Delhiites celebrate Swiss-Indian bond with aplomb at India Art Fair 2018

A girl covered in white balloons sat near the entrance of the

Swiss Embassy

. As the ambassador of

Switzerland

,

Andreas Baum

, greeted the guests, the first thing they noticed was her and many thought it was a mannequin till she started moving to the music playing in the background. The girl was a part of an installation created by Swiss artist

Katja Loher

and just like her, there were two other dancers who were part of Loher’s artwork. Loher, along with two other artists, Satish Gupta and Sumakshi Singh, created an experiential art piece – a combination of video and still installations – as part of the

Swiss-Indian Art Collective

. The art installations were unveiled to guests at the party hosted by Baum at the embassy.

Katja Loher

To introduce the artists’ collaborative work to guests, a curated walk was conducted by artists and the three dancers led the guests to the installations. "These three are contemporary dancers from Delhi. As I am presenting my work in India for the first time, I had to find these dancers and explain to them the concept of the artwork," said Loher.

Satish Gupta

The ambassador told guests that the art showcase was one the first programmes under the Swiss-Indian Art Collective. "This year is very special for Swiss-Indian relations as we commemorate 70 years of the friendship treaty between India and Switzerland. And so we are launching the first Swiss-Indian Art collective on the occasion of the

India Art Fair 2018

. With special projects and programmes our intention is to connect creative Swiss and Indian minds. Tonight, we feature the artwork of a Swiss artist who spent last month in Kolkata to choreograph her new Mandala series in collaboration with local dancers. She has also worked with artist Satish Gupta and Sumakshi Sinha and they have created magic together," said the ambassador.

Andreas Baum, ambassador, Switzerland

Apart from the installations, the Swiss Embassy in Delhi featuring in some Hindi movies like Silsila and The Burning Train was also discussed. "There were three movies that were shot at the Swiss Embassy and all were popular films," an official from the embassy told us.

Riccarda Chanda