What are the colours sported by autorickshaws in Puducherry? Black and yellow, one might say. Come December, expect a riot of colour as 100 of these three-wheelers are set to turn from ordinary vehicles to moving pieces of art.
Having been shunted out of their venue at the Old Distillery, organisers of Pondy ART have lent a new meaning to their theme, ‘Getting Art Out There’ with the announcement of their new photography exhibition, ‘Moving Image.’
The exhibition scheduled from December 13 onwards will have 100 autorickshaws lined up on the Beach Road from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. It will then disperse and ride the streets of Puducherry for three weeks, taking art along wherever they go.
“The Pondy ART team is extremely excited about ‘Getting Art Out There’ even further with this renegade exhibition. The autos have the potential of carrying incredible examples of photography to the furthest corners of Puducherry’s almost 300 sq km and touching so many of its more than 1 million inhabitants right in their own neighbourhood. We hope that the autos will arouse the curiosity of our city’s residents to find out more about photography but also more about their country,” said Kasha Vande, creative director, Pondy ART.
Pondy ART organisers will also be thanking the Puducherry police for their support for previous exhibitions through stickers on each autorickshaw, said Ms. Vande.
Previous Pondy ART exhibitions have covered challenges facing India, religious rituals, environmental issues, regions and their tribal communities in as many as 14 exhibitions, many of them at the Old Distillery.
The exhibitions, while driving public art, have featured emerging and internationally recognised photographers.
For the Moving Image exhibition, Pondy ART is inviting photographers everywhere to submit five of their most compelling images of India that ‘inspire, touch, motivate and affect the viewer in a dynamic way,’ with a donation.
Further details on submission are available at their website, www.pondyart.org
The Hindu is the print media partner for the event.
Scouting for new venuesMeanwhile, the organisers are also scouting other accessible venues for their future exhibitions, including their big event, Pondy Photo 2015 festival.
Given the unique setting that the Old Distillery provided, organisers want to make sure the festival meets the public’s expectations of quality, uniqueness of setting and educational value, they said.
