Unknown village-turned-art hub now earns recognition in Kolkata fests

Tribal village in West Bengal transforms into art hub, showcasing local talent in Kolkata exhibitions, empowering girls and women.

A tribal village in West Bengal that was nondescript until a few years ago, today finds art connecting it to the outside world, with locally-trained artists now being invited to display their talent in shows held in Kolkata.

As the year 2024 bowed out, it gave two occasions to the residents of Lalbazar — picturesque hamlet of not even 100 people, located 4 km from the town of Jhargram — to showcase their works to a wide audience, first at the Indian Museum and second at the Behala Art Fest.

“We were surprised by the massive installations, by seeing so many artists at work, and by their appreciation of our work,” said Sumi Kisku, a young women artist, about her participation in the Behala Art Fest, a five-year-old event that seeks to bring art out of hallowed galleries into the streets by displaying works on walls in shops and rickshaw stands and parking lots. Another participant, Chandana Mahato, who is just nine, said: “It was amazing to see the big buildings, the big cars, the big roads.” Both are immensely pleased that they were given paint and brush.

“There were seven artists from Khwaabgaon (or Dream Village, the sobriquet earned by Lalbazar), all of them girls and young women. They got two walls to paint on — their work was appreciated by the organisers, by fellow artists, including those from abroad, and by visitors. This is a huge encouragement for them and the energy they have carried back will help them in the coming days,” said their mentor Mrinal Mandal, the artist who transformed Lalbazar from an unknown village into an art hub.

At the Indian Museum, the participation of Khwaabgaon was part of an event titled From Fields to Folk: A Journey through Rural Heritage, where dokra works and wooden handicraft from the village was put on display.

It was in 2018 that Mr. Mandal, a graduate of the Government Arts College in Kolkata, chanced upon Lalbazar while he was looking around for traditional art, and he was so fascinated by the raw beauty of the village that he made it its second home and with the help of Chalchitra Academy, an artists’ initiative in Kolkata, began conducting art classes for its people with the help of experts from the region.

Today they are trained in kutum-katum (handicraft made from twigs and roots), dokra, kantha stitching, pottery and wall painting; and many visitors to Jhargram also travel to Lalbazar to buy local art, something that supplements the income of the villagers. Income apart, art now enhances the look of every single wall in the settlement.