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Kleinburg, ON – The McMichael Canadian Art Collection announced today it will host the one-and-only Canadian showing of the exhibition, The Last Harvest: Paintings by Rabindranath Tagore, opening on May 19, 2012. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) is beloved by Indians as a poet and writer. He was recognized around the world as the first non-European to be awarded a Nobel Prize for literature, yet few outside India know that he was also a highly regarded visual artist.
The exhibition is organized by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and the National Gallery of Modern Art as part of the commemoration of the 150th Year Celebrations of Rabindranath Tagore, which involves a number of national and international programs, including showcasing Tagore’s paintings at select museums across the world from 2011 to 2012. The Last Harvest: Paintings by Rabindranath Tagore, curated by Professor Raman Siva Kumar of Visva- Bharati University, comprises more than sixty works on paper drawn from three collections in India. The exhibition has been presented in New York’s Asia Society Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago, with other versions being exhibited in Paris, Rome, London, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, and Berlin.
The Canadian exhibition at the McMichael is presented in collaboration with Panorama India and the
Tagore Anniversary Celebrations Committee, Toronto (TACCT). Panorama India, a non-profit umbrella organization that helps unite all Indo-Canadian cultural associations and groups in the GTA, provides a platform to exhibit and showcase arts and culture. “It brings us great pleasure to work with the McMichael in hosting this exhibition as we continue gaining greater recognition for Rabindranath Tagore’s work,” said Ajit Khanna, Chair, Panorama India. “The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is one of Canada’s leading cultural institutions and an ideal venue for the culmination of Tagore’s 150th anniversary celebrations, in the South Asian community and Canada.”
“We enthusiastically embrace the opportunity to celebrate Tagore with our local communities,” said Upkar Arora, Chair, McMichael Board of Trustees. “It is an honour to host this exhibition and we welcome and encourage everyone to visit the McMichael and experience the works and life of such a versatile and prolific artist, one who has been a great influence on both his native India, and on the world stage.”
“Rabindranath Tagore was an important influence on artists in the early decades of the twentieth century, when artists were exchanging ideas regarding theosophy and spiritualism,” said Victoria Dickenson, CEO. “During Tagore’s visit to Canada in 1929, he met with Fred Varley and Lawren S. Harris. It is very fitting that the Canadian exhibition will take place here, at the McMichael—we are delighted to renew that connection!”
Related Programming at the McMichael
Saturday, May 26, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Raman Siva Kumar, curator, and Dipak Mazumdar, translator, on The Latest Harvest: Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore and His Later Poems
Celebrated as a poet, writer, and musician, Rabindranath Tagore turned to visual arts relatively late in his life, creating a series of highly accomplished paintings in the 1930s that will be on view at the McMichael gallery during the exhibition period. Through a curator-led tour and readings of Tagore’s poetry, this unique Art Encounter will highlight the remarkable versatility of Tagore’s talent and shed light on his influence on modernism internationally. Curator Raman Siva Kumar, visiting us from Visva-Baharati University in India, will lead the tour and Tagore’s poetry will be read by Dipak Mazumdar, a passionate fan who has translated Tagore’s later poems in A Poet’s Death (Rupa, 2004) from Bengali into English.
Cost: $25 general public; $20 McMichael members. Registration required by May 11.
Thursday, May 31, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Rabindranth Tagore Curriculum Night
Tagore’s lifelong interest in integrating social justice, the environment, and arts into a teaching curriculum inspired a group of dedicated Ontario teachers to develop school programs based on his educational ideas that could be incorporated into The Ontario Curriculum. During this special evening event, teachers and educators will have an opportunity to participate in a Tagore workshop led by the teachers who developed the programs and continue to follow them in their classroom. A display of their students’ work will be on view at the McMichael between May 26 and June 3, 2012. Participants will also be offered a special after-hours viewing of The Last Harvest: Paintings by Rabindranath Tagore exhibition. Light refreshments will be served. Cost: Free for teachers and educators.
Sunday, June 3, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Ananda Mela: Celebrating Rabindranath Tagore at the McMichael
Each year at his school in Santiniketan, Rabindranath Tagore, who is also celebrated as a pioneer of modern education, would organize a joyful fair—Ananda Mela—celebrating the year’s learning and teaching. Today, we invite everyone to participate in workshops developed along the lines of Tagore’s teaching philosophy that integrates visual, poetic, and musical arts. Come enjoy our festive offerings, with musical performances by the Geetanjali Music and Dance Group (directed by Manashi Adhikari), and a presentation of Satyajit Ray’s films inspired by Tagore’s writings.
- Ananda Mela workshops, ongoing, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Satyajit Ray films, starting at 12:00 p.m. with an introduction by Kathleen O’Connell, lecturer in South Asia Studies at the University of Toronto
- Dance, music, and poetry performance at 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 24 at 11:30 a.m.
Rabindranath Tagore: East Meets Great North
The Group of Seven’s fascination with Rabindranath Tagore reflects the Western pre-occupation with Eastern philosophy and aesthetics at the turn of the twentieth century. In this Art Chat, discover how smoothly these two cultural worlds were able to fuse ideas through the art and life of this great Bengali poet, composer, artist, and thinker. Cost: Included with gallery admission.
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