Performance artist, Atiku makes India Art Fair debut

After taking his art to Europe, Africa and the Americas, performance artist, Jelili Atiku, is set to make his India debut tomorrow.

Participating in the talks, performances, films and Artists in Residence section of India Art Fair, which holds from tomorrow, January 30, to February 2, 2020 in New Delhi, Atiku will be sharing his work on social, economic, environment and political commentary with the Indian audience for the first time.

Atiku was one of the artists that represented Nigeria at the Venice Biennale of 2017, in Italy, among several of his international events in recent times.

The India Art Fair is described as South Asia’s leading platform to discover art from the region and one of India’s largest commercial art events. The showcase includes, 75 exhibitors, spanning 20 different global cities with 14 in India.

The features include, new artist residencies sector, new live music element with Sweety Kapoor, expanded performance programme with Maya Krishna Rao, Atiku, Piyali Ghosh and Raisa Kabir.

On its website, India Art Fair notes that “Atiku’s works address political concerns for human rights and justice.”

The spotlight is on South Asian textiles with works by Mrinalini Mukherjee at DAG and Monika Correa’s works at Jhaveri Contemporary.

Taking place yearly, India Art Fair, according to the organisers, reflects the country’s fast-developing art scene, as well as offering curated insights into the cultural landscapes of neighbouring states.

The fair’s programme draws together galleries, artists, private foundations, arts charities, artists’ collectives, national institutions, cultural events and festivals. It aims to enable both local and international audiences to engage in innovative ways with the cultural history and development of the South Asian region.

This year, the fair expands on its programme with new artist led workshops and display by Artists in Residence featuring expert-run sessions ranging from drawing and illustration to paper and zine making by artists Gagan Singh and Ghiora Aharoni, Marcel Dzama, Manisha Parekh and Renuka Rajiv, and multi-disciplinary artist Piyali Ghosh following from her recent exhibition at the Venice Biennale.

Offering a public platform for dialogues and discussions, Auditorium Talks, will feature artist presentations, memorial lectures and conversations across the artworld.

Celebrating critical experimentation and the work of artists, curators, critics, collectors and institutions across the globe, highlights from the artist talks include modernist, Nilima Sheikh, Turner prize nominee Bangladeshi-British artist Naeem Mohaiemen, Polish-German sculptural installation artist Alicja Kwade and Magnum photographer Martin Parr.

This year’s memorial lectures will be dedicated to the life and works of modernist Ram Kumar and artist Tushar Joag conducted by experts Kishore Singh and Shireen Gandhy respectively. Other topics will engage discussions on ‘Plans for Future Museums’ with Sophie Makariou and Kamani Sawhney from The Guimet and Museum of Art and Photography, ‘South Asian Textile Art’ with led by Uthra Rajgopal from the Whitworth, a presentation on the upcoming Asia Triennale New York by Boon Hui Tan of Asia Society, amongst others.

In 2020, India Art Fair will also partner with Godrej India Culture Lab to deliver a Film Programme on the theme Queering.