art.

At the Art Summit on Saturday,the foundation concluded its five-day workshop in art appreciation for children aged between eight and 14. “We want children to respond to art in a fun way,” Roshini Vadehra,from FICA,said.

FICA has another workshop scheduled next month.