Bhubaneswar ebbs with art: pipli lights (lights with Odia applique art) on trees, jhoti or tribal prints on prominent facades, repurposed sculptures and thoughtful art in public spaces. On the occasion of the recent, Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkella (Odisha), the city was transformed into an open-air art gallery.
Each work mirrors colourful scenes from everyday life thanks to Street Art and Mural Project Development (STAMP), a joint venture between Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC). STAMP was launched ahead of the Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 and the grand scale city festival .FEST. Originally, it was formulated in 2017 prior to the World Asian Athletics Championship to amplify the art and culture of the State.
Art with tribal motifs | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Sculptures adorn the city | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“The State Government took support from Odisha’s Lalit Kala Akademi to facilitate STAMP. Nine curators were involved to brainstorm and bring forth the best thematic art for citizens,” says Balwant Singh, IAS, Vice-Chairman, Bhubaneswar Development Authority.
Sculptures add weight to the public art | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Balwant elaborates that 650 artists were associated with STAMP and says that the project, funded by Odisha Mining Corporation, covers around eight lakh square feet of walls. The artists, who are of local, national and international origin, were selected by Odisha’s Lalit Kala Akademi.
As part of the symposium, 35 of Odisha’s sculpture artists — seven working with terracotta, six with scrap metal, and 22 with stone sculptures, along with six international artists from Italy, France, Korea, Egypt, and the US — were invited to create sculptures to give the city a thematic dimension.
Graffiti against a bicycle | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Prathyush Behra, an architect with Bhubaneswar Development Authority’s technical wing emphasises that, “Each art work is colour coded — the variation has an intention. So when people pass by, they see the blue hues of the overbridge merging with the colours of the sky—giving it a vista-like dimension.”
An official of Bhubaneswar Urban Knowledge Centre (BUKC), (a wing of BDA), says “Each art work intends to interact with people, be correlative and contextually appropriate.” He explains, “Flyovers close to the Bhubaneswar fire junction have images of fire engines and fire fighters. Public spaces near the Nandankanan Zoo have art works depicting animals and birds, which not only add an aesthetic dimension to the city but also make it easy to navigate the roads.”
The writer was in Bhubaneswar on the invitation of .FEST
Manicured greens and vibrant public art | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
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