A sketch of the Red Fort
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Following its debut version in Mumbai earlier this yr and 4 editions in Kolkata since 2021, the art home DAG has chronicled the capital’s art history through its trademark occasions unfold over a fortnight.
The festival — on until September 21 — at totally different venues permits guests to discover creative and cultural traditions, communities and archives that maintain the coronary heart and the soul of the metropolis.
An built-in sequence of exhibitions, guided walks, talks, music, dance and theatre performances, and discussions, take guests on a vibrant journey throughout iconic establishments, historic websites and areas meant for efficiency and art activism.
Qutub Minar
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
As folks crisscross these outdated routes with a brand new outlook and shared information, the websites and monuments get linked. “The layered history and legacy of art and its evolution over the centuries open up like a fascinating museum,” says Ashish Anand, CEO and MD, DAG.
The many historic cities of Delhi weren’t constructed one on prime of the different – like these of Rome or Istanbul, however laid out aspect by aspect on its expansive plain. “Therefore, the city can be seen like a succession of galleries that chart its cultural and architectural development. And this festival becomes a way to reimagine the city as a cultural map to be viewed through diverse perspectives,” he provides.
Jama Masjjid
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Every metropolis has its personal character and Delhi has at all times been an attention-grabbing hub of contemporary art, formed by the colonial and nationwide narrative. The festival tries to deliver out the totally different tales throughout time and house to allow folks to know how the metropolis supported and created patronage for the arts.
“The way the event has been designed, it reveals the capital’s role in shaping the idea of Indian art and how artists over the centuries crafted their narratives. It can be literally seen, heard, felt and understood,” says Anand.
The spine of the festival is a particular exhibition, Sair-e-Dilli, curated by art historian Swapna Liddle.
Based on educationist Syed Ahmed Khan’s account, Liddle has curated the exhibition chronologically with drawings from the lived experiences of travellers, inhabitants and connoisseurs in the nineteenth and twentieth Century. It reveals a community of dwelling areas intricately linked in constructing an emergent nation, creating fashionable history and the ever-unfolding metropolis that was rebuilt seven instances.
Painting of a marriage procession in entrance of the Jama Masjid
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Selected from DAG’s assortment, the works of art proven at Bikaner House (until September 21) embrace images, maps, prints, drawings and plans. They collectively inform a nuanced story through the constructed kinds and constructions of the metropolis from the Sultanate and Mughal intervals to Lutyens’ Delhi.
The different notable occasions of the festival included an informative stroll through the 18th-Century Qudsia Bagh, the place the 1903 Delhi Durbar was held; exploring the Daryaganj ebook market; a guided speak through highly effective images with historian Rudrangshu Mukherjee on the transformation of Delhi after the 1857 Revolt; an immersive audio stroll round Mandi House with performances mixing songs of resistance; and conversations with artists at Garhi Village.
Sair-e-Dilli is on at Ballroom, Bikaner House (close to India Gate), until Sept 21, 11am to 7pm. For extra particulars go online to dagworld.com
Published – September 13, 2025 10:14 am IST
