Chief Guests: Satya Mohan Joshi, and Shashi Shah

Speakers: Sangeeta Thapa, Sujan Chitrakar, Nayantara Kakshapati, Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha, Saurganga Dashrandhari

Certificate distribution to volunteers and supporters.

6pm: Sattya Screening

Venue: Naag Bahal

Guided Tours upon request.
Call 9721383294 for reservations.

NOTE: All events subject to change, please visit the site for up to date information

Venue: Naag Bahal

Guided Tours upon request. Call 9721383294 for reservations

NOTE: All events subject to change, please visit the website for up to date information

Venue: Metropark

Guided Tours in Lazimpat for Schools. Call 9721383294 for reservations

NOTE: All events subject to change, please visit the website for up to date information

Venue: Metropark

Guided Tours in Patan for Schools. Call 9721383294 for reservations.

NOTE: All events subject to change, please visit the website for up to date information

Open to all, RSVP 9849519933
Metropark/NIB/British Council

Guided Tours in Patan for Schools. Call 9721383294 for reservations

NOTE: All events subject to change, please visit the website for up to date information

Nevitrade Saturday Shuttle Service

1 pm: Lazimpat
2 pm: Babarmahal
3 pm: Patan

Call 9721383294 for reservations.

NOTE: All events subject to change, please visit the website for up to date information

Geeti Sen, “River Sacred and Polluted”
-­‐
Madan Chitrakar “Water and Cosmology”
-­‐
Prashant Singh, Himalayan Climate Initiative  Other guest speakers.

 Venue: Metropark

6pm: Sattya Screening

Venue: Naag Bahal

Guided Tours in Babarmahal for Schools. Call 9721383294 for reservations.

NOTE: All events subject to change, please visit the website for up to date information

Venue: Naag Bahal

Guided Tours in Patan for Schools. Call 9721383294 for reservations

NOTE: All events subject to change, please visit the website for up to date information

Venue: Bindu, A Space for Artists, Kupondol, Limited Seating.
RSVP 9849519933.

11-­‐5pm: Witnessing and Assisting Making of Prints Made

 Specially for KIAF 2012 at Bindu

NOTE: All events subject to change, please visit the website for up to date information

Guided Tours in Lazimpat for Schools. Call 9721383294 for reservations.

NOTE: All events subject to change, please visit the website for up to date information

Venue: Metropark

KIAF will have a stall in KIMFF from December 7th to December 11th. For more information go to www.kimff.org

Guided Tours in Babarmahal for Schools.Call 9721383294 for reservations.

Nevitrade Saturday Shuttle Service

Route 1:  It will start from Patan Museum where we have artworks from seven artists. Then there will be a stop  Nepal Art Council which has artworks from twenty four artists. Finally route will pause at the Siddhartha Art Gallery situated in the magnificent Baber Mahal Revisited complex, showcasing works of six artists, and back to Patan Museum.

Route 2:  This route will start at Metropark with twelve artworks and then to Nepal Investment  Bank .Then at NAFA, the visitors will be able to see works of four artists:Atefeh Khas, Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller,Michelle Hall and Sumeet Shakya. And back to Metropark.

KIAF will have a stall in KIMFF from December 7th to December 11th. For more information go to www.kimff.org

Guided Tours:
1 pm: Lazimpat
2 pm: Babarmahal
3 pm: Patan

Call 9721383294 for reservations.

NOTE: All events subject to change, please visit the website for up to date information

Talk by photographers Annu Palakunnathu Matthew and David Wells.
Venue: Metropark

6pm: Sattya Screening

Venue: Naag Bahal

KIAF will have a stall in KIMFF from December 7th to December 11th. For more information go to www.kimff.org

Guided Tours in PATAN for Schools.Call 9721383294 for reservations.

NOTE: All events subject to change, please visit the site for up to date information.

NOTE: All events subject to change, please visit artmandu.org for up to date information.

Children’s Day

Saturday Shuttle Service

Special Tours for Children/families

Film Screening

TIME: 10:00 HRS

VENUE: IMAGE ARK, NEWA CHHEN, MUL CHOWK & PATAN MUSEUM

TALK by Shahidul Alam, Bangladesh at PATAN MUSEUM

 TIME: 13:45 HRS
Cycle Rally: Mangal Bazaar to Naag Dah and back from Naag Dah to Mangal Bazaar by with Kathmandu Cycle City.

