The country’s “largest multicultural festival”, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF), celebrates the heritage and art district of South Mumbai in February each year. From workshops and exhibitions to heritage walks and live performances, it is an event that captures what’s new and happening in the country at the moment. Drawing visitors from across the city and other parts of India, it is considered an honour to be invited to showcase at the festival. While most exhibitors are put through a tough selection process and the final list is kept under wraps, we managed to bring you a few of the interesting brands that will be showcasing at KGAF this year.
Bidri baubles
For Gina Joseph of jewellery brand Zola, inspiration strikes from anywhere. “Conversations, architecture, history and interesting visuals inspire me and my collections,” says Joseph, whose previous collections have included art forms as diverse as dhokra and pattachitra from Odisha, Toda embroidery from Tamil Nadu, wall mural art and Aranmula mirror from Kerala and leather puppetry from Andhra Pradesh. For her latest collection to be showcased at the festival, she found inspiration in another art form — Bidri silver inlay work. “Being such an ornamental and beautiful craft, it was only natural to create jewellery, which is being done for many years now. With Zola’s Bidri collection, I have brought in my ideas of design and aesthetics into the jewellery line I created with this beautiful craft,” says Joseph.
Zola also retails online at zolaindia.com
Fusion jewellery and more
After bringing the 200-year-old art form of Channapatna into modern consciousness with their toys and furniture, Varnam is now taking another art form and fusing it to create something brand new — Bidri, the metal handicraft from Bidar, Karnataka. Titled ‘Darwaaza’, this series of Bidri and Channapatna fusion jewellery may sound out of the box, but for Karthik Vaidyanathan, his work at Varnam has always been about fusing different art forms. Speaking about showcasing at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Vaidyanathan, says, “We first showcased at Kala Ghoda in 2013 and this is our second time. Kala Ghoda is as big as it gets and they hardly ever invite people back — the selection process is really tough.”
Varnam will also be showcasing their previous collections, including block-printed apparel for men, board games for kids and adults and home décor.
Varnam also retails at their store at Double Main Road, Indiranagar, Bengaluru.
Tiffany style
“It is not glass painting,” is the first emphatic statement Saarus Nirhali makes whenever she begins to talk about her work. As someone who makes gorgeous original Tiffany-style stained glass, which can be used to create everything from large door and window panels to tiny suncatchers and pendants, Saarus says she is thrilled to be the first-ever artist to bring in and exhibit stained glass products at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. “In original stained glass work, each piece of glass is cut and polished and then soldered or fused together with copper tape and lead or tin. Each and every piece is handmade and no machines whatsoever are used, except for the grinding, polishing bit,” explains Saarus.
Glasshopper also retails online at unfactory.in and at Timri on 12th Main Road, Indiranagar, Bengaluru .
