Khyal: Music and Imagination
15 July – 5 November 2017
New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, Leicester

Khyal is the name of a vocal musical genre from India. The name means “imagination”. This imagination can be heard in the intricate beauty of the musical patterns the singers create. It can also be explored in the vivid imagery on which musicians draw: images of landscapes, people and Gods, stories and situations, abstract designs and splashes of colour. All of these things feed into the music we hear.

Three visual artists immersed themselves in this music, collaborating with musicians who perform it and musicologists who research it. This exhibition presents the artistic result of this collaboration, and allows visitors to view the works while listening to the music that inspired them. 

Alongside the work of professional artists, are displayed artworks by school children and art lovers. These were produced in workshops led by the artists, musicians and musicologists. An interactive app allows you to investigate khyal performance in more depth.

Original works by Adinda van’t Klooster, Mahjabin Imam Majumdar, Theresa Poulton, the pupils of Kingsmeadow School and Kelvin Grove Primary School, Gateshead, and art lovers from Pune, India.

Featured singers: Veena Sahasrabuddhe, Ranjani Ramachandran, Sudokshina Chatterjee, Surashree Ulhas Joshi and Atul Khandekar.

The project Khyal: Music and Imagination is led by Martin Clayton and Laura Leante at Durham University, in collaboration with GemArts, and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Find out more about the project here.

The Khyal iPad app is freely available to download from the App store [link to https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/khyal-music-imagination/id1164403939?ls=1&mt=8] 

Image: © Mahjabin Imam Majumdar, 2016, acrylic on canvas, inspired by a performance of Raga Marwa by Ranjani Ramachandra 

< all events