TIME: 17:00 HRS

VENUE: NAAG BAHAL

PERFORMANCE:  Moon Ride by Roland Graf/Assocreation (Austria)

Synchronizing music and arts and digitization of great talents – a wonderful surprise!

I couldn’t believe my eyes for some seconds when I read that different artistic works, masterpieces in themselves, with a blend of great music numbers by famous musicians, will be shared in the Kathmandu International Art Festival.

I was far more astonished to know that internationally acclaimed artist Karl Hyde is also taking part in the interactive performance which is based on the KIAF’s theme : Mind, Body, Earth. Do you know- Karl Hyde served as the music director for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games? Wow!

I felt really good to know that even some famous Nepali band amongst Nepali enthusiasts, one of them being NIGHT, will be sharing the stage during the festival.

As this Festival has become the talk of the town, I m getting more enthusiastic about keeping myself updated with every mere activities expected to happen during the Festival. My search for information paved the road to one of the pages where it says that ‘Gaynor O’Flynn and the being human collective invites to participate in the interactive live art piece by tweeting/facebooking one’s idea of Mind, Body, Earth, the theme of the entire festival. Please tweet your words and then use #beinghuman and share your twitter link on the wall so that we can include you on the art piece.’

I feel it’s an interesting and encouraging platform that they have set to share one’s thought on art piece.

With modernized technology some artists will even telecast series of films, some made from using modul8 software and others made those by the participants. Between digital art and performance, an attraction of the festival, as proclaimed has caught my attention.

All in all, the Festival, as heard, will be a flowing event that involves the attendees to not only move around the venue but also interact with the art itself.

Art admirers/creators what are we thinking of? Let’s live the art.

TIME: 10:00 HRS

VENUE: BRITISH COUNCIL, NEPAL INVESTMENT BANK, METROPARK & NAFA

TIME: 13:00 HRS. – 17:00 HRS

SYMPOSIUM – DAY III

VENUE: PATAN MUSEUM

13:00 HRS

HOW TO APPRECIATE A FINE ARTS PRINT

Lecture by Shahidul Alam

14:00 HRS – Tea Break

14:15 HRS

HIS WORK, TRAVEL AND RESEARCH

Talk by Blane de St. Croix

14:30 HRS

 TOPIC: GEOPOLITIcAL LANDScAPES

Moderator: Kanak Mani Dixit

Panelists:

Erbossyn Meldibekov , Artist (Kazakhstan)

Blane de St. Croix, Artist (US)

Christin Bolewski, Artist (Germany)

15:30 HRS – Tea Break with Performace

16:00 HRS

 CREATURES OF THE NATURAL WORLD

Moderator: Dr. Dina Bangdel

Panelists:

Gary Wornell –Artist (Canada)

Vibha Galhotra – Artist (India)

Liang Seckon – Artist (Cambodia)

TIME: 18:00 HRS
VENUE: KASI, DURBAR MARG
PechaKucha Nite, hosted by Sujan Chitrakar.

*Bus service to and from Thamel for International artists.

Download full schedule here: Event Schedule and Map

TIME: 10:00 HRS

VENUE: NEPAL ART COUNCIL & SIDDHARTHA ART GALLERY

TIME: 13:00 HRS. – 17:00 HRS

SYMPOSIUM - DAY II 

VENUE: PATAN MUSEUM

13:00HRS

TOPIC: DESIRE & CONSUMERISM

Moderator: Dr. Alka Pande

Panelists:

Sarawut Chutiwongpeti, Artist (Thailand)

Gopal Kalapremi, Artist (Nepal)

Gaynor O’ Flynn, Artist (UK)

14:00 HRS  – Tea Break with Performance

14:30 HRS
TOPIC: NATURE AND THE ARTS: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Moderator: Dr. Abhi Subedi

Panelists:

Dr. Alka Pande – Art Historian (India)

Dr. Dina Bangdel,  Art Historian (Nepal)

Maureen Bisilliat , Artist  (Brazil)

