Bhavna Kakar, founder and director of latitude 28, tells Shrabasti Mallik how the character of lado Sarai has changed in the last five years. Introduction of ‘art night walks’ will add to the experience of connoisseurs
lado Sarai has emerged as the destination for art lovers in the city. It is known as a street full of auction houses, galleries and art studios. However, the street did not always don the quirky look as it does today. “Its identity has changed manifold in the past five years from a quaint little place with one or two art galleries to the buzzing place it now is,” points out Bhavna Kakar, founder and director of latitude 28 at lado Sarai. And it is this artistic lane that organises Art Night at lado Sarai for creative enthusiasts. The concept stems from the idea of gathering people at a single time and opening up to them exhibitions that few galleries are holding at the same time. Bhavna explains, “Galleries here have calendars and we circulate those among each other. If two or three galleries have openings at closer dates, we close in on a common date and throw the gallery gates open. That is how the idea of the ‘art night’ originated.”
Studio Art, latitude 28 and Art District XIII are the participating galleries at this year’s annual extravaganza to host fresh new shows featuring artists from abroad. Another reason behind the art night is the latent idea of promoting lado Sarai as the art hub of the future. “This time the participating galleries are all showcasing something unique, different and collective. Plus there is also a Pakistani connect to it. Since the individual dates of the openings were comparatively close to each other, we decided to inaugurate all of them at the same time,” Bhavna shares. Moreover, it creates a festive mood among artists, visitors, art students and art lovers.
Art District XIII is exhibiting curator Ranjit Hoskote’s magnum opus Zameen, featuring works of artists like Atul Dodiya, Arun Kumar HG, Ashim Purkayastha, Baiju Patthan, Gigi Scaria, Gargi Raina, Jagannath Panda, Praneet Soi, Ranbir Kaleka, Ram Rahman, Ravi Agarwal, Ryan lobo, Veer Munshi, Vishwajyoti Gosh and Zarina Hashmi.
latitude 28 is playing host to lahore-based artist Mohammad Ali Talpur’s first solo art show in India, titled Alif. The exhibition will be on display till November 10.
Studio Art is hosting a group show which is a collective work of a few Japanese artists like Goroh Saitoh, Noriko Tamura, Minori Takahashi, Yoshifumi Nojima, Sayuri Azumi, Miwako Koyama, Shin Iguchi, Yuki Ideguchi, Tamako Kataoka.
Art night has a business angle to it, too. “If lesser-known galleries open their shows on the same day as a big and renowned one, then the visitors will also check out the exhibits at other galleries as well,” Bhavna says. It not only improves business but also encourages small galleries to do better work and increase their foothold in the art scene.
Art night, Bhavna’s brainchild, was conceived in 2010 which saw participation of a few galleries but it took off in 2011 with many art centers collaborating with each other to have a grand opening for their exhibits. “I was influenced by ‘Art Thursday’ which is held in Mumbai. It was not possible to hold one every week in Delhi so I came up with the concept of art night instead and so far, it has been an enormous success and I hope it continues to attract more people,” she rounds off.