Delhi art scene unlike Bangalore’s is not exactly known for its artist-led initiatives. So the announcement of an outfit of this kind only elicits a positive response. Called “Baoli TAREHD”, a few young guns of our contemporary art world –– Paribartana Mohanty, Akansha Rastogi, Kaustav Nag, Debarchan Raut, Somnath and Nancy Verma, formally launched the initiative on Sunday with ‘Mandvali’ –– an artistic seminar on negotiations, compromise, confrontations and co-existence.
From what Akansha explains, the idea seems to be of an alternative space for artists to gather, debate and discuss the undiscussed. “The intention of making this new space is that we can articulate the anxieties of our times our way. It could be edgy, very politically incorrect. There is a need for confrontation,” says Akansha, who is also a curator with Kiran Nadar Museum of Arts.
Isn’t Khoj already in that space? “It was an artists-driven space but of late it has become more of a space for showing artwork...but it is a huge inspiration and so is Sarai.”
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Contemporary art has been taken over by morals and ethics, she feels. “The language in which questions are asked is very definitive and restrictive. So, where are these new questions going to come from. Fatwa writing, hate speeches, wikileaks are the new formats emerging in our lives and we need to take them into account.”
And it is through exhibitions, presentations, residencies, seminars and presentations, that Baoli TAREHD seeks to push this agenda. The initiative is led out of a rented accommodation in Sainik Farms which will organically acquire an identity of its own as these activities take place. The money will come through rentals charged for art classes, and studio space offered to artists. The space won’t remain restricted to visual artists but have people from various disciplines like poets, writers, and musicians etc.
It was probably a year ago when they thought of a platform like Baoli TAREHD.
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“I think it was 36 hours, a 36 hours non-stop, meeting and performances of art practitioners at Sarai. Some grounded discussions took place,” elaborates Akansha.
The name of the outfit came from the Haryanvi language in which Baoli tared means a bunch of crazy people. And the word ‘Mandavli’ –– the title of their first event is from Marathi in which it means confrontation. “It was different from a usual seminar. All those speaking at the seminar picked up an object from the table and released it at some point of time.
What happens is that one talks about himself, her work, her concerns, his ideas which becomes restrictive but here we had people talk about others.
Artist Murari Jha spoke about poet Dushyant Kumar,” says Akansha.
A highlight of the event according to her was the reading of the script of the court case proceedings of Canadian artist Michel de Broin who made a car without pedals. The State filed a court case against him calling his vehicle dangerous. He fought the case and won it.
“The proceedings of the case is so interesting where two parties are debating road safety. These are interesting metaphors for us to read out,” says Akansha.