15:30 HRS

PERFORMANCE by Lala Rascic

16:00 HRS – Tea Break

16:15 PM

TOPIC: WATER

Moderator: Dr. Geeti Sen

Panelists:

Dr. Geeti Sen – Rivers of Pilgrimage (Slide Show presentation)

Lala Rascic – Artist (Croatia)

Noelene Lucas, Artist (Australia)

Sheelasha Rajbhandari, Artist (Nepal)

TIME: 17:30 HRS
VENUE: BOUDDHANATH STUPA
PERFORMANCE: Kora (3D projection) of Gaynor O’Flynn, UK

TIME: 18:30 HRS
VENUE: HOTEL HYATT
PERFORMANCE:

i. Valeria Geremia (Italy), ii. “Blue Stamp” by Nomad Wave

 (By Invitation Only)

Download full schedule here: Event Schedule and Map

TIME: 10:00 HRS

VENUE: SUMMIT HOTEL, SANEPA

PERFORMANCE:
i. Talk by Indian artist Paula Sen Gupta (Limited Occupancy)
ii. “Lullaby to Mother Earth” Nomad Wave

TIME: 13:00 HRS- 17:00 HRS.

ART SYMPOSIUM – DAY I

VENUE: NEPAL TOURISM BOARD

13:00 HRS

TOPIC: URBANIZATION AND PUBLIC ART

Moderator: Pranab Singh

Panelists:

Sheba Chhachhi, Artist (India)

Priscilla de Carvalho, Artist (Brazil)

Svetoslav Nedev, Artist (Bulgaria)

Jean Antoine Raveyre, Artist (France)

14:00 HRS – Tea Break with Performace

14:30 HRS

TOPIC: ENVIRONMENTAL ART IN IRAN

Speaker: Hojat Amani

15:00 HRS

TOPIC: ARTS & SOCIAL CHANGE

Moderator: Pranab Singh

Panelists:

Niilofur Farrukh, Artist (Pakistan)

Probir Gupta, Artist (India)

Michelle Hall, Artist (Australia)

Gaynor O’ Flynn, Artist (UK)

16:00 HRS – Tea Break

 16:15 HRS

TOPIC: RENEWABLE ENERGY

Lecture by Roland Graf:

Assocreation: ‘Art, Technology & Social Change’

TIME: 17:30 HRS

VENUE: BHIRKUTI MANDAP, 10^th Handicraft Fair

PERFORMANCE:
i. Live Presentation of Pakdai/Bikdai Maanche Haruon by Gopal Kala Premi

TIME: 18:30

VENUE: HOTEL SHANGRI-LA, LAZIMPAT

PERFORMANCE: Rudra Band with Shyam Nepali,

Book-launch “Prerana and Lal Pila” by Buddhisagar Chapain (Nepal)

and Rumana Hussain (Pakistan) illustrated by artist Adeel Uz Zafar (Pakistan)

(by invitation only)

Download full schedule here: Event Schedule and Map

TIME: 10:30 HRS

VENUE:  HOTEL YAK & YETI, DURBARMARG

INAUGURATION TIME: 11:00 HRS

- Chanting by Buddhist monks, Peace recital by students of Bal Bidhyashram, Pashupati.
- Welcome speech by: Sangeeta Thapa
- Speech by Brazilian artist Maureen Bisilliat. Indian art curator Reena Lath, US artist Cecelia Parardes. and Representative Hariyo Ban.
- Chief guest inaugurates the Festival.

- Vote of thanks by: Sharareh Bajracharya, Festival Coordinator 

PERFORMANCE:
Pancha Buddha by Subima Shrestha

MC: Jharana Bajracharya

(By invitation only)

TIME: 14:00 HRS

VENUE:  CENTRAL ZOO, JAWALAKHEL

PERFORMANCE:
i. LeangSeckon (Cambodia) performs with local community artists.
ii. Visit displays by: Gary Womell (Canada), Hojat Amani (Iran)

TIME: 17:00 HRS

VENUE:  NAAG BAHAL, PATAN

PERFORMANCE:

i. “Melting Ice” Jyoti Duwadi and Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky)
ii. “Action caused by an Existence” Nomad Wave (Mongolia).

