The Contemporary Art Festival saw a record number of footfalls, extending this year’s event by two days.

Bangalore, India, August 30, 2013 — South India’s premier contemporary art festival, in its 4th edition, wowed the entire art fraternity and public at large. The seven-day event was extended past its scheduled date, to satisfy requests from art enthusiasts of the city, recording the most ever footfalls at UB City, Bangalore’s popular hub.

Taking centre stage at the Opening Ceremony was Padmashri award winner Thota Tharrani’s exclusive piece created for the event. The presiding Chief Guest, Co-Founder of Mindtree, Subroto Bagchi, along with Prestige Group CMD, Irfan Razack and Tharrani himself, unveiled the creation amidst much fanfare. Also unveiled during the night, was co-organizer Sublime Galleria’s collection ‘The Reflective’ that inspired the theme of this year’s event.

The Collection at UB City, the venue for Art Bengaluru for the past four years, greeted visitors with a novel 3D installation at the entrance – a tube of paint cascading its color down the grand central staircase. Amongst other installations visible across the Mall were artist’s props such as life-size crayons, a palette, bucket of color pencils, etc. Another attraction was the Sculpture Park set up in the amphitheatre, allowing spectators to gather around and soak in the beauty of the sculptures.

In keeping with tradition, art-houses from across the country were seen here, such as Progressive Art Gallery, Art Salon, Rangkunchala Arts, Deccan Art Gallery & Artèquest. The artworks on display were another highlight, with greats such as M.F. Husain’s work attracting more than just the art lovers of the city.

Berserk, the latest addition to Art Bengaluru is an art conference aimed at nurturing the self confidence and latent creativity of children, allowing them to express themselves without any barriers or expectations. It was created to bring about awareness and appreciation, for fine art in India, which the organizers felt was much needed. Berserk worked on developing children’s inherent interest in art, by coaching them in the basics of art, be it in theatre, dance, music or visual art itself.

The families of the participating students were invited to witness the Grand Finale on the closing night. The show opened with renowned salsa dancer Sneha Kapoor of Jhalak Dikhla Jaa fame delivering an entertaining and energetic performance. Following that was a thoroughly enjoyable performance by the pro-team of the Lourd Vijay Dance Studio (LVDS). A whimsical yet smart monologue delivered by Rebecca Spurgeon, along with a Kalari performance by Master Nikhil Varagiri, were the main attractions of the show. The audience was pleasantly greeted with a performance by Taaqademy. The performers included Varun (Lead and Rhythm Guitarist of Swaratma), Vibhas (Drummer, Eccentric Pendulum), Archana (Faculty at Taaqademy and Shankar Mahadevan Institute of Music), Pradeep (Music Graduate from Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music) and Snehal (Ex-Band Member of Galeej Gurus, ‘Parachute XVI’ and Bass Player of ‘Voodoo Gas’). The show concluded with an awe-inspiring live painting session by artist Mahesh Pattar, who painted a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi on stage in just seven minutes, to amaze and completely entertain the crowds.

Also, of noteworthy mention is the success of the Luxury Art Auction held at ITC Windsor, which over the years has grown to become one of the most-awaited art events of the country. Record sales of the artworks are testimony to the popularity of the auction. The beginning of this highly eventful evening was initiated by Ms. Uzma Irfan – Co-founder of Art Bengaluru and Ramesh and Swati Ramanathan from Janaagraha. This was followed by the auction conducted by acclaimed London-based auctioneer, Bob Hayton, who did an exceptional job, receiving joyful cheers from the audience. Among the final lots of the 135 on auction this year, was Thota Tharrani’s installation, created exclusively for this event.

Once again, Art Bengaluru has enjoyed a stunning year with record numbers by any standards, proving that it doesn’t necessarily take a connoisseur’s eye to appreciate and be moved by good art. With its success towards making art more accessible to everyone, Art Bengaluru ’14 is already a much awaited event!

For further information, please contact:
Urmila Biswas
+91 98860 99736
urmilabiswas@gmail.com
http://www.artbengaluru.in

100 International and National Artists across 17 Galleries to be part of this Season, in addition to the Luxury Art Auction and a new addition Berserk.

Bangalore, India, August 07, 2013 — Art Bengaluru needs no introduction. What was started in 2010 as an attempt to increase art awareness in the city has today grown into a much-awaited international art festival that has carved a niche for Bangalore on the global art map.

The 4th Edition of Art Bengaluru presented by The Collection, UB City in association with Sublime Galleria and Art Chutney will take place at The Collection, UB City. It promises to be a week-long extravaganza from 16 to 23 August 2013. ‘Art Bengaluru 2013’ will bring together the best art galleries from across India as well as the rest of the world. With each passing year, the event becomes bigger and better, and this year, we aim to showcase the works of over 100 international and national artists across 17 galleries on one common platform. Some of the participating galleries include Progressive Art Gallery (Delhi), Ayyah Art Gallery (Chennai), Deccan Art Gallery (Hyderabad), Delhi Salon (Delhi), and Gallery Splash (Delhi), among others.

