‘Everything comes to life through art’ Justa Resorts.
Justa resorts is a chain of hotels and resorts founded by Mr. Ashish Vohra, where Indian hospitality meets international standards. Being believers in individualized service, the hotels offer fewer than 50 rooms at all of their locations, resulting in an intimate experience for guests. Justa resorts has one crucial difference to other hoteliers presently in the market; it has centered the visitor experience around art and aesthetics in a unique way. Mr Vohra’s interest came about in a rather accidentally, when in 2007 he began to purchase artwork for a hotel which he had opened in Delhi. Initially as a seemingly cost effective option they went to China to source visual works for the hotel, which many hoteliers do. This seemed like a good idea until an artist friend of Mr Vohra came to visit the hotel and straightaway commented on how awful the works on the wall were, commenting that they were third rate replicas which are made in their thousands and sold. His outlook changed when he visited different areas such as Calcutta and got a taste of the wealth of quality original Indian art being produced currently. Mr Vohra subsequently visited many of these artists homes, got to know them and even visited the Young Artists Awards. He realized that India’s attitude towards art is completely unique, and at that time vowed to never again buy a piece of art work unless it was an original signed copy, even if buying a piece of graphic design. At this point he realized that he could base the hotels around art. Commercially this was an investment as well as aesthetically, because an emerging artist whom they brought work from could be a master in decades to come. It was not just creativity which brought the project about, but smart investment in adding value to the hotels and turning them into living art spaces.
Lake Naharghar Palace, Chittorghar.
As part of an initiative to generate art work for the hotel and to nourish the Indian art scene, Ashish Vohra has started an art residency called ‘Chitrashaala’ which is in it’s third year running, at the Lake Naharghar Justa hotel resort in the beautiful locality of Chittorghar.Chitrshaala began three years ago with a relatively small group of 10 artists at the Turtle Bay Justa resort in Karnataka, and it was at this small residency that the idea of expanding the residency came about. Three years on and Chitrashaala 2017 has involved artists from a variety of different countries including Egypt, Russia, Thailand, Syria, Lebanon and of course Indian artists including those from the local area.
The residency takes place over one week at the Lake Naharghar Palace resort, and artists are given free reign of the building for that week, setting up temporary work stations in the halls of the resort which brings another world of vibrancy to the building. The residency is not only beneficial for the hotel but it is of enormous benefit to the artists involved. Another central idea behind this residency project is that the Lake Nahaghar location itself provides the perfect environment for creativity to blossom. The seclusion of the area provides an opportunity for the artists to create work free from usual daily distractions, and gives space for creative thought process to grow. Artists have responded to the environment in a variety of unique and interesting ways, some covertly and some overtly.
Phad Painting – Mukesh Sharma.
Ashish Vohra teamed up with curator Anirudh Chari and artist Avijit Mukherjee to organize this event and source the artists, who are brought together based on the quality and themes of their works. Artists are generally selected based on how well they will gel together in terms of interpersonal relationships and quality of the works. It’s both the segregation and lack thereof which makes this location so perfect for the residency, as well as being in the middle of a lake surrounded by natural beauty, one an also visit nearby areas such as Bundi and Chittorghar which are world renowned historical sites, even the direct local area provides plenty of visual stimulation – there is certainly no shortage of inspiration here.
Vassan Sitthiket
The organizing trio make an effort to reach out to the local community, recognizing the wealth of talent in the local are and the need to nourish and encourage those engaged in the arts. Two artists from the local area were present this time; Mukesh Sharma who specializes in Rajasthani traditional painting as well as contemporary, and young conceptual painter Shradda Solanki. The event is also open to for the public to come and view the works being created and there is an open exhibition at the end of the residency.
The next Chitrashaala residency will take place in another Justa resort in Udaipur, where the improved connectivity of the location should draw in more members of the public.
Hopes for the future of Chitrashaala, other than it’s vibrant continuation, are to plan an exhibition in Delhi in the near future, so that the artists in involved in Chitrashaala can gain more exposure.
The organizers aim to keep this residency going each year, and further nurture the growing community which is Chitrashaala.
Chitrashaala 2017
