New G20 park in Delhi features sculptures of member states’ national animals

A group of artists from the Lalit Kala Akademi started making the sculptures at Garhi village in April, and the installations were ready by July.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will inaugurate the G20 Park in Chanakyapuri on Monday, where 19 sculptures of the national birds and animals of the G20 member nations will be displayed, officials said on Sunday.

The G20 comprises of the European Union and 19 countries—Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, United Kingdom, and United States. (ANI)

The park, curated on the waste-to-art theme in which metal scrap is used to make sculptures, is among a number of parks and road stretches which have been revamped for the G20 Summit on September 9-10. According to an NDMC official, a group of artists from the Lalit Kala Akademi started making the sculptures at Garhi village in April, and the installations were ready by July. Since July, landscaping work was going on at the park and the sculptures were being placed.

“The park will be inaugurated on Monday. The sculptures have been specially curated by artists to symbolise sustainability through representations from each of the G20 nations,” the NDMC official said.

In January, the council proposed to develop a G20 park in New Delhi to symbolise ‘togetherness on the path of development’. Developed on the theme of “One Earth, One Family, One Future” (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam), the park is located at Kautilya Marg.

“The pieces for the G20 park have been conceptualised, designed and curated by a team of renowned artists who have earlier worked on waste-to-art projects. Each sculpture has been handcrafted and is a testimony to the fact that waste can be turned into wonderful objects,” said V Nagdas, chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi.

Additionally, about 50 students from universities across NCR also volunteered to help in making the sculptures, the official said. An information plate has been installed besides each sculpture to provide information about the bird or the animal and the country to which it belongs, as well as the artist who worked on it. The raw material was sourced from NDMC warehouses. Artists have used iron bars, automobile parts, metal plates, wire mesh and other junk. Officials said selfie points have also been created.

The birds and animals featured at the park include Indian peacock, American bison, Brazilian jaguar, red-crowned crane from China, Saudi Arabian camel, Korean magpie, Australian emu, Canadian gray jay, Russian brown bear and Mexican golden eagle. The G20 comprises of the European Union and 19 countries.