Reflecting on what contemporary folklore looks like and how folklore links people to communities of the past while also shaping their cultural expressions, a conversation on “Folklore in Present-Tense’ was held on November 1 at Ozone Cafe.
The conversation was held as part of the ‘Spelling T-A-M-A-R-A’ Exhibition put together by Art Practitioner & Fellow of the Himalayan Fellowship for Creative Practitioners 2025’, Arieno Kera with the support of Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA) and Royal Enfield.
The speakers for the conversation on ‘Folklore in present-tense’ included Vishü Rita Krocha, Poet, Writer, Journalist & Publisher, Adani Salew, Storyteller, Teacher, & Village Elder, and Arieno Kera, Art Practitioner while Mary Therese Kurkalang, Art Manager, Cultural Curator and Social Researcher moderated the conversation.
The panel dwelt on collective ways of remembering, belonging, and storytelling focussing on perspectives from the lens of art, word and storytelling wherein the speakers shared insights, practice and reflections on folklore and cultural ways.
Drawing from personal experiences, they also spoke about how stories are lived, shared, and intersect – intergenerationally, across mediums/platforms/geography, and co-exist with other institutions, both traditional and contemporary.
Meanwhile, the Spelling T-A-M-A-R-A Exhibition turns to the folktales of Makhel, a Naga ancestral place of origin and departure. Tamara, that translates as ‘departure’ in the Mao language of Makhel village takes audience into the word ‘departure’ as a conversation where it distinguishes itself by its connection to objects. In this regard, several objects, carrying stories of departure were exhibited.
