Events of the Week

Ode to Nature 

What: Vadehra Art Gallery is back with live exhibitions. Titled ‘A World Of One’s Own’, the group show features works of artists Chameli Ramachandran, A Ramachandran, Paramjit Singh, Arpita Singh, Benodebehari Mukherjee and Gieve Patel. It appears as travelogues, or excursions into nature, with romantic undertones scoring the choreographies of terrains and the flora that populates them. The viewfinder moves smoothly from roadmap to water body to mountain, to the humble habitat of the flower itself, invoking the potency of a moment of pause. The works attempt to explore a thematic dialogue between physical places and mental spaces, featuring multiple generations of artists.

When: June 19 – July 19 (10 am – 6 pm)

Where: Vadehra Art Gallery, Defence Colony

Looking back

What: With the current pandemic traumatising us, Partition seems an old wound that we need not talk about in Corona times. But what if a 90-year-old Alzheimer’s patient does not remember anything else? Titled Pakistan Aur Alzheimer’s, this popular play is back online. The story unfolds in the form of the protagonist recalling the partition and its side-effects, in a funny and factually incorrect manner, as he suffers from dementia, making the audiences laugh without pause. Played by Saleem Shah, it is in this long journey that Shah’s talent is put to the crucible and he passes the test, neither allowing the audiences to slip into sorrow nor making it so light-hearted that it could be just another satire.

When: July 4 (8:30 pm)

Film festival

What: Pride celebrations have been postponed this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a way of linking and celebrating LGBTQI+ communities everywhere, here’s a film festival titled ‘More Films For Freedom’, which brings three new commissioned short films by British Council and British Film Institute. The films were made by British, Syrian, Palestinian and South African filmmakers.  The three selected projects – Nowhere, The Men who Speak Gayle, Let My Body Speak – showcase a breadth of distinctive filmmaking voices and explores diverse themes including sexuality and conflict, intergenerational gay culture, migration and family ties.

When: July 14