The LKA art show in conjunction with the Commonwealth Games

Curator Rupika Chawla’s had a simple brief to the participating artists for the ambitious art show, revolving around three components - represent the spirit of sports, the capital city of Delhi and urban life in general.

The show organized at the New Delhi based Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA) in conjunction with the Commonwealth Games had on display a work each by over 100 artists from Indian. Renowned photographer Raghu Rai was also invited to showcase the work in keeping with the theme.

Apart from a special work of the late Manjit Bawa, several younger and promising artists like Mithu Sen, Ved Gupta, Thukral and Tagra displayed their innovative works. Several other renowned artists who showcased their works were Ram Kumar, Satish Gujral, Manu Parekh, Anjoli Ela Menon, Jatin Das, Akbar Padamsee, and A Ramchandran, among others.

The established art galleries in the city were requested by LKA to send different works by about 10 artists each. And barring a few exceptions, the works were commissioned for this special show. Among them are paintings, photographs, videos and sculptures. The curatorial brief for the artists, as mentioned above, was to stick to the event’s celebratory mood.

Accordingly, they created works, which largely steered clear of any controversy and ambivalence. A reflective mood, probably inescapable, pervades works with the city of Delhi as their core subject. The idea of the Lalit Kala Akademi behind organizing this unique show was to lend an artistic flavor to the Games. The event incidentally showcased some of the best talent on the Indian art scene, including several prominent artists.

Importantly, most of the paintings on view were made in the last couple of months specifically for the Games. LKA also initiated an idea of big hoardings of these works for installing them at major viewpoints across the city. After the Games are over, these will be auctioned and the proceeds donated to the Artists Welfare Fund.