India Art Festival begins in Mumbai

Mumbai: India Art Festival`s second edition began here Wednesday, exhibiting over 3,000 works by over 500 artists from 50 cities. The artworks have been selected from 40 galleries in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. The festival also represents the work of 310 individual artists from Mumbai, Delhi, Manipur and Assam. Also inaugurated at the exhibition was an installation made fully of American diamonds by artists Prakash Bal Joshi and Amisha Mehta. The installation celebrates the recent discovery of Higgs Boson, known as the `God Particle`. "We have depicted a subconscious by use of diamonds. We used diamonds as they are not only most sought after but are also unbreakable sparkling material, holding the key to the secrets of the universe," Joshi told IANS. The festival includes a master`s section with works of M.F. Husain and F.N. D`souza. A sculpture park has been set up that will hosts works of Chandrakant Ganacharya and Sukant Panigrahy apart from Joshi and Mehta. Also on offer is a two-day series of free panel discussions, convened by cultural theorist and curator Ranjit Hoskote Thursday and Friday. The discussions will cover topics such as studio practices and growth of museums. Panellists will include artists Atul Dodiya, Baiju Parthan and Sudhir Patwardhan and museum directors Sabyasachi Mukherji, Tasneem Mehta and Rajeev Lochan. IANS