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If you're any sort of an artist from Kohma, chances are, you've already bumped into 'Artifacting Team', heard of them or in the process of collaborating with them. Team Artefacting is on a three month art residencies/workshops in Kohima and Guwahati, Assam, working with individuals as well as collaborating with different youth groups with a hope to produce some art works that reflects their personal artistic interests with possibly finding a connection and the influence of their roots, Christianity and western culture.
So what is Artefacting all about, you might ask? In their own words “Artefacting is a, New York based, Non Profit organization that consists of artists, photographers, teachers, activists and people who are passionate about social justice. Together with volunteers and local partners we bring more people and communities together and consider ourselves advocates for social justice. We aim to positively utilize our team’s socioeconomic positions within a world of increasing social and economic disparities to create opportunities and situations of inclusivity for those marginalized. An awareness of our backgrounds and belief in innate global human equality influence the work we do and the connections we make. It is with this awareness that we strive to transcend social and cultural barriers and increase social justice through art and story telling to the outside, and catalyze social cohesion and action within the communities we work”
Having successfully organized similar workshops in the past, the team is buzzing with so many activities and is confident of fulfilling their purpose of being a positive catalyst in motivating young people or artists find and establish a connection between the past and the future through art.
Spearheading the project is founding director of Artefacting, Alex White-Mazzarella. An artist himself, Alex said Nagaland has been a different experience altogether, comparing to the other projects and places they have been to. For instance, he talks about Guwahati, Assam, “They have a well-established art guild and several other artists groups, making it easier for the community to interact, share and be aware of each other’s works. While in Nagaland, initially it was a challenge just figuring out what to do and how to do it best” However, with more and more people getting connected and being involved, he now feels things are finally moving in the right direction. Alex further said, in his opinion, “Art scene in Nagaland is still in its nascent stages”. He also feels that it’ll be a huge challenge for the local artists to break out of the mould of traditional art forms. From his interactions, he figured that, most of the artists in Nagaland depend on Government commissioned works, which, in his view, may be predefined and can sometimes curtail creativity or imagination.
Christine Mehta, journalist, from the Artifacting team, couldn’t agree more. She said, “Organizing such a project from scratch could be challenging and overwhelming. But the local people are extremely warm, friendly and accommodating making up for the initial hiccups”. As a journalist, she is looking forward to bringing her experience in putting together Northeast’s first crowd-sourced culture and opinion magazine, for which the call is open for submission. Whatever the art form, Arftifaciting team is calling out for artists to demonstrate their talents in different ways; the only criteria being the work should be original. Christine strongly feels that everyone involves will definitely benefit from this creative collaboration. Copies of the magazine will be distributed free of charge on the 18th and 19th May, during the two-day public Art festival, which will also mark the end of this project.
"We came here with an open mind. There is no structured agenda, and we are learning and experiencing many new things from the locals. I am sure this will turn out to be a much richer experience for all of us,” said Fabrice Bourgelle Pyres, British photographer and member of the team.
Over the last few weeks, the team has been working in the open garden of ‘The Heritage’ Kohima, courtesy of local artist Theja Meru. The makeshift workshop is igniting new interest amongst the creative community of artists, artisans, and photographers. Different groups drop by the workshop area throughout the week. Some, to share their ideas and interest, while there are other’s like the Ao Youth group who are in the process of designing a unique wind chime, using bamboo and traditional colors and fabrics. And then, there are those who visit them often to watch the artists at work and appreciate their efforts. One thing they all agree on is that, there couldn’t have been a better place for an art retreat than the gardens of ‘The Heritage’, Kohima.
Local artists like Vikhor Tepa, who hails from a family of artists, thinks his generation of artists definitely find themselves with better opportunities than the artists of other generations in the state. He said, “The thought of organizing such an event has crossed my mind many times, but somehow it never materialized, so I am extremely happy to get involved, and in making this event happen, with a bunch of people who are totally committed and with a great sense of diligence and professionalism”
The project has also grabbed the attention of a large number of local residents, among them is Nino Zhasa. An entrepreneur, who said, seeing the teams efforts and dedication, she felt the need to be a part of the project and is helping out the team in whatever way possible. This project being the first of its kind in the state, she is hoping for a strong public turnout and support for the final event.
Christine love Kohima for its vibrancy. While Alex is struck by the level of creativity and artistic talent of local artists. However, on the flip side, Alex said he is also amazed at how little each tribe knows about each other’s traditions and customs. He also pointed out that, most of the younger generation seem to either know very little of their roots, or, if they did, that knowledge seem inapplicable to the modern world.
As for the local artists what a great opportunity to put one’s skills together, meet and connect with other artists for support, potential collaboration or just learn from each other through interactions, peer reviews and constructive critiques from the experts.
It would perhaps be unfair to expect an art revolution of sorts from this project, but it has, certainly, succeeded in connecting local artists from Kohima and making a huge impact with its residents. Time will tell if their efforts are fruitful. For now, however, it’s a heady time for artists and art lovers to be in Kohima.
