Jaipur Art Summit

Yasra Daud Khoker

In the 16th and 17th century Europe, it was considered upscale to have a ‘Wunderkammern’; a ‘cabinet of curiosities’ or a ‘wonder chamber’ in your house. This cabinet was a room that displayed unique, noteworthy objects from various fields of study and also illuminated the cultured streak of its owner. Each one of us carries a cabinet of curiosities like merchants travelling in caravans loaded with their wares. A harsh word said, an open wound, a love lost and never to be found again, a goodbye. Clink. Clank. Clink. We wear our curiosities, their manifestations apparent in our hand gestures, lines of thought, the things that make us smile and visuals that intrigue us.

One such ‘Kunstkabinett’ opened its doors from the 14th -18th November in Jaipur, at the Jawahar Kala Kendra and Hotel Clarks Amer – The second edition of the Jaipur Art Summit where artists from various parts of India and outside, gathered to share and exchange relics and stories of their past. The stories were not unheard of, as they spoke of a time when people existed blissfully. The term ‘co-existence’ had not rooted itself in our psyche simply because changes in practices were not perceived as major, intolerable differences. These and other streams of thought shaped the five day event with over 180 participating artists. The art camp was inaugurated by Shailendra Agarwal while the initiation of the All India Contemporary Art Exhibition and Installation was carried forward by Prof. Dhiraj Choudhury. The guests of honor at the opening ceremony Dr. Saryu Doshi, Umrao Mal Salodia and Shailendra Agarwal spoke about the necessity of art forums for the masses in order to revive interest in the culture of creativity.