Art exhibition to champion sustainability and civic pride

The fifth edition of the Whitefield Art Collective (WAC) aims to encourage creative explorations around the theme of sustainability.

Collaborators this year include Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology, JD Institute of Fashion Technology, Bangalore Creative Circus, Indian Garbage Collective, The Broke Artist Collective, Aravani Arts Project, and Synaesthesia Collective & Art Flute.

VR Bengaluru will play venue to WAC as part of its ‘Connecting Communities’ initiative that aims to encourage civic pride, strengthen the local economy and enhance the city’s national and international image.

Bose Krishnamachari, president of the Kochi Biennale Foundation, will inaugurate the festival by unveiling the annual VR Art Car, painted this year by the Bengaluru based women and trans-women art collective -- Aravani Art Project. The unveiling will be followed by a chat between Bose and WAC Curator Sumi Gupta. The inaugural event will culminate with ‘Wearable Art’-- a show by JD Institute of Fashion Technology.

Sumi Gupta, who has been curating the festival since the beginning says that public art festivals are a great step towards making art more inclusive. She has been curating such festivals across the country from 2013. “Art was something that was seen only in the gallery space but with such festivals, it is more accessible. Places like VR see thousands of people passing through each day and art adds to their experience,” she says. She adds that it’s also a great platform for student artists and emerging artists to showcase their work alongside more established players.

Speaking on sustainability, she says that it is a very topical issue and that art is a great way to provoke discussions on issues such as this.

The month-long event will see installations, exhibitions, an art bazaar, art cinema screenings, art workshops, a children’s art competition and more.

Natasha Shaji, a sculptor and artist, will be presenting her work in association with Art Flute. “The first thing that came to my head when I thought of sustainability was the juxtaposition of concrete and iron rods to plants and other vegetation,” says the artist.

Her installation will revolve around how these never-ending and “immortal” concrete figures are invading nature and tipping the balance of life and death. WAC 2020 is hoping to get children aged six and above to transform waste from their homes into works of art. They could add their creations to the larger installation and grab that opportunity to look beyond ‘use and throw’.

Young talent would be given a big push to creative alternatives that banks on repurpose and reuse. Art facilitators of Artflute and Dream-a-Dream will be in-charge of the event.

The collective hopes to promote regional art and artists by featuring a mix of programming and commissioned works, in partnership with regional institutions; all interwoven within the theme of sustainability.

The festival will run from February 7 to March 7, at VR Bengaluru, Whitefield. For more information visit vrbengaluru.com