India: Art and Art institutions in Rajasthan are at risk (Note by Kavita Srivastava) 21 nov 2015

via Facebook:

Art and Art institutions in Rajasthan are at risk. The annual art summit this year has begun with one installation being removed for the sake of sensibilities being affected. Last year it was Bhupesh Kavadias whose tile installations was read as "Ganesh drawn on the toilet pot" and the VHP RSS Came and broke the thing down. in due course there was a FIR against the artist, for which he had to get bail from the SUPREME COURT.

THIS time the workshop which generated the artists installations saw young artists Anish Ahluwalia (ex BBC journalist) from Delhi and Chintan Upadhyay make an installation of a cow in plastic, in order to show how cows were mostly hungry living on plastic..... This cow was hooked to a balloon and floated 200 feet high.

There was mayhem and the JKK thought that it would give a wrong message so they asked the artists to bring it down. On refusal the police was called who took them to the police station for a discussion ( read detention). Not wanting the issue to be blown apart the organisersand the artists brought down the cow. NO FIR but enough to show how there are unreasonable and restrictions on freedom of speech in Rjasthan and that the RSS and THE OTHER RIGHTWINGERS wll decide what art can be displayed or not. Intolerance on the increase.

Talk to Vidya sagar the organiser 9414071059. This happened today, 21st at Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur.