BENGALURU: Shoeb Dastagir, a 34-year-old who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, is preparing to showcase his works at Art Bengaluru, an art and craft festival by Sublime Art Gallery, Vittal Mallya Road. “I’m excited to feature my works on a bigger platform. My works will be oil paintings based on fantasy and wild beauty themes,” he said. Like Dastagir, many more artists are participating in the ninth edition of Art Bengaluru, which aims to raise awareness on different forms of art, like paintings, music, installations and sculptures.
This time, the festival will be a month-long event and will include workshops, talks and film screenings. Some of the artists who will be in attendance are Daan Oude Elferink (The Netherlands), Jordan Sitzer (USA), RM Palaniappan, Venugopala H S and Haribaabu Naatesan. Professional and emerging artists will come together to share their views.
Another highlight will be new media artist and human computer interaction researcher Harshit Agrawal’s artificial intelligence-made art. “This is second time I’m exhibiting my works in Bengaluru. I was a part of India’s first AI art show at Nature Morte Gallery in New Delhi and have participated in exhibitions in Korea, Brazil, USA, Austria and Germany,” said the artist,who will be exhibiting interactive videos, sculptures and paintings.
Harsh Nowlakha, who runs a glassblowing studio, Glasshouse Bangalore, with Jordan Sitzer, thinks such festivals bring artists closer to the audience. “In spite of just focusing on commercial aspects of the art work, we need to create awareness among people about the field,” he added.
Art Bengaluru will be held from November 2 to November 30, 11am to 8pm (Monday to Saturday), at Sublime Art Gallery.