Annually the village of Patangarh organises a festival in memory of renowned painter, Jangarh Singh Shyam in the first week of July. Jangarh Singh Shyam was the seminal Pardhan Gond artist who started the contemporary Gond art movement in Madhya Pradesh. He was born in Patangarh village and as a young man, his exceptional talents were recognised in 1979 from the wall paintings that he had created by a group of researchers from Bhopal.
Jangarh shot to phenomenal fame, and he travelled the world to exhibit his works of art. The impact of Shyam has a strong presence today, as he also inspired a whole group of his relatives to come from the village and also take up painting as a profession.
Several of these artists have gone on to receive national and international recognition in their own right.
Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS) Bhopal, collaborated with Verrier Elwin’s son Ashok to bring an exhibition of a selection of these unique historical photographs from Central India to Patangarh village. This exhibition ‘Photographs from Central India by Verrier Elwin’ will be open from July 3 to 5, 2017 at Patangarh Village.
Sangrahalaya is organising ‘Chitranjali’ a creative tribute to Jangarh Singh Shyam by tribal artists’ from July 3 to 5, 2017. In this artists’ workshop Gond painters from Patangarh will be participating.