NEW DELHI: The Lodhi festival, a first-of-its-kind street festival, is aiming to highlight the significance of art in shaping and reflecting India's cultural identity through live murals, music, dance performances, and curated walks.
Organised by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), with St+art India Foundation, the two-day festival opened on Saturday on the streets of Delhi's Lodhi Art District.
Planned as part of the celebration of India's G20 presidency, the Lodhi Festival is showcasing murals by Paolo Delfin of Mexico and Andha Ras from Malaysia, a shadow installation by Delhi-based graffiti artist Daku, and a series of street art workshops.
"We are thrilled to bring the Lodhi festival celebrating the spirit of New Delhi during India's historic presidency of G20. While we have a dedicated outreach programme within the museum, this initiative highlights our efforts to take art outside of the museum space. To make it accessible and to offer the public another innovative way to engage with and celebrate India's vibrant cultural and artistic heritage," Kiran Nadar, chairperson, KNMA said.
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The festival features a line-up of performers and musicians from all over India, showcasing a variety of styles and traditions, including Lavani from Maharashtra, and musician Karsh Kale ft.Junk percussion band 'Dharavi Reloaded', acrobat group Omaggio from Goa, and a visually and musically stunning performance by the 'Manganiyar Seduction' from Rajasthan.
"Eight years in the making, the Lodhi Art District is St+art's first art district, out of six ongoing ones across the country. We are pleased to be activating it once again, in collaboration with the KNMA and G20. Since 2014, with the support of Asian Paints, the foundation has enabled and cultivated a vision for democratised public spaces through interdisciplinary art interventions that are rooted in the social context," the St+Art India Foundation team said in a statement.
"Similarly, at the Lodhi Art Festival, through murals, workshops, and performances, we hope to continue to engage the public imagination by connecting communities and providing a platform for diverse artists and cultural exchange," the statement added.
The free-to-attend festival will come to an end on March 19.
