Creativity takes courage and one man with courage makes a majority!

WHY WE ARE CALLING FOR ALL OF YOU TO SUPPORT THIS PROJECT (AND KICKSTARTING IT WITH 50K FROM OUR OWN FUNDS!)

Here's how you too can contribute- ket.to/inthewoods

We started Zostel Bir last year and that's when we came across the 4tables Project. Located in Gunehar, just a few kilometres from Zostel Bir, 4 Tables Project is run by Frank Schlichtmann, who is the host of the triennial art event ShopArt ArtShop, carrying forward a colourful revolution started in 2013. Such a synergistic meeting of urban and rural population that widens the horizon and helps gain respect of one another, despite differing perceptions, can only be made possible through such “Bridges of Art”. So inspired are we with this project that we, in association with 4tables Project, are coming up with a few art and community based activities so that all travellers can be a part of it and be inspired from the several art installations spread throughout Gunehar.

A look into Frank's Art Gallery

What we saw first hand:

-- Local kids and youth getting along with filmmakers, installation artists, painters, pop artists, and in that very process, gaining confidence.

-- Young girls confidently flaunting modernized ethnic dresses onstage and breaking taboos.

-- Hesitant guardians understanding the idea and describing it to fellow villagers in their own ways.

- Parents applauding the work of their children who just carved a niche for themselves by participation.

- Grandparents encouraging grandchildren and preparing the future leaders/ambassadors of their community.

- Subtle interactions between the visitors and the villagers during the month-long art experiment.

- Pseudo boundaries of class, caste, and gender getting dissolved at the ShopArt Festival without hurting the fabric of the village.

Art has the potential to do so much if it is not disguised as Corporate Social Responsibility because it can stimulate transformative change at a very little cost. While schools, governments, and societies fail with their big structures, such art festivals/events provide conducive forums for everyone to adapt, improvise and overcome the differences: through arts.

We are, now that there is a possibility, gladly announcing our association with Frank and the 4Tables Project’s upcoming art event 'IN THE WOODS'.

About ‘In The Woods’:

True to our general objective of presenting promising faces of the contemporary Indian emerging art scene in unusual, thought-provoking, and accessible ways, we have chosen a location for this exhibition an open stretch of forest just above the village. Come summer, this forest will turn into an open-air art gallery around a comprehensible retrospective presentation of the works of the painter and collagist, Gaurvi Sharma, and the Ceramic artist, Mudita Bhandari and it will be accompanied by open air installations by Frank Schichtmann.

The exhibition will be held in the village of Gunehar from June 3rd to June 11th.

One of the several displays of art in Gunehar

About the artists:

Gaurvi Sharma-

Chandigarh based Gaurvi Sharma is an exciting new face in the Indian art scene with an impressive body of work. A recent recipient of the Punjab Kala Bhavan Award as well as participant in the India Art Fair, her playful, whimsical and very personal works have already won her many fans and many buyers.

Gaurvi, when enquired on her participation in ‘In The Woods’, said, “ I am anxious yet excited about displaying my works in such an unusual setting. It will be interesting to see how the audience reacts to this. It will definitely invite more people who otherwise feel uncomfortable or hesitant to enter the formal setting of a gallery.

The mesmerising art of Gaurvi

Mudita Bhandari-

Indore based Mudita Bhandari is a well-established name in the Indian ceramic scene. Termed as “An artist you need to know” by Archeological Digest and “One who redefines the limits of the art form” by Vogue, she has taken part in numerous national and international art exhibitions, ShopArt ArtShop’s second edition amongst them.

Mudita, when asked to comment on her participation in ‘In The Woods’, said, “The fact that it’s out in the open… the works are not special object any more or the sole centre of attention, but rather become part of the natural world- there are no boundaries, the works themselves define the exhibition space.”

Mudita's unique Ceramic artwork

We are excited for this showcase of art in the middle of the forest. If you are too, make your share here- 'In the Woods'.