A close up encounter with Buddhist art & contemporary impressions

The ancient monasteries of Ladakh have opened their doors to the casual visitor; but are ypou looking closely enough? The drawings in Buddhist monasteries tell a long narrative story, are you listening? Have you noticed the calmness of Buddha sitting over the lotus? Or have you encountered the Buddha in multiple avatars? Have you noticed the protectors of the religion painted in the external walls of any monastery? Do you know about the Kalachakra, behold by the Hindu God Yamraja?

The monasteries hold within them treasures of narratives and stories from myths and truths. The Summer program “Strange Tales, Stranger Truths” is an attempt to look closely, to look what is generally passed by. To look at the stories which existed since ever, never to be read.

Travel to some of the most important and exciting monasteries in Ladakh, some famous, some hardly visited, to look at the narratives of Buddhist paintings, take a pause and derive meaning from them. The next step is to translate them; to use them for the 21sh century; by creating fabricated images. We bring together ways of visual communications like drawing, narrative photography & mixed media art to create pieces of art that communicate with the larger masses by addressing issues relevant to today's world, may be local issues in Ladakh or the wider world. Create a visual campaign and use the streets of Leh to display them !

Ladakh - The landscape of the mind

Ladakh is the crossroads of High Asia and is home to some of the highest mountains in the world. At a height of 12,000 feet above sea level, Ladakh is the land of Tibetan Buddhism, where it has flourished for thousands of years.

Site 1: Saspol

Climb up carefully and venture into the natural caves of Saspol. Contemplate and study the stunning wall paintings. Climb even further and enter the ruins of the rammed-earth ancient fort.

Site 2: Shyang

Catch your breath and mind your head as you explore Shyang monastery. Very few people know about this place, even though the lakhang houses spectacular paintings with well preserved bright colours.

Site 3: Alchi

Behold the monastic settlements in Alchi (tentative world heritage site), one of the biggest wonders of Buddhist art in the entire world. Take time to absorb!

Site 4: Thiksey

One of the largest Buddhist monasteries of Ladakh - multi-storied; set on an imposing hill like the potola palace of Tibet. It's a treasure house of ancient Buddhist paintings.

Observe & Learn: Contemplate the paintings, learn their stories, know the myths behind the characters, their expressions, poses, details and colours.

Create Images: Try your hands at different techniques of visual art such as photography, illustration, collage, etc. Fabricate images which respond to your interpretation of the Buddhist paintings and their echo in today’s world.

The street is your gallery: Invade Leh's Old Town! Take the myths from the clouds, the peacocks and the caves down the streets and bazaars. The fabricated images will be composed into posters, which will be printed and put up in Old Town.