TIME: 19:00 HRS

VENUE: PATAN MUSEUM, PATAN

PERFORMANCE:

- Gaynor O’Flynn with participants of the Beinghuman Masterclass and Karl Hyde of Underworld (live from UK)

Download full schedule here: Event Schedule and Map

(by invitation only)

Largest International Art Festival – Happening in Artistic Nepal

Excitement in the air as the Festive Season is on and this time it’s because of an Art Festival!!

The most awaited second season of Kathmandu International Art Festival (KIAF) is all set to win the heart of creativity admirers with a bunch of exciting arts and activities.

My excitement gets even stronger as I cross those colourful posters decorating the walls of valley and that holds my attention. I realized that Artist Gaynor O’Flynn, director of the being human collective- an award winning group of artists, musicians, technologists & film makers and a multi media artist who had previously worked with Bjork, Nirvana, Germaine Greer & The Dalai Lama, has been invited to create two unique new works for Kathmandu International Art Festival 2012. What else could make the event more fun-filled than this?

To add colours to this Festival, the team has come up with a whole new concept. Doesn’t it sound great when different words like- ‘Earth’ ‘Body’ and ‘Mind’ all are brought together and hence happens to be the Festival Theme ‘Earth, Body, Mind’. The Festival unites British & Nepali artists through performance & digital art incorporating soundscapes, interactive text, visuals & live performance to create a beautiful artistic environment.

Wouldn’t it be a great platform to meet many more local and international transmedia artists, musicians & technologists?

I can’t wait for not only the opening of the entire festival in itself, but also the beinghuman event at Patan Museum, TOMORROW! The moment, I know, is worth reliving. How about you?

Do watch the video- a glimpse of all of the wonderful national and multinational artists attending the Festival.

Karl Hyde : Underworld to work with Gaynor O’Flynn during the Kathmandu International Art Festival

Internationally acclaimed artist Karl Hyde is to work with Gaynor O’Flynn during Kathmandu International Art Festival. In a twenty year eclectic career in music, art & film Gaynor has also worked with Bjork, Richard Ashcroft, Germaine Greer & The Dalai Lama.

Gaynor is leading a unique cross cultural & cross media collaborative work in music, sound, film, performance & interactive digital art. The work will be created in a series of workshops with local Nepali artists & the award winning members of the beinghuman collective : a collective of artists, technologists & film makers & is supported by The British Council.

Karl will take part in the interactive performance which is based on the festival’s theme : Mind, Body, Earth : by painting in response to the work of Gaynor O’Flynn & t.b.c.

A film of his painting will be mixed into the installation which takes place in the historical setting of Patan Museum, a former Royal Palace of the Kathmandu Valley Royal Family, on the opening night of the Kathmandu International Art Festival, 25th November.

Karl is not only a painter but also a founding member of the legendary band Underworld he has worked with Gabriel Yared, Anthony Nigella, Brian Eno & Dame Evelyn Glennie. In 2012 he collaborated with Danny Boyle, a long term collaboration that started with the art house classic, Trainspotting & this year culminated in his work as the musical director of the London Olympics Opening Ceremony for which Underworld won the Q Award for Innovation In Sound.

Find details of the event on our facebook page:
on.fb.me/UvExeq

The Kathmandu International Art Festival is the largest international art event held in Nepal and will be held as a nonprofit, noncommercial festival every three years by the Siddhartha Arts Foundation. Each edition of the festival is based on a particular theme. The festival is about bringing like-minded individuals together in a contemporary aesthetic experience. This is about art for a social cause.

Artist Gaynor O’Flynn, director of the beinghuman collective, who works across the disciplines of voice, music, performance, film & installation art has been invited to create two unique new works for Kathmandu International Art Festival 2012

Titled Earth l Body l Mind the festival addresses social concerns through the power of art. The festival will reach over 50,000 visitors, with 100 international artists exhibiting.

beinghuman event @ 7pm on
25th November

Gaynor is leading a series of master classes in partnership with the British Council in Nepal working with members of t.b.c. : the beinghuman collective : an award winning group of artists, musicians, technologists & film makers. She will be also working with local transmedia artists, musicians & technologists to create an interactive, cross cultural work on the Festival’s theme : Earth, Body, Mind. This work will incorporate soundscapes, interactive text, visuals & live performance to create a beautiful, symbolic, symbiotic work uniting British & Nepali artists through performance & digital art.
This blend of cultures, imagery & interactive work will happen on the opening evening of The Festival & will take place in the illustrious historical setting of Patan Museum, one of the Royal Palaces of the former Malla Kings of the Kathmandu Valley.
We would like to invite all local artists, musicians, photographers, journalists and all others interested documenting or simply participate in this live interactive event and be a part of beinghuman’s vision of Earth, Body, Mind.

