Regulars at Hauz Khas Village may have noticed a giant green creature sprawled across the entire wall of the building neighbouring Naivedyam. Then there’s the giant bull-bear-monkey thing overlooking the parking lot. But go deeper into the Village and you’ll find much more. And Hauz Khas Village isn’t the only one.
A portrait of actress Nadira covers an entire wall of a building in Shahpur Jat.
In another neighbouring urban village, the hip hub of Shahpur Jat, wall after wall of homes, galleries, restaurants, and streets are adorned with stunning street art. Most of them were done as part of the St-ART Festival held last year, which brought together some of the best Indian and international street artists.
“The urban village of Shahpur Jat provides a lot of contrast to the rest of Delhi,” says Hanif Kureshi, the man behind the festival and a well-known street artist himself. “Doing street art in this location brought art to a different set of audience, who may not have interacted with art at all before. We literally transformed a small village into a walking art gallery.”
“The urban village of Shahpur Jat provides a lot of contrast to the rest of Delhi,” says Hanif Kureshi, the man behind the festival and a well-known street artist himself. “Doing street art in this location brought art to a different set of audience, who may not have interacted with art at all before. We literally transformed a small village into a walking art gallery.”
Another place that has been transformed is the largest prison complex in South Asia – Tihar Jail. Its boundary wall features the longest mural in India: 14 local signboard painters collaborated with 13 Indian and three international street artists to paint 968 metres of the wall with verses of a poem called
Chardiwari
, written by an inmate of the jail.
Part of the 968m long mural at Tihar Jail.
The Delhi street art scene is buzzing; whether it is legal projects like those done under the St ART Festival or illegal graffiti that Daku, Pyaaj, Bond and so many other graffiti writers leave across walls in the city as a sign of creativity and freedom of expression.
We recommend taking a walk through Shahpur Jat, Hauz Khas Village, Khirkee, Sheikh Sarai or around the Tihar Jail complex to feast your eyes on some of the most stunning street art in Delhi.
From HT Brunch, January 11, 2015
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