Gallery Square Circle - Kala Kendra

Kala Kendra is the art centre located in Bharat Nivas, Pavilion of India, in the International Zone of Auroville, an international township in South India.

Mission

"Out of this awakening vision and impulse the Indian renaissance is arising, and that must determine its future tendency.

The recovery of the old spiritual knowledge and experience in all its splendour, depth and fullness is its first, most essential work;

the flowing of this spirituality into new forms of philosophy, literature, art, science and critical knowledge is the second;

an original dealing with modern problems in the light of Indian spirit and the endeavour to formulate a greater synthesis of a spiritualised society is the third and most difficult. Its success on these three lines will be the measure of its help to the future of humanity."

Company Overview

Kala Kendra, the centre for arts, is the hub of all the art activities in the Pavilion of India, Bharat Nivas. It hosts group art shows on various themes, solo and group exhibitions, art workshops, etc. and encourages artists to come, work, stay and share their work with the community of Auroville. It has hosted several visiting artists to Auroville and organizes interactive sessions with Auroville artists and art enthusiasts.

Description

Gallery Square Circle is the gallery space, which is part of Kala Kendra, hosting all art exhibitions. It has various levels, and interesting spaces for artists to have different exhibitions simultaneously depending on the nature of their work. Gallery has all the professional amenities and the focus is not on sales but quality of work and nature of shows. It also promotes various research projects, where different media artists come together to explore, work and exhibit on a theme.

General information

Gallery Square Circle is a part of Kala Kendra, Bharat Nivas. It is a non-commercial, not-for-profit, service unit, self supported and funded partially by the Bharat Nivas Development and Activities fund yearly. However, the Bharat Nivas Maintenance is a self-supporting entity, which takes care of the Electricity, Maintenance, Security and other expenses.
The best time to exhibit at Kala Kendra complex is from July-March. Summer months are warm and humid but are good for art workshops with children and aurovilians. Months of January-February are busy due to festivities in the Auroville community.

The Resident Artist Studio has hosted a few artists in past years from different countries and has recently been spruced up within the same complex right next to the gallery, café, audiovisual room and the administration areas. It is a fully furnished spacious studio with accommodation facility, workspace, kitchenette and attached toilet and dressing area. Kala Kendra welcomes artists from all over the world to come and explore the art activities within the Auroville community and be part of its artist in residency program. We expect artists to stay minimum for a few weeks so as to get the feel of the space and produce a body of work. Resident artists are expected to either exhibit at the gallery towards end of their stay or present their work in an interactive session with the artist community of Auroville. If free, this artist studio also welcomes artists for short stays on their visit to auroville. There are nominal contributions for the use of these facilities, details of which can be made available.

For further information on the artist in resident program, you may write directly to along with the details of your art project, duration of residency, cv and samples of your work.