The Consulate General of Italy in Kolkata incollaboration with WBTC (West Bengal Transport Corporation) inaugurated thenine-day long art and culture exhibition part – II on Saturday at the EsplanadeTram Depot in the esteemed presence of Mr. Gianluca Rubagotti, The ConsulGeneral of Italy in Kolkata and Mr. Rajib De, Chief photographer of theexhibition. The event will take place for three days atEsplanade, Shymbazar, Gariahat respectively and conclude on 27th February.
During the pandemic, this exhibition series was initiated. Given the difficulties of walking out of one’s house and producing fresh tales with a camera, two existing photographic archives were brought together, beginning with Rajib De’sblack and white photos of Kolkata. The Trieste photography circle (Alessandr oRosani, Rossana Coslovi, and Giuseppe Ialuna) proved to be an excellent choice, while Francesca Rosani took on the difficult challenge of establishingparallels between Kolkata and various Italian towns.
Due to the large scale of the photographs, the exhibition was divided into two parts: the first, dedicated to architectures and places and exhibited in diptychs, and the second, devoted to people caught in their daily activities and exhibited in groups and complemented by the use of relevant props, was held in the historical bakery of a renowned hotel and exhibited in groups (a bicycle, a wheel, a chess board,etc.).
While addressing the media, Mr. Gianluca Rubagotti, the Consul General of Italy inKolkata said, “Amid the pandemic’s hardships, we decided to create aninteresting exhibition to introduce Italian art and culture to the people ofKolkata. It is an absolute pleasure to bring art to various areas of the cityso that more people can enjoy this dialogue between Kolkata and the differentItalian cities.
The Consulate General of Italy is trying to identify diverse locations and ways to disseminate art, in a context, like the city of Kolkata, which is extremely receptive. The tram, with its historical connection to the soul of the city, is something that the inhabitants have already shown to appreciate, and I am sure it will be the same also for this second part. We look forward to continuing the exhibition every year. “It will be nice if you could include a selected set of photographs from the second part segment of the From Kolkata to Italy. Mr.Rajib De, the chief photographer of the exhibition also added, “Kolkata has always been an enigma. It is the soul of cultural and intellectual development. Where men were born to inspire the world and create history. It is here that I now live and dream of portraying an unfolding saga of struggle and peaceful co-existence of mankind and imagination, where living is an art of life, and happiness a state of mind.”
