In a little over one year, the Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) has made huge strides in the arena of visual arts by not only revamping its buildings but also introducing new festivals like 'Bookaroo' and 'Navras'.
Multi-arts centre
The multi-arts centre, developed by the Rajasthan government to preserve the State's arts and crafts, has refurbished its art galleries, introduced new concepts in visual arts and started a new souvenir shop.
The popular coffee house, thronged by artists, activists and journalists, has also been spruced up.
Built by noted architect Charles Correa, the JKK has been instrumental in bringing to Jaipur high quality performing arts and literary programmes such as Navras, a week-long performing arts festival; Bookaroo, a children’s literature festival; Raag, an all night classical musical event; and Thirak, a classical dance festival.
The museum galleries were reopened in January this year after being refurbished with concrete flooring and a state-of-the-art lighting system. The refurbishments have been done after consultation with architect Dhaval Mahesha.
Exquisite property
JKK director-general Pooja Sood told The Hindu that the exquisite architectural property had not witnessed any major renovation since its inception in 1993. Ms. Sood is the first curator and art management consultant to be appointed as the JKK chief, going against the earlier practice of appointing a bureaucrat to the post.
Ms. Sood pointed out that some of the major transformations at JKK included an upgraded library with a junior reading room for children, retouching of the mural paintings, and state-of-the-art light and sound systems in the auditoriums.
“Developing globally recognised programmes for the city’s audience and rethinking the JKK's administrative and personnel needs has also been a focus area,” said the director-general.
'Moving images'
The galleries have opened with an exhibition of 'moving images', a first-of-its-kind event in the State. Titled “Tah Satah: A very deep surface”, the exhibition is essentially a conversation between filmmaker Mani Kaul's classic celluloid films from the 1970s and 80s and his digital experiments in the 2000s.
The exhibition also has several video-on-canvas works by internationally renowned artist Ranbir Singh Kaleka. The exhibition's researcher Kanupriya Mathur said the display was an attempt to ask “new questions about the moving image in 21st Century India”, as it comprised over 10 single and multi-channel video installations, a sound installation that includes poetry, music and video projections on canvas.
A new provision for daily walkthroughs for visitors by JKK's curatorial staff, to be introduced shortly, will also help evolve the JKK as a major centre for learning as well as critical discourse.
