Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur to get a sculpture park

The prestigious Madhavendra Palace at Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur is ready to throw open its regal doors to all the art connoisseurs all over the world for a major art event to be held in December this year.


The project is a collaborative effort of the Government of Rajasthan and Saath Saath Arts, a non-profit NGO, which aims to exhibit the artworks of 14 Indian and six international artists, handpicked by the famous artist and gallery director Peter Nagy.
Nagy’s endeavour is directed to delve into his love for art, architecture and décor into a beautiful fusion of old-world and modern art via this project. “For most of my career as a gallerist and curator, I have been trying to break away from the white-box exhibition space. Jaipur is one of the first places where tourists go. People travel for contemporary as well as traditional culture and this initiative will help to promote that further,” says Nagy.
This association is the first enterprise ever by the government to join hands with a host of corporate sponsors and private parties to give the contemporary makeover to heritage properties.


“There will be several outreach and education programmes with fashion shows and music that will unfold in later part of the project. It will help the locals as well as young artists to learn about contemporary arts. Artists from across the world want to come to India and display their works. For me, culture is an engine of economy for any country and India must tap on it,” states Nagy.

Planning such a large-scale event at a heritage site has its own probable disadvantages. However, the organisers started doing their homework more than half a year ago, which involved thoroughly studying the palace, to make sure no harm befalls the imperial property.
“The palace is more like a maze with several spots here and there. Although we wanted to bring the palace to life through art, a lot of decisions to display artworks were taken according to the availability of the space,” he says.


The line up of artsy pieces at the exhibition, which kick-starts from December 10, 2017 for the public, boasts of names like Jitish Kallat’s iconic artwork Annexation (2009), and Chromatophobia (2012) handcrafted in granite with wooden logs, coins and the works by sculptor L. N Tallur of Kannada origin.

One of the highlights of the exhibition will be the “seven sculptures” made in Hydrocal plaster. The gallery will also showcase acrylic paint skins by American artist Arlene Schechet and a popular piece of art created by French-born American artist Arman, Fried Chicken (1984).
Vasundhara Raje, chief minister of Rajasthan, is cheerfully looking ahead to this rare conclave of artists and artisans from all over the globe. “I believe art in many forms embraces and connects people from across continents and am therefore delighted that the sculpture park at the Nahargarh fort will be the first permanent international art space in Rajasthan drawing people from far-flung parts of our state and the Indian sub-continent as well as from across the world, bringing them together to share and celebrate diverse international creative expressions,” says Raje.