Find details of the event on our facebook page:
on.fb.me/UvExeq 

“In the midst of darkness sunlight persists” (2012), the center peice of De Carvalho’s festival installation.

Art, at its best, tells a story that is both unique to the artist and relatable to the viewer. The work of Priscila De Carvalho is just that. Inspired by urban scenes of her native Brazil, Carvalho’s work transcends any cultural or geographical limitations that might exist with a narrative that is so personal. Her work features many industrial landscapes and focuses heavily on architecture- buildings and homes are represented by black silhouettes illuminated by thousands of small white dots, an image which is unique to the Brazilian landscape, but could just as easily be anywhere else, thus lending itself to an immensely large audience. Carvalho’s work is self-explanatory, but hardly simple. Her extensive portfolio, whether it be her installation pieces or her paintings, stands out for it’s approachability- it is the frame of reference that each viewer brings to the piece which makes it truly remarkable.

De Carvalho’s public mural, “Trabajadores De Suenos”, in Puebla, Mexico.

For the festival, Carvalho, who is self-taught, is creating an installation centered around a painting, “In the midst of darkness sunlight persists” (pictured above) she had done earlier this year. Incorporating used shoe boxes and electrical wires, the work explores the world of infrastructure in a world where infrastructure is lacking.

Priscila currently resides in Long Island City, New York, where she has done various group exhibits as well as solo shows, including one at the Jersey City Museum. Her canvas has expanded to public spaces- as of yet, she has done murals in Bushwick, New York, as well as one with the Colectivo Tomate in Puebla, Mexico this past summer. She is the recipient of the 2009 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant.

Priscila will be exhibiting during the Festival at the Nepal Arts Council in Barber Mahal.

All photographs courtesy of Priscila’s website, http://www.priscilasoffice.com

Text: Caroline Hesse

• Daniel H Garrett
• Ashish Lohorung
• Robert Love
• Aung Kyaw Myint
• Noobha
• Juha Arvid Helminen
• Martin Clist
• Jones Franzel
• Smithk24
• Nischal Oli
• Surendra Lawoti
• Manjushree Thapa
• Richard Ball
• Sandhya Banskota
• Praghale
• Lisa Choegyak
• Oliver Bajracharya
• Maureen Drdak
• Banoo Bajracharya
• Subina Shrestha
• Merin Nakarmi
• Surjit Mansingh
• SIT Nepal
• Beata Wiggen
• Sepideh Bajracharya
• Anita Chikkatur

The use of art in the exploration and representation of this concept is another old habit, from caves and amphorae to billboards and websites. You might think the differences are too striking; cave paintings of horses hardly seem similar to your generic desktop background of a tropical fish. The cave painting carries a meaning that is more vital and reverent, a living animal as the source of food and life, governed by the same laws that limit and empower the people that hunted it and then drew its likeness on the wall of their home. The tropical fish is iconic, yes, but you don’t spend much time noticing it when you’re checking your Facebook page. And yet you choose to have it there (or maybe you’re too lazy to change it). Whether you do this because you openly love nature, or you think it brightens up your office, or someone else told you it looked good, the reason is really still the same: even with technology, with cars and planes, sterile offices and dairy farms and logging, people around the world feel something inherently potent about nature. We use it, we live in it, we consume it and restore it, and the health of society as a whole, of humanity as a whole, is irrefutably dependent on how we do these things.

In Kathmandu, this relationship between people, art, and the environment is at a critical point. An ever-growing city, the shaping of Kathmandu is reliant on growing perspective, making this year’s Kathmandu International Art Festival an essential step in this development, a unique opportunity. KIAF will bring together artists from all over the world, working with different mediums and beliefs, to create a cohesive picture, and it could only be done with a theme this universal: earth, body and mind.

