Brushstrokes of freedom

Art exhibitions in public spaces, like the one at the Alipore Jail museum in Kolkata, can transform heritage sites into cultural spaces and make them more accessible.

Art in public spaces can take many forms. One such project took shape recently at the Alipore Jail museum in Kolkata. The historic building, which has housed personalities such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose and other freedom fighters during British rule, has now been converted into a museum, accessible to the public. The 116-year-old Alipore jail was shut down as a correctional facility in 2019, and the site was developed as an Independence museum to honour those who sacrificed their lives for the country’s independence.

The exhibition titled ‘Freedom and Awakening’ has been curated by the Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC) in collaboration with the Government of West Bengal. It was opened to the public in September last year. This is an ongoing exhibition with several phases planned at various stages. The exhibition explores the notion of freedom, and its multiple implications — its import during the independence movement and what it entails in the current context. An excerpt from the concept note enunciates, “The struggle for freedom was not only a matter of freedom from the British, but it also implied an awakening. As the ending of Rabindranath Tagore’s poem ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear’ suggests, it was an expression of our collective aspiration to awaken into a heaven of freedom. The political journey to attain this freedom brought with it a cultural awakening. “

Featuring works by artists such as Indrapramit Roy, Jagannath Panda, Jogen Chowdhury, Manisha Gera Baswani, TV Santhosh and Shuvaprasanna Bhattacharjee, among others, the art exhibits present paintings, drawings, and installations, which examine the idea of freedom and awakening, and its interpretations, through their artistic language. The artists trace the social, historical and political trajectories of the freedom movement, and reframe constructs that have acquired newer meanings in the contemporary landscape.

A reproduction of Abanindranath Tagore’s painting of Bharat Mata forms part of the exhibition, along with re-interpretations of the iconic image as a symbol of Indian nationalism, and its transmutations in the present socio-political landscape. TV Santhosh and Jagannath Panda explore the ideas of freedom and awakening in an abstract manner, while Manisha Gera Baswani’s exhibits from her compilation, ‘Postcards from Home’, memorialise the tragedy of the Partition and feature postcards of 47 artists from India and Pakistan, each reminiscing the displacement and loss of ‘home’.

Images of mythical and ferocious beasts attack humans in Jogen Chowdhury and Chhatrapati Dutta’s artworks, while Indrapramit Roy’s work is inspired by the Alipore Central Jail. The spectrum of works offers fresh takes on what freedom and awakening mean on a personal and a larger societal level. From satire to thought-provoking works, the range of art is insightful, and it is worth spending some time here to see the exhibition in detail.

Lastly, it is important to reiterate that an initiative such as this can transform heritage sites into cultural spaces and make them more accessible to people from all walks of life. Such strategic partnerships with the government and other key stakeholders can be valuable in revitalising traditional and historical spaces and thus giving an impetus to both art and artists.

The author is a Bengaluru-based art consultant, curator and writer. She blogs at Art Scene India and can be reached on [e-mail]

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