New Delhi   

An Indo-Western celebration of art, cinema and culture

Neville Tuli

NEW DELHI: A visual arts festival titled Jashn-Osianama: Kala Cinema aur Sanskriti ka Mela is all set to open in the Capital next month.

Curated by Osian’s founder-chairman Neville Tuli and his team, the festival is aimed at showcasing the best of Indian, Asian and world art, cinema and culture for the public. The theme is “500 Years of Violence, Non-Violence”.

Stating that the widening gap between the Western museum exhibition experience and the Indian mela needs to be bridged by innovating new structures and formats, Neville says the visual arts festival would bring the best of culture and reach out to both the common man and the elite.

“The warmth, vibrancy and sense of inclusive revelry witnessed at a mela will be witnessed at Jashn-Osianama and it will share the most refined and subtle artistic ideas and sensibilities with the public. The diversity and the sheer range of the visual arts on display will be enough to excite and arouse the minds of people across all backgrounds,” he adds.

Pointing out that Jashn-Osianama will bring together art works and other cultural objects of exceptional quality from around the world, Neville says the festival will look at the anatomy of violence and how Indian, Asian and Hollywood art have dealt with it through various art forms: “Violence and non-violence are in a state of constant flux. Indian philosophical systems have dealt with it through the grand narratives of other binaries such as ‘Good and Evil’, ‘Illusion and Reality’ and ‘Prakriti and Purush’. To juxtapose some of the world’s most refined, subtle and expensive art works with simple artefacts of popular culture has been a long and arduous journey for Osian’s and myself.”

He says it was important to dissolve the fine and popular art categories while revealing the essential aesthetic integrity which allows each to help discriminate between all art objects. “Without this learning curve it is very difficult to uplift the sensibilities of our people while bringing in their participation, respect and passion,” he adds.

The upcoming exhibition will focus on rare works of Japanese Samurai art, Tibetan thangkas, Rajasthani and Pahari miniatures, vintage world film memorabilia, political propaganda, magic memorabilia, antiquarian and modern photography and the best of modern and contemporary art from the Indian sub-continent.

“The Japanese Samurai art works representing the tradition of the great warriors in battle have rarely been seen in the history of mankind. Just as the link between non-violence and creativity is a major focus of the Osian’s Archive, so is the link between violence and creativity. This unrivalled and spectacular collection of Japanese antique armour spans over seven centuries of Japanese history exemplifying the superb quality and attention to detail that Japanese warriors and craftsmen paid to their trade,” says Neville.

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