Text: Kieran Comesotti

Yata Chhen: The Design Company provides the following services:

1. Renovation and restoration work on old buildings as per the time period of the building

2. Construction of new buildings in traditional Newari and Nepali designs

As you can see the beauty of this house lies in its detailed and hard effort put forwarded by artisans of those old days with love, passion and devotion. This house represents the Golden era of Malla dynasty – the era of flourishing art and culture (reminiscent of Renaissance in the West). Lot of people who love and believe in heritage has contributed great effort in the preservation work of this house. We are very thankful to them. This house now stands as a symbol of pride to all heritage lovers. Therefore, this house not only belongs to the “Shrestha family” but also to all “Heritage lovers”.

The style and structure of Hotel Vajra embody beauty and warmth. Hotel Vajra is built in the typical Nepali Pagoda style with the use of locally available materials, which help to create this attractive warmness. Vajra is jeweled inside and out with wood and terracotta carvings, stone and marble tile, hanging brick gardens and traditional Tibetan ceiling-paintings.

Vajra is one of Kathmandu’s most interesting places to stay because it synergizes the reflection of ancient arts of Nepal with modern earthquake proof techniques. Vajra’s guests can enjoy an art gallery, a classical dance studio with weekly performances , an East-West library, an ayurvedic massage room, several roof tops, the Pagoda Bar, the Pagoda Hall for meditation or yoga, the Naga Theater with yearly drama performances by Studio 7 and a cluster of flower trailed gardens where you can connect into our wireless internet.

The Rooftop gardens of the Hotel give a magnificent morning and sunset panorama looking directly on the Pagodas of Durbar Square (center of the medieval Kathmandu) and up to the 2000 year old Swayambhunath Stupa.

On a clear day you can see up to the snow peaks of the Himalayas. Dev the bartender of the Rooftop’s Pagoda Bar prepares your favorite drink for you.

While many other natural resources are being used at alarming
rates, the story of Helium is an unusual one – it is being squandered
on purpose. Helium reserves are primarily in the US, and in 1996 the
US congress decided to sell its entire reserve – of a billion cubic
meters or half the entire world’s reserves- by 2015 to pay off the
government’s initial investment (in building that reserve). As a result,
the market has swelled with ridiculously cheap ‘He’. This non-renewable
resource is being treated as anything but, and thea gas isn’t even
recycled or used efficiently, as it’s cheaper to squander and buy some more.

One of the biggest buyers of helium is NASA, which uses it to clean
sensitive satellite equipment, spacecraft and potentially explosive
fuel, but helium’s uses are not limited to the space industry. It
is needed for deep sea-diving and rock dating, and to operate hospital
MRI scanners and solar telescopes. Helium-3, an isotope of the element, is essential for
conducting research about possible clean, waste-free nuclear reactors.
Liquid helium is used to cool infrared detectors, nuclear reactors
and wind-tunnel machinery.  Unless an affordable replacement is found,
the unavoidable shortage will spell potential disaster all over the
world. (Imagine a birthday party without floating balloons!)

Participants cycle as the Helium balloon in front of them light up.

This year, one of the public installations to happen during the month of KAIF will

be Assocreation’s Moon Ride. In this interactive installation, the
public is invited to hook up their bikes to bike trainers that have
been transformed into generators. When the participants cycle, the
energy is used to illuminate a balloon light that is hovering in the
night sky simulating a moon rising. Ironically, the symbol of this installation – a hovering
balloon – is inflated with helium.

Roland Graf, who will be representing Assocreation at the festival initiated this conversation for us, he sent us an article talking about the shortage of Helium. Everyone here at the KIAF offices is excited for the project, specially the cyclists among us are particularly enthusiastic. Local cycling communities have also shown much interest, the installation might see some changes, but the message will remain there. That we have the power to generate (pun intended) interest in sustainable energy and that our (human’s) assumptions of authority should be reflected in conscious eeforts to create a better society where natural resources are valued beyond economics.

