For many out there who are either vain or wanting to keep up with how their brand or work is being talked about on the internet, setting up Google Alerts is a must. Being that my job is a bit of both, I had one set up for Art All Night – Trenton, and in July of 2017, I got a ping from an Indian outlet that reference our annual 24-hour arts and music festival. It spoke about a group called Platform For Artists (PFA for short) that was putting on their own Art All Night event. While they’d put on different “art getaways” before, it was amazing to see that they specifically mentioned how they were inspired by Trenton’s own Art All Night in the planning for their event.
We’d inquired about the PFA’s debut Art All Night before it went down, and got word back (along with some awesome pictures) about how their first Art All Night went. They even sent some pictures! While time escaped us, we decided to kick off a monthly #TBT series this year by shining a light on the PFA, who has a new event (PFA Art Getaway – Agra) going down from January 26 through January 28, as well as an Art All Night event going on in Chennai from January 20-21!
First off, can you tell me a little bit about Platform For Artists? How did you guys get started? What are some of the activities and events PFA holds?
Platform For Artists was established in April, 2017 with an aim of building a network among artists from different art and social backgrounds through conducting various art events. As a part of this project, we conduct meetups in different cities where every weekend, artists from that city come together, interact through various art activities and create art collaboratively. We also organize artistic-themed trips to different places once a month and we are planning to conduct an annual exhibition as well.
You mentioned in that article that you were inspired by Art All Night – Trenton — how did you even find out about Art All Night – Trenton in India?
We constantly research on the art events and fests that happen all over the world. We came across this event and was driven by the uniqueness. As there was so such event conducted in India yet, we planned to host one so that people know about western art culture as well.
What about Art All Night – Trenton stood out to PFA making you want to have your own Art All Night event?
Art All Night – Trenton is the most unique art fest I came across. The idea of thousands of artists working overnight to create and showcase art carries far deep meaning than just attraction. As artists ourselves, many of us think better at night as it flames our creativity. We also scheduled our event on Saturday night because we also want to change the ideology of Saturday night clubbing and partying. Weekends can be spent in a much more productive way and we wanted to implement this here to make people realize this.
What are some of the highlights of your Art All Night?
We believe that art is more about collaboration rather than competition so we are working on artist collaboration events. We conducted pair and group collaboration activities so that people create something unique pouring their individual art skills and creativity. We also showcased their artwork in the art gallery at the venue which was open for the audience to come and see. We are started with a small number i.e. 40 artists, but we plan to extend this in coming future.
How important is the arts scene in your community?
In India, the aspiring artists needs a catalyst to their work. And with our projects we want to be the driving force for people to pursue their art and break the barriers of creating art.
Who are some artists that are affiliated with PFA that people should look out for?
Pawan Rochwani (theater artist), Kshitija Sarda (writer), Komal Surve (dancer), and Akshat Palrecha (photographer).
