A two-month-long global painting exhibition 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (The World is One Family) showcasing paintings by 40 eminent artists from 13 countries began here Saturday.
The exhibition at the Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC) in themed on the relationship between contemporary art and enviroment and is curated by Pinakin Patel, KCC Executive Director Richa Agarwal said.
"The exhibition highlights how, no matter what is the geography or time period, the inspiration for all artists remains the same," she said.
Some of the key participants are - Ganesh Selvaraj (India), Do Ho Suh (South Korea), Tony Delap (USA), Matthias Bitzer (Germany), Camille Henrot (France), Iftikhar Dadi & Elizabeth Dadi (USA), Agarwal said.
Inaugurating the exhibition on Friday, British Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata Bruce Bucknell said "This is a fantastic stage, a perfect platform considering there is great interest, great consciousness about art in Kolkata and Bengal".
A two-day international conference is also on from Saturday where leading thinkers, artists, writers, musicians, practitioners, curators and architects from within and outside the country will speak on the soft power of art based on the principle of unity in diversity, Agarwal added.