Social and environmental issues find an artistic voice at the Lodhi Art Festival 2019 | Lifestyle News, The Indian Express

Social and environmental issues find an artistic voice at the Lodhi Art Festival 2019 | Lifestyle News, The Indian Express

Written by Zoya Hussain |New Delhi |Published: March 15, 2019 1:24:52 pm

Social and environmental issues find an artistic voice at the Lodhi Art Festival 2019

This year, 20 new murals have been planned. The artists will produce their interpretation of social causes such as, women empowerment, climate change, waste and upcycling and various other pertinent issues.

In the heart of Delhi, lies India’s open-air public art district – The Lodhi Art. (Source: File Image)

After giving New Delhi’s Lodhi Colony area a colourful makeover and turning it into India’s first open public art district, St+art India Foundation is back with the 15th edition of Street-art festival (its 4th edition in Delhi), called ‘Urban Art Festival’ this time. The festival this year highlights pertinent issues like women empowerment, climate change, waste and upcycling among others, in an artistic way.

St+art Delhi 2019 includes an expansion of the Lodhi Art District project, F(r)iction at KONA, and, a there is a special focus on increasing community participation in Lodhi Colony and its surrounding areas. Visitors are encouraged to participate in artist-led workshops and curated tours for children, adults and the differently-abled, in order to champion accessibility.

“The Lodhi Art Festival this year has been a celebration and consolidation of our work in Lodhi Colony in the past four years. This year we have not only celebrated navigable streets of Lodhi Colony, which have lent the perfect canvas, but also the community. The murals are a reflection of the artist’s interactions with the streets of Delhi, it’s people, the cross-pollination of local and global contexts and the presentation of these stories on these wall by prolific International and Indian artists”, Akshat Nauriyal, co-founder and content director, St+art India Foundation.

Over the years, St+art has transformed the walls between Khanna Market and Meherchand Market into a public art gallery with support from the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and Swachh Bharat mission. It is envisioned to be the only locality with 50 wall murals within a 5 km radius.

Here are the wall make-over from the festival, which features 30 artists this year:

Sajid Wajid Sheikh’s work is an ode to femininity.

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The mural shows natural elements and women portraits in a holistic amalgamation. This celebration of women and also femininity responds to the need of men to contribute to women empowerment as well. (Source: Instagram/ Sowmya)

Sameer Kulavoor’s mural explores the effects selfie culture has on the human psyche.

The mural transcends dimensions and gravity, taking selfies mid-air, and critiques our digital lives where plants, as Sam observes, help you get a bunch of likes on your selfies. (Source: Pranav Gholi)

 Aravani Art Project, an artist collective brings the transgender community to the fore through public art.

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Art builds and nurtures relationships among different communities, paving way for greater inclusivity and community bonds. (Source: Instagram/Aravani Art Project)

To mark Women’s Day, artist NeSpoon created a mural inspired by the sewing traditions.

NeSpoon worked with the women of Aga Khan Foundation and held a workshop with them which led to the elements of the mural. (Source: Pranav Gohil)

Bold, bright and beautiful: This artwork is all about vibrancy, freshness, and character.

This work by The York & Sheryo has characters that are directly inspired from the streets of Delhi 

and are highly engaging. (Source: Akshat Nauriyal)

An artwork projecting environmental concerns.

This wall painting by Andreco is about air and water pollution and also explores the possible solutions. The mural has symbolic images, and graphs – based on the studies of international and local centres of research. (Source: Pranav Gohil)

Vibrant lettering by artist Bond Truluv adorns one of the facades in the locality.

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Bond tweaked the colours up to match India’s love for vibrancy. His style weaves a calligraphic representation of street culture in and around Lodhi Colony. (Source: Pranav Gohil)

An Austrian artist painted a deep observation of the cityscape and rural areas in India.

The wall sums up artist David Lerner impression of India. (Source: Pranav Gohil)

The mural reflects how language reinforces our sense of belonging.

The mural by Georgia Hill & Hanif Kureshi engages the eye in reading the intricate optical lines. The type comes to interact with each other, representing unique, varied, and ultimately connected interpretations of a sense of place. (Source: Pranav Gohil)

The work embodies the spirit of a free bird.

Rock Pigeons are presented as magnificent creatures full of beauty and grace. The Lodhi trees powerfully become part of the piece, framing the giant creatures in an organic integration between the real trees and the hyper-realistic painted birds in this work by Adele Renault. (Source: Pranav Gohil)

Metaphysical and surreal; the artwork induces the viewer to imagine and create their own stories.

The piece by Aeron Glasson is based on a concept prevalent in the indigenous cultures of both India and his homeland. The whole mural aims to build on the narrative of interconnection and unity. (Source: Pranav Gohil)

The artwork depicts discovery of India – balance in mind and in spirit.

The mural is a crossover of Mexican and Indian culture, of people wearing his signature masks. The wall, by Saner Edgar, features humans wearing masks to conceal their face, but reveal their true animal nature. (Source: Akshat Nauriyal)