Here’s a quote from Assocreation’s statement for KIAF 2012:

“Moon Ride plays on the presumption that there is no light at night without human effort – not even moonlight. It is the physical encounter of a society on its way to another dimension of reality.”

Check out assocreation.com for all their other projects that are just as insightful and interactive.

His love of nature began over thirty year ago just as Buisman was leaving his studies at the Art Academy in Rotterdam. He was to return to the Academy seven years later to teach, at which time his work was included in a touring exhibition by the Dutch Art Foundation. He was, at that time (1970′s), still living in Haarlem where much of his Upside Down work was evolving. This work, initiated in his studio, began when he purposely hung out to dry willow saplings, fixed on a line, and positioned upside down. 

Nepalese Art students, IN BETWEEN.

Work of his hand is in the collections include Rabobank, ING Bank, Fortis Bank, Westland Utrecht Mortgage, Nationale Nederlanden, Albert Heijn, the Dutch Railways, KPN and several other companies. Some ministries and the museum Kruithuis in ‘s-Hertogenbosch possess his work. In the sculpture of the Caldic Collection in Wassenaar is a bronze statue of his hand. Commissioned by the NS he made a series of panels that are used for the interior of the carriages. Warffemius won in 1997 the Jacob Hartog Award in 1980 and the Godon Price. Warffemius part of the Potsdamer Gruppe , among others with Sjoerd Buisman and Armando . In 2007 he was visiting professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg.

For the Park Sytwende in Voorburg he made the sculpture trees and thorn sculpture Spring , both sculptures were made in corten steel . Commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , he made a sculpture of Corten steel, which was placed at the Dutch embassy in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia .

Job Koelewijn has received the Charlotte Köhler Prize (1996), the Sandberg Prize (1999) by the Amsterdamse Kunstenfonds, and the Nebest Award (2002) for artists whose work makes striking use of the theme of building and construction.

printmaking (Visva Bharati, Santiniketan) and is currently Assistant Professor in Printmaking at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. She has been a visiting faculty member at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Kolkata and is Secretary of Khoj Kolkata. Born in 1967 and trained as a traditional printmaker, Paula’s repertoire as an artist includes broadsheets, artist’s books, objects, installation-performance work, and community art projects.

Gaynor is an independent artist who works in music, film, performance & installation art.

Her belief in the interconnected nature of all is at the core of her life & practice. Gaynor believes that art produced from a place of spontaneity & compassion has the power to open our hearts & minds to our true nature.

Gaynor works across disciplines : sound, music, movement, words, paint, film & technology to create unique interactive multi media performances, installations & limited edition work.

Gaynor started her career on the revolutionary music show The Tube. Her directorial debut was the first film ever to be shown on MTV Europe. She directed for Granada with Factory legend Anthony H. Wilson, on US show Entertainment Tonite, concerts from Wembley to G Mex & promos for U2. Working with many brilliant artists including The Verve, New Order, PJ Harvey & Bjork. After a stint directing Lonely Planet she ended up in the Himalayas, worked for the Dalai Lama & found her heart, mind and voice…

In 2000 she set up her own independent company beinghuman & filmed the first beinghuman film in the Himalayas, Kalachakra.  In 2001 she performed at venues as diverse as Glastonbury Festival & The Royal Geographical Society & performed with Ninja Tune’s Sounds From The Ground. In 2002 her first solo tour of 6 major UK cities established her as a solo artist in her own right. In 2003 she won a Women In Music Award, started the beinghuman nights & performed extensively from Salisbury Festival to Hackney Empire.
In 2004 Gaynor created the first beinghuman festival working with many world class artists including double Grammy nominated 1 Giant Leap. She produced Senegalese kora maestro

in 2007 and a solo exhibition Mushroom|Clouds at the Nevada Museum of Art in 2008. His work includes ephemeral assemblies of natural material, landscape art, works on paper, sculpture, and indoor installations. He was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

“The growth of nature and life always goes into the future. There is a continuation of time. It is like a never ending process. Yet each moment is unique and each movement is different. This individuality and its continuity are the main points of nature, life and art”. So for her art is a visual presentation of the individual thoughts of life.

She did her BFA in painting from Kathmandu University Centre for Art and Design in 2009. Since then she has participated in collaborative art projects, workshops and exhibitions. She was also a recipient of KCAC artist in residence scholarship in 2010.