Ms. Uzma Irfan – Co-Founder, ‘Art Bengaluru’ and Founder, Sublime Galleria said, “This year’s theme for the festival is ‘Reflections’. The idea behind this is that all forms of art is a reflection of our being and portrays our emotions, be it joy, sorrow, turmoil, anger etc. ‘Art Bengaluru 2013’ will have all the usual trademarks that have made it the landmark event it is today – a grand Opening Night, artists and art galleries across India and abroad under one roof, residential art conclaves and of course, the much-anticipated Luxury Art Auction as its culmination.”

The grand Inaugural Night will be on 16 August 2013 and showcase an art installation by celebrated artist, Thota Tharrani. Padmashri awardee, Sri Tharrani is working on this centre-piece exclusively for this event, to portray the theme of ‘Reflections’, and will be present at the Opening Night of the festival. Mr. Subroto Bagchi, who is the Chief Guest for the event, will unveil Sri Tharrani’s creation. This artwork will also be included in the Auction this year. The evening will also feature Body Art Dancers as yet another reinforcement of the theme. As in previous years, the who’s who of Bangalore will be present to show their solidarity to this function.

Highlights of the Festival:

Berserk
Another major attraction in ‘Art Bengaluru 2013’ will be the introduction of ‘Berserk’, an Art Conference to promote and encourage creative awareness among children. Sublime Galleria is organizing this event, which will shortlist 60 children from the shortlisted 15 schools in Bangalore who encourage art in its multiple forms. Berserk 2013 is a 3-day residential conference for children between the age group of 8-12 years. Categorized under the four key art verticals – Theatre, Dance, Music and Visual Art, Sublime has brought the best in the art industry to mentor and guide these children. Their expert mentors will be Jagriti for Theatre, The Lourd Vijay Dance Studio for Dance, Taaqademy for Music and 3 Peel for Visual Art. Selected children of different verticals will receive trust funds and endorsements ranging from intensive training programs to working on productions under expert guidance. The endorsements are custom-designed by each of the vertical heads.

Luxury Art Auction
Art Bengaluru always starts with a bang and ends with an even bigger one! This is because the festival always culminates with the Luxury Art Auction which has become one of the most-awaited events of the year for serious art collectors. The Art Auction will take place on 23 August 2013 at ITC Windsor. Raising the bar one notch higher and to give it a truly international feel, the auction this year will be hosted by renowned London-based auctioneer, Bob Hayton. The magnitude of the event can be gauged by the fact that there will be up to 100 lots on auction this year. Last year’s auction included the works of celebrated artists like Abanindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, Sailoz Mookherjea, Nandalal Bose, K.H. Ara, S.K. Bakre, H.A. Gade, M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza, F.N. Souza, Krishen Khanna, Akbar Padamsee, Ram Kumar, Bombay Group – Ara, K.K. Hebbar, S.G. Vasudev, M. Senathipathi, K.V. Haridasan, Paresh Maity, Jayasri Burman, Arunanshu Chowdhury, Vasant Viraj Naik & Arunkumar H.G. and this year too will witness works of these masters and many more. Over 15 well-known art patrons from different cities across India will invite select guests and art buyers for this event.

Needless to say, this is a charity event where ten percent of the proceeds of the auction will be shared with Janaagraha. Founded in 2001 by Ramesh and Swati Ramanathan, Janaagraha, a non-profit organisation, started as a movement to enable citizen participation in public governance. It has now evolved into a robust institution for Citizenship and Democracy. It works with citizens and the government to improve the quality of life in Indian cities and towns.

Sponsors for ‘Art Bengaluru 2013’
* Official Event Partner: Phase 1
* Official Beverage Partner for the Opening Night: Myra Vineyards
* Official Beverage Partners for the Auction Night: Alpine Wineries & Aspri Spirits
* Official Hospitality Partner for the Auction Night: ITC Windsor

About Art Bengaluru:
Art Bengaluru is an exclusive event that is designed to showcase various types of art forms including ‘Wall Art’ (Fine Art, Paintings, Illustration, and Photographs) and ‘Stand-alone Art’ (Sculpture, Installations, Product Design). Art Bengaluru was first launched in March 2010, and after three successful editions, the event this year promises to be bigger and more diverse since it has extended its purview to include different forms of art!

The venue for Art Bengaluru is the highly-acclaimed, The Collection, UB City which is conveniently located in the heart of cosmopolitan Bangalore. Needless to say, the Tuscan architecture of UB City complements the art festival by creating an illusion of fluent expanse. Art displayed in this landmark area promises to enhance aesthetic awareness and create a sensory delight for the viewer. For more details, on South-India’s only contemporary art festival, please visit – http://www.artbengaluru.in.

For further information, please contact:
Urmila Biswas
+91 98860 99736
urmilabiswas@gmail.com
http://www.artbengaluru.in