Kalakriti (कलाकृति): Sounds of Music in Traditional Indian Arts

Traditional Indian arts originated in the prehistoric era. From its ancient origin to this day, Indian arts have been responsibly safekeeping a diverse history and cultural tapestry. On one hand, traditional Indian arts embed principles of science within their techniques, materials, and creation processes while on the other hand, musical themes have inspired countless artworks. For example, Ragamala genre of Indian miniature paintings from the 16th to 19th centuries that visualize musical modes—”ragas”—as human, divine, or semi-divine beings. These paintings illustrate classical music and poetry. Through this exhibition of original Indian artworks that travelled all the way from different parts of India and many of which has Geographical Indication status (GI tag), we take a glimpse into some of the intriguing aspects of this cultural heritage of the world.

We named the exhibition Kalakriti (कलाकृति), which is a Sanskrit-derived term meaning a “work of art.” It refers to any piece of artistic work, combining Kala (art/craft) and Kriti (creation/work) to signify a masterpiece or an artistic endeavor.

This Exhibition runs through Ku-ring-gai’s Arts and Cultural Festival Jun-Jul 2026. Welcome all to experience these timeless treasures and the tales that they narrate.