Man crosses a between two stones covered with ice. Photo Credit – Chakra Karki

When we think of the Everest region, most of us envision pristine white desert of ice and snow, a wintry Nirvana if you will. The prevalent posters and pictures
 of the snowy peaks serve to fuel this romanticized view of the Himalayas as being pure and untouched by human presence. But how real is the perception?

Disenchantment begins at base camp for any popular peak, where 
you find hundreds of tents, and a proportionate amount of noise 
and pollution. And it doesn’t get better as you go higher up 
the mountain; the crowds disappear but so do the waste disposal systems. Even when one has ascended beyond the Death Zone (8000 meters and above), garbage stick out of the snow like colorful ornaments on against the white background.

Climber shifts through garbage, to be taken down to the base camp. Photo Credit – Chakra Karki

While the Himalayan 
range in general is polluted, the degradation is more acute on designated tourist destinations. Everest, for example is increasingly being referred to as the “world’s highest dumpster.”

 After Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first conquered the summit
 in 1953, some 4000 climbers (statistics vary) 
have followed and scaled the peak over 5000 times till date.  60 years of climbing have left
 their mark; in spite of laws that require climbers to bring down
 everything they take up, debris ranging from ropes and tents to
 discarded oxygen tanks and even tin cans dating from 1986—all 
frozen solid, litter the slopes. Corpses from failed expeditions are another familiar sight for climbers aspiring to summit the peak.

Old oxygen tanks near the Everest summit. Photo Credit – Charkra Karki

Recently, environmental groups have
 been formed to restore the Himalayas to their unpolluted previous states—in particular the
 annual Eco Everest Expedition, started in 2008, has brought down over 
13,500 kilos of garbage, of which 400 kilos were human waste (at 
high-altitude temperatures, waste takes decades to decompose).

Climbers scale the Everest region in search of trash. Photo Credit – Chakra Karki

The Himalayas are of critical importance to the regions surrounding 
it. It makes up more than 40% of the entire world’s fresh 
water source.  In Nepal alone, the climbing tourism annually brings in
 thousands of hopeful climbers, and roughly $500 million, providing 
employment and livelihoods for many locals. One seventh of the world
 population depends directly on the Himalayas for their survival. As
 global warming continues, the immediate repercussions are being felt: glaciers are retreating, avalanches increasing, snow
 levels are decreasing, and glacier crevasses are widening. Puddles of 
water have been observed at altitudes of 26,000 feet on Mount Everest. As the ice melts prematurely, floods are more likely; threatening ecosystems, habitats, and the lives of people in and around the region.

Climbers pose with a replica of the Everest summit made with trash brought down from the trails. Photo Credit – Chakra Karki

On a more positive note, KIAF 2012 artist, Sarawut Chutiwongpeti (Thailand) who creates installations, a world in themselves, will be trying to create similar work using materials recovered from the Everest region. Click on the artist’s name to be directed to his profile.

Text: Shristi Uprety/ Nischal Oli

He was fascinated by the paints and brushes in his house and eventually dropped out of school to pursue his artist dreams.

According to Lok Chitrakar, Paubha is the visual interpretation of a text that makes philosophy simple and comprehensive for a layman’s understanding. The artist must be aware of the text which he is going to translate to art form. There are times when he needs to consult with priests and lamas to decipher the ancient wisdom that he is representing on canvas.

He is one of the most respected Paubha artists in Nepal. Today, Chitrakar along with his assistants runs Simrik Atelier in Patan, the city of fine arts.

We are hoping to also conduct a climate change symposium in the second half of the Festival, which would be organized by young environmental activists! Please stay tuned!

If interested please contact info@artmandu.org.

Saturday, 15 September, 2012: Biratnagar and Pokhara
Saturday, 13 October, 2012: Kathmandu

Children gather found materials and junk materials around their neighborhoods and bring them to the venue. There are two categories—3D sculpture/installation for groupwork and 2D mixed media/painting for individual participants. Themes that children can choose from: ‘The Natural World and Me’, ‘Traditional Wisdom (about our climates)’, ‘How Climate Change Affects the World around Me’.