Our exhibition tour of Kangra Paintings continues after a successful and very well received exhibition in London's Mayfair. We are now exhibiting the Kangra Paintings produced by students at the Chitera Art School in Belfast, in Northern Ireland.
The department of Art and Culture Northern Ireland is hosting the exhibition at the Linen Hall Library, a landmark historic library in the heart of Belfast.
Please check here again for the dates and details of the Belfast Exhibition.
London, United Kingdom Exhibition
Kangra paintings produced by a new generation of artists from the Kangra Valley in
Himachal Pradesh were exhibited in the heart of London at the Nehru Centre. The
exhibition which ran from the 20th of March to the 7th of April, 2012 in Mayfair in
Central London was inaugurated by Lord Matthew Evans of Temple Guiting from the
County of Gloucestershire. Lord Evans is the former Managing Director and Chairman
of Faber and Faber, Former Chairman of the Royal Court Theatre, as well as Former
Vice Chairman of the British Film Institute.
Lord Evans in his inaugural address lauded
efforts such as the exhibition to promote the arts and culture and later spoke to Media
about his own involvement with artists, writers, filmmakers and publishers in England.
Smt. Sangeeta Bahadur, Minister (Culture) High commission of India in the UK and
Director, of The Nehru Centre delivered the welcome address.
The exhibition features paintings produced by students at the Chitera School run by
the 'Kangra Arts Promotion Society' (KAPS) in Himachal Pradesh. KAPS is a not for
profit Society working towards promoting Kangra Art and working to create a new
generation of artists of this Pahari miniature painting style. Five Benches, another not
for profit organization from Himachal brought the exhibition to London.
The exhibition features paintings produced by students at the Chitera School run by the 'Kangra Arts Promotion Society' (KAPS) in Himachal Pradesh. KAPS is a not for profit Society working towards promoting Kangra Art and working to create a new generation of artists of this Pahari miniature painting style. Five Benches, another not for profit organization from Himachal brought the exhibition to London. Five Benches is working towards expanding the scope of literary and cultural discourse in Himachal and helping promote Himachali culture in different parts of the World. Lord Evans mentioned his association with the founder of Five Benches and his support of such initiatives. The State Bank of India in the UK is the main sponsor of the exhibition.
The traditional Kangra Paintings represent one of the finest miniature painting styles
from India. This great art originated in a small hill state 'Guler' in the Lower Himalayas
in the first half of the eighteenth century when a family of Kashmiri painters trained in
Mughal Style of painting sought shelter at the court of Raja Dalip Singh (r. 1695-1741)
of Guler. The new arrivals mingled with the local artists and were greatly influenced by
the atmosphere of the hills. Instead of painting flattering portraits of their masters and
love scenes, the artistes adopted themes of eternal love between Radha and Krishna. The
paintings were naturalistic and employed cool, fresh colors. The colors were extracted
from minerals, vegetables and possessed enamel-like luster. Verdant greenery of the
landscape, brooks, springs were the recurrent images on the miniatures.
Click here for the London Exhibition invite.
Click here for the Whats on London listing
Events in Shimla
Please check here for our Talks and events planned for Shimla. We will be hosting our events at the renowned Gaiety Theatre on the Mall Road next to the town hall.
