Silk River

Bengal’s Durga at Totally Thames Festival 2018

Bengal’s Durga at Totally Thames Festival 2018

On August 14, 2018, Posted by , With Comments Off on Bengal’s Durga at Totally Thames Festival 2018

Bengal’s Durga at Totally Thames Festival 2018

© West Bengal Government, Department of Tourism

Bengal’s Durga was an exhibition of photographs from the Durga Puja Festival of West Bengal India.

This festival is a grand annual ten-day carnival that takes place every autumn. Over ten million revellers descend on the state of West Bengal for the Durga Puja festivities with thousands of mega idols, hundreds of themed art installations and processions to the River Hooghly.

This exhibition was a rare insight into the outpouring of creativity, artistic innovation and cultural celebration of Bengal’s riverine communities. At this exhibition, we saw a Durga Puja transcended from its religious origins, to offer a broad canvas that binds communities together through artistic expression, incorporating music, theatre, fashion and food.

© West Bengal Government, Department of Tourism

The exhibition was presented by the Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal in collaboration with the British Council, as part of its 70 year anniversary celebrations in India.

The panels were curated by Ali Pretty of Kinetika Design Studio and Kamalika Bose.

This Durga Puja showcase in the UK was approved by the British Council as the legacy of Kinetika’s 2017 project, Silk River, which drew together communities from the River Thames and the River Hooghly, exploring the connections between them. Kinetika has very strong links to West Bengal and is looking forward to continuing the work with craft communities along the river.  Ali Pretty, Kinetika’s Artistic Director said ‘We are so delighted to be a part of this stunning exhibition and very proud that it has come out of our Silk River project. We are excited about the opportunities future collaborations might offer us.’

Dates: Saturday 18 August – Sunday 30 September 2018
Venue: Along the Riverside Walkway, Southbank, London SE1
Entry was free.

For more information visit http://totallythames.org/event/durga-puja

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