Launched in 2020 by Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Art is Life is a festival that celebrates the “interconnectedness of the arts and their significance in our everyday life through stories, performances, artworks and experts”. It is held every December. To mark the launch of MAP’s digital museum, the inaugural online edition in 2020 showcased the museum’s collection in a weeklong series of events such as narrations and performances.

The second instalment in 2021, which was also executed digitally, was themed around music and explored the “power of the museum and music to bring people together”. Entitled SoundFrames, it comprised concerts, lecture demonstrations, panel discussions, workshops and exhibitions that cut across a range of genres from “the classical to the contemporary”. 

The 2022-23 edition of Art Is Life: New Beginnings, offered several exciting highlights, such as an interactive session with MAP’s Founder, Abhishek Poddar, and Director, Kamini Sawhney, a performance of Bharatnatyam dance by Rukmini Vijayakumar, a panel discussion on LN Tallur’s showcase at MAP, and an illustrated lecture on two iconic genres of modern art from 19th and 20th century Bengal by Dr. Tapati Guha Thakurta. Additionally, a thought-provoking panel discussion focused on the publication of one of their inaugural exhibitions, VISIBLE/INVISIBLE: Representation of Women in Art, which included essays, artworks, and curatorial notes on the themes of the exhibition.

The December 2023 edition features exhibitions such as What The Camera Didn’t See by Alexander Gorlizki/Pink City Studio. Artist Alexander Gorlizki and the Pink City Studio, led by master miniature painter Riyaz Uddin, take audiences on a fantastical journey through history, reimagining the boundaries between photography and traditional miniature paintings. There’s a mesmerising musical performance by Alva Kuuto, in collaboration with the Indian Music Experience. Inspired by the idea of how language creates and sustains the identity of a community the band engages the audience through stories and memories of India’s southwestern coastal shores. The festival also features a series of compelling films by Amit Dutta, Sumantra Ghosal, and Naveed Mulki screened over three days of the festival. These films venture into the lives and works of artists within the MAP collection and unlock new perspectives. Breathing fresh life into objects from the collection, these filmmakers take us on a journey of discovery and learning.

Other eminent personalities who have been part of the festival include art historian B. N. Goswamy, lyricist Javed Akhtar, actors Shabana Azmi and Arundhati Nag, bharatanatyam dancer Malavika Sarukkai, singer Kavita Seth, artist Jitish Kallat, composer Ricky Kej, as well as the groups Kabir Cafe and Penn Masala.

This year, Art is Life: Old Threads, New Stories is part of the Unboxing Bangalore Habba, a 11-day celebration from December 1st to 10th, 2023 at different locations across the city!

Check out more multiarts festivals here.