DAG’s festival to map Delhi’s living memory from September 6 to 21

The festival will offer an array of events – from walks and exhibitions to vinyl listening sessions, and even a visit to an art patron’s house and archive

In 1903, two week festivities were organised by the then viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, to celebrate the succession of King Edward II and Queen Alexandra as emperor and empress of India – including an exhibition that highlighted the “threatened” indigenous art of India, held at Qudsia Bagh.

The event is free to attend. People can register at DAG’s site, on a first come, first served basis.

Fine muslin, silk and brocades filled the rooms of a temporary structure built there, along with wood carvings, pottery and enamel work. “It was also open to the public, so it wasn’t just the elite who were able to view it,” said historian Swapna Liddle, who will, on September 6 lead a walk through Qudsia Bagh that once hosted the iconic “Indian Art Exhibition” in 1903, as a part of art gallery DAG’s maiden “The City as a Museum” art and heritage festival.

“The idea is to bring the museum out of the museum and put it in a public space,” said Liddle, whose curated exhibition titled Sair-e-Delhi: Chronicles of Change” will be unveiled at Bikaner House on September 7, and which showcases historical spaces in the city through paintings, prints, archival photographs, maps, and plans.

The festival will be held from September 6-21 and offers an array of events – from walks and exhibitions to vinyl listening sessions, and even a visit to an art patron’s house and archive. It will be held across the city too, from the lanes of Shadipur to corridors of the ITC Maurya, from Triveni Kala Sangam to the Daryaganj Sunday book bazaar. “As audiences traverse through the city through new routes, The City as a Museum becomes a way to reimagine the city as a cultural map, weaving together interconnected sites and layered histories, viewed through diverse perspectives,” said a press note by DAG.

On September 7, city chroniclers Sohail Hashmi and Kanupriya Dhingra will host a walk through Delhi’s beloved Sunday book market in Daryaganj. A city staple, the book market often throws up gems – dog-eared second hand books with notes scribbled, long lost letters, and even LPs. Hashmi told HT, “People are constantly shifting out of Delhi, and people are constantly shifting into Delhi. Whenever someone moves out, they leave things behind, which eventually find their way to Daryaganj, and get picked up by someone else. I still have one of the books that I brought from the market during my college days -- The history of Shah Alam -- which I will show during the walk.I also still have a photobook which I brought at the market -- a copy I found after the first one we had at home was eaten by ants -- and will bring that too if I am able to find it.”

While this is the first time the event comes to Delhi, the festival became an annual feature in Kolkata’s calendar 2021 onward, and Mumbai was added to the roster last year.

Studio Safdar in Shadipur will host a preview of their annual Shadipur theatre festival on September 10 with a special focus on engaging children with theatre on September 10. Its founder Sudhanva Deshpande said, “The festival showcases plays in Shadipur for children, because it’s important for children to have the experience of watching something in a group, in community. They won’t just watch a play, they will also stage one.”

At least three events focus on Mandi House – Delhi’s cultural hub, past and present – known best for a range of plays staged in the lanes that house the National School of Drama (NSD), LTG Auditorium, and Kamani auditorium, among others. So, noted theatre director and NSD alumnus Amitesh Grover has curated an audio walk, a performance by music band Chaar Yaar, and a discussion on the role of Mandi House in shaping the identity of Delhi.

“The audio walk will be done with wireless headphones, through which attendees can listen to archival sounds, anecdotes, and speeches related to the area or recorded here. I am looking at my curation as an opportunity to bring together the different histories of artists in Mandi House, and have named it ‘The Fifth Circle’ because for me, after the media, places which allow for open cultural discussion, especially Mandi House, seem like a fifth pillar of democracy… One of the things the walk looks at is the names of the roads in the area, especially near the roundabout. You have Safdar Hashmi Marg, Firoz Shah Marg, Sikandra Road, Copernicus Marg. It’s a circle that brings together the history of various kinds of people; emperors and politicians, but also artists, poets, singers, and musicians, all in dialogue with each other,” said Grover.

Other exhibitions in the festival include a walk-through of the ITC Maurya hotel’s WelcomArt collection – marking the hundredth year for artist Krishen Khanna, whose mural “The Great Procession” is housed in the hotel; a visit to art collector Priya Paul’s house and art archive; an exploration of the pages of “The Illustrated Weekly of India” magazine with filmmaker Sabeena Gaidhoke at Janpath; and a pop-up exhibition at Gardhi studio, on the history of Delhi’s post-independence artists’ colonies. The event ends with a vinyl-listening session of sounds – lost and found in Delhi – at the DAG studio.

The event is free to attend. People can register at DAG’s site, on a first come, first served basis.