THE APPA ART FESTIVAL
Kamshet Town, Pune, 9th – 13th March, 2017
In its second edition, the AKN Ramachandran foundation is proud to present Appa Art Festival. An interactive 5 days of brainstorm, workshops, exhibitions, sounds, lights and lots of action for all involved. This unique collaboration between 70 British and Indian artists creates a one of a kind sensory experience featuring 7 workshops and 7 exhibitions.
The Art Festival sees art intermingling with nature as its set in the picturesque Maharashtra Hill Station Kamshet, home of the late artist AKN Ramachandran. Each artist has been given claim to a year between 1947 and 2017 to use as inspiration for their work during the festival, encapsulating the given era in their own exclusive style. This will culminate in a visual timeline from the year of India’s independence to the present day.
As the art festival features a huge variety of artists using myriad art forms including, graffiti, sculpture, painting, poetry, sound, photography and more; the project aims to create a connecting thread between all arts created at Appa. As well as the time line collaboration, the festival also sees the AAF 2016 exhibition, featuring works from the 50 artists who participated in the previous edition of the festival.
This year Appa Art is exhibiting a global diaspora of talent including Mandi Kulkarni’s ‘Caught between Dreaming and Waking Up’ as she explores the new dreamlike phenomenon of Glitch Art and ‘City by Colour’ a photographic exploration of Mumbai. There is a retrospective exhibition of last year’s art fair and other contemporary sights.
Also featured is artist Marlon Rodrigues, an ad film director, digital artist, and psychedelic painter. His portfolio includes brands like Lux, HDFC, Axe, Gitanjali Jewels, Coca-Cola, and more. It also extends to include his artistry in painting in a kaleidoscope of colours and effects, designed especially for Psytrance festivals, CD covers, and flyers.
Other special features of Appa Art include a range of children’s activities and Behavioural Change Workshop presented by Anand Damini concerning the influence of design on human behaviour. Visitors can get involved with Sachin Pillai’s Video Feedback Workshop, as he installs at the festival, introducing participants into the theory behind the infinite nature of feedback. Participants can experience, explore, manipulate and get used to the idea of piloting feedback. There are healing yoga workshops and awareness activities to reconnect with the mind and body, and spoken word/rap workshops which aim to mentor young people while liberating their lyrical soul. Play with body movement in the Mime Workshop and conduct experiments with audio art in the Sound Making Workshop.
There will be a variety of performances from artists such as Bobby Friction, Logic, Chhabb, Bransidh Project, Cosmic Attic, Reels and many more, bridging a huge range of genres from pop, rap, experimental, indie and neo-folk.
The festival will see sculpture, installation works and performances transforming and enchanting the gorgeous natural landscape of Kamshet. This is an opportunity to be truly immersed in art while exploring the natural beauty of this hidden Maharashtra Hill Station.
Day one sees the commencement of the timeline collaboration between all 70 artists, where each will flex their artistic muscles and warm up for a week of ingenuity. Days 2, 3 and 4 all hold a variety of events from interactive participation workshops, things children can get involved in, chill out spaces where you can sit back and be at one with nature, and heavy beats to move your body to. And on the final day (the 13th of March – Holi!) Appa Art Fair goes out with a colorful Holi bang with its very own Holi Procession.
While in Kamshet, why not explore the luscious, green Hill Station a little more? The hills in and around Kamshet are dotted with ancient cave temples and medieval fortresses. It’s also home to world class paragliding facilities, so if you’re brave enough you can fly like a bird over the Pawna Lake and luscious countryside Of Kamshet.
(Kamshet – Lakeside paradise. Photo credit – Appa Art Festival)
How to Reach there:
Travel to Kamshet is possible from all areas of India, and further afield!
You can travel to Kamshet via either Mumbai or Pune. From Mumbai local trains are available from Dadar TT or CST to Lonavala, and then a connecting local train will take you from Lonavala to Kamshet station. This whole trip takes around 3 hours in total
Bus travel is also possible from Mumbai to the Festival location. You can take the state transport bus from Dadar TT or a Volvo bus, then request to get off at the centre and take a jeep or rickshaw to Kamshet.
From Pune both busses and trains are available directly to Kamshet town and take around 2 hours.
The folks at Appa Art Festival have compiled this comprehensive travel guide http://www.appaartfest.com/plan-your-trip/travel/ so we recommend you take a look there also.
