YFLO Art Festival

The Young FICCI Ladies Organization, Kolkata, organized a 3-day rt extravaganza ‘ A Weekend of Art in Bengal’ starting 17th December ’09. The event beheld the star studded presence of artists like- Dipali Bhattacharya, Jayashree Chakravarty, Manjari Chakravarty, Arindam Chatterjee, Jogen Chowdhury, Sunil Das, Adip Dutta, Chhatrapati Dutta, Suhas Roy, Tanmay Samanta, Shahabuddin, and Partha Shaw.

The eminent artists present at the occasion portrayed their expertise on canvas. The artists’ contributions will be auctioned in near future and the proceedings will be donated for a noble cause of ’empowerment of a girl child’. Christie’s, the largest auction house in the world, came to Kolkata for the first time to support this noble cause and Miss Sonal Singh, Christie’s India art specialist, imparted knowledge on ‘Art appreciation and Insight’. Mr Anirudh Chari from Ganges Art Gallery spoke on treating art as an investment vehicle.

The second day was devoted to an excursion to the cultural capital of Bengal, Shantiniketan. The members enjoyed walking through the famous University, Kala Bhavan, meeting some of the famous artists in person and speaking with senior students about their work, using different mediums and styles. This was followed by a sumptuous traditional Bengali lunch. Next, members viewed the Tagore ,museum but were much more fascinated by Tagore’s ancestral home, replete with designer bathtubs et al. The last stop was the weavers market to purchase local handicrafts.

The final day was a relaxed brunch at Aqua, the al fresco restaurant at the Park Hotel. Guests enthusiastically participated in the mock auction conducted by Ms. Maneka Kumari, India representative of Christies India. Members also benefited by talks by Religare on art funds and investment in art. All in all, members left the event a little more confident about their knowledge of Bengal art and a lot more enthusiastic about attending the next YFLO event!