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Ojas Arts Expressions at Tihar

Ojas, an organization working closely with the Tihar Jail inmates for their rehabilitation and career development, in collaboration with the Delhi based Ramchander Nath Foundation is planning to present a huge show of Indian contemporary artists who respond to the realities of prison life in India.

Conceptualized by the young art writer and curator Anubhav Nath, this project is titled Ojas Arts Expressions at Tihar. The project is co-curated by JohnyML.

Various races, cultures, nationalities, classes and castes converge, giving birth to a republic, with its own terms. What makes the prison republic different from mainstream society? What constitutes the definition of criminal? Isn’t mainstream society harboring more criminals? What makes the inmate-citizen different from the free-citizen? Is the crime factor inscribed on the former justified? Aren’t many living in free-society actually in self-inscribed prison?  These are the question that this project wants to raise.

Around forty artists will visit the Tihar Jail, New Delhi labeled as the model jail in Asia over a period of six months. The works produced out of these visits will be exhibited later in October in New Delhi. A documentary film and high-end catalogue will be released during the opening of the show.

The project was kicked start on 26th February 2008 with the visit of artists namely Veer Munshi, G.R.Iranna, Manjunath Kamath and Donovan in Tihar Jail with curators Anubhav Nath and JohnyML. They spend three hours in jail interacting with the inmates. Later the artists extensively discussed their visit and all the proceedings were video documented.

We present a snap shot feature on this visit.