Begin the first month of the decade by immersing yourself into the world of art, culture and literature. Soak up as much art as possible this winter. Pick from the selected bucket list of the best arty festivals to attend in January 2020!
Reth Festival
29th Jan to 2nd Feb 2020
Narayan Niwas Palace and Nachana Haveli, Jaisalmer Rajasthan
For the first time, the dessert city of Jaisalmer will experience a perfect blend of curated learning and rich experiences with the first edition of Reth curated by Laila Vaziralli and Dipankar Jojo Chaki. Reth is the melting pot of hands on workshop during the day and magical live music evenings. The festival will present eight creative residential workshops by professionals which will draw from traditions as well as new contemporary ideas. The interesting line up of workshops cater to travellers, design enthusiast, art lovers, artists and each and every individual.
The block print making workshop will teach about Bagru and Sanganeri block printing. The participant will learn to make natural dyes and use them to create their own block printed fabric. The workshop will dive deep into the history and traditions.
Festival Highlights —
– Sustainable Printmaking workshop using blocks and natural dyes by Vikram Joshi.
– Mughal Miniature Painting by Ajay Sharma and Meenakshi Sengupta.
– Sand Animation by Aditya Vipparthi are the highlight of the festival.
– A Portrait of Rajasthan by California based performing artists and painter – Karl Knapp.
– A Touch of Folk: Folk instruments, using technology, and making music by Jeremy Nattagh, Tritha Sinha and Sawai Khan Manganiyar.
– Smart Filming: making films using your phone by Karthik Ganesh (made the first ever feature film to be shot on a phone called Side A side B).
– The Secrets of Independent Film Making by Q (Qaushiq Mukherjee known for eclectic, politically charged cinema, art and music).
– Rich Mix: Arts and Culture of Rajasthan all connected by the inspiration of the state’s golden architecture, its people and the vast desert.
In the Mughal Miniature Painting in collaboration with Shifting Frames workshop the participant will learn about the history of Mughal miniatures, and to compose, style, draw, and colour using natural pigments. In the Portrait of Rajasthan workshop by California based artist Karl Knapp will teach to draw portraits realistically, using pencil, charcoal, and paints. Learn to shade and create shadows using pencil and colour pencil. The life drawing models will be local Rajasthani men and women in their beautiful colourful traditional attire.n intuitive process. This medium lends itself perfectly for creating abstract narratives. During the course of this workshop, we will take inspiration form the visual landscape of Jaisalmer to create a short sand-animation film that celebrates the rich cultural and architectural heritage of Jaisalmer.
After the day full of learnings, the evenings are to celebrate. Unwind, interact, chat with facilitators, and experience the two heritage havelis walking distance from the golden fort, with carved archways and sunlit courtyards havelis in all their glory at night. Enjoy the evening in the company of folk music by Champe Khan and Troupe, the women folk music group or interesting short film screenings while enjoying the local cuisine.
Tickets – INR 17,000 which includes workshop fee, all curated experience and lunch.
INR 23,000 onwards for triple occupancy; INR 29,000 onwards for double occupancy and INR 39,000 onwards single occupancy. The price includes stay for 4 nights, workshop fee, meals (breakfast, lunch and tea and coffee) and evening entertainment
Tickets: https://www.reth.co.in/events/reth-2020
Website: www.reth.co.in
India Art Fair
30 January – 2 February 2020
NSIC Grounds, Delhi
India Art Fair will celebrate South Asia’s best talent at its 12th edition in New Delhi. India Art Fair is all set to showcase over 75 exhibitors spanning 20 global cities, alongside an expanded programme of live performances, art projects and events, an extended bookshop, and diverse talks platform positioning the artists at its core. Led by Fair Director Jagdip Jagpal, 12th edition of the fair will celebrate the thriving modern-day art scene in South Asia, presenting cutting-edge contemporary art, modern masters and vernacular artistic traditions in dialogue with exceptional works by international artists that have never or rarely been shown in India. In 2020, the fair will also be an all-inclusive event from entry to exit, with tactile artworks, braille signages and fair guides, complemented by a programme featuring dedicated workshops and personalised accessibility tours for visitors. Marking their 5th year with India Art Fair, Presenting Partner BMW Group India will return with an exclusive showcase the BMW Art Car by the American pop icon Andy Warhol.
Jaipur Literature Festival
23-27 January 2020
Diggi Palace Hotel, Jaipur
The annual high noon of literature returns to its customary home, Jaipur for its 13th edition. This year’s veritable power-house roster of speakers, like every edition, reflects the diversity of the festival’s programming in books, themes, subjects, and ideas representing literature and thoughts intrinsic to both India and the world.
Among the speakers to watch out for are Filkins, who won the the Pulitzer prize for covering Afghanistan and Pakistan, award-winning writers Anand Gopal, Anuradha Bhagwati, Asne Seierstad, noted Indian poet Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, and former minister of European Affairs in Portugal Bruno Macaes.
The list also includes a vastly diverse mix of journalists, activists, columnists, broadcasters and poets like Toole, author of seven books, including the bestselling “A Traitor’s Kiss”; Delhi-born author Keshava Guha, who writes regularly on politics, literature and sports for a host of publications; novelist and activist Leila Slimani, winner of the prestigious French literature award Prix Goncourt for her second novel, “Chanson douce”; poet Lemn Sissay, who has read on stage throughout the world from the Library of Congress in the United States to the University of Addis Ababa.
Udaipur Tales
21-22 January 2020
Park Exotica, Opposite Shilpgram, Udaipur
Udaipur Tales is back with its 3rd Edition. A one of its kind storytelling festival which takes place in the Venice of the East – A three day long, international platform, bringing together a variety of traditions – from folk ensemble to shamanic storytelling and dastangoi. Stories from near and distant lands….Stories we have never heard before. It is a platform where the young and old participate and enjoy storytelling and grow rich in values and experience.
Brain child of Sushmita Singha and Salil Bhandari, Udaipur tales underlines the fact that the culture of storytelling should be revived. Through the duration of the festival, a whole range of traditional storytelling practices will be unveiled to the audiences through artistes, authors and journalists from various parts of India and the world. This includes, renowned theater actors and writers like Gautam Mukherjee, Markand Deshpande, Sanjukta Singha – one of India’s leading kathak artists of her generation, known for her technical expertise and immense artistry, Usha Venkatraman, one of the awarded storytellers – Laura Simms, Mirande Shah, Seema Wahi Mukherjee and Syed Sahil Agha, Marion Kenny, a charismatic live performer, one of Scotland’s leading storytellers, a highly regarded multi-instrumentalist, and an inspirational trainer.
