»sā Ladakh«: about the future of immersive land art

Remote and fascinating mountains characterize the Ladakh region in northern India, where the small town of Leh is located. At an altitude of 3,500 m, it is one of the highest cities in the world. From June 1, the Disko Valley Bike Park near Leh will be the venue for an innovative art exhibition for the second time: sā Ladakh – Edition 2 is dedicated to contemporary land art and is the most elevated exhibition of its kind in South Asia. sā means soil in the Ladakhi language.

Following the great success of the first edition in 2023, this time the organizers are focusing on immersive art. Site-specific installations and sculptures by Li Actuallee, Jasmeet Dhillon, Kundan Gyatso, Margherita Moscardini, Angelina Kumar, Ikshit Pande and Tsetan Angmo, among others, can be seen at sā Ladakh – Edition 2, which is entitled The Future of Immersive Land Art / Immersive Land Art and the Future. The aim of sā Ladakh is to raise awareness of climate optimism and international dialog with the future generation in mind.

»The way sā connects the themes of climate, art & sustainability, togetherness and involves the local people with their issues is smart and caring. sā is another example of how something becomes more by sharing it,« says Hamburg-based Karla de la Barra, who has been involved in the exhibition in the »Communication/Germany« department since this year. »A good example of this is the immersive land art performance by the German-Indian artist duo Neil Ghose Balser & Doyel Joshi. This contribution, sponsored by the German Embassy New Delhi and Local Futures Ladakh, will visualize this dialogue with over 50 students of Mahabodhi Residential School about nature, culture and community,« she further explains.

sā Ladakh is one of only 19 projects worldwide to be supported by the European Union of National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC). In this year's edition, the organizers are also working together with the non-profit art initiative museum in progress from Austria. The museum in progress's raising flags series, a constantly expanding outdoor project, will present works by Minvera Cuevas, Shilpa Gupta, Agnieszka Kurant and Erwin Wurm, among others, in the exhibition. sā Ladakh will be open exclusively for school workshops during the first few days, then to the public from June 6 to 10. People around the world who are unable to visit the exhibition are also invited to discover the artworks on Instagram @saladakh.

We spoke to Raki Nikahetiya, one of the three founders of sā Ladakh, about the event and its background. The interdisciplinary artist comes from Sri Lanka, grew up there and in Austria and now lives in India.

Mr. Nikahetiya, the first sā Ladakh took place last year. Could you briefly explain how the idea and implementation of the project came about?

Raki Nikahetiya [RN]: In my early childhood in Sri Lanka, I grew up in the shadow of colossal sculptures carved out of solid rock at historical sites such as Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura. Even after centuries, these sculptures still seemed so significant, so breathtaking, seemingly unaffected by time and man – I could not understand how anyone could create something so timelessly monumental in a natural landscape without modern technology.

My fascination with land art intensified in my youth in Austria through documentaries about the art of Andy Goldsworthy, the geoglyphic Nazca Lines in Peru and the tragic story of the Moai on Easter Island. In the case of sā – »Earth« in Ladakhi – it was Sagardeep Singh who initiated the idea of a collaboration. Sagardeep - who had been working as an interior designer in Ladakh for several years – and I both had a passion for the landscapes of the Himalayas. When we were looking for a concept, our memories and love for Land art came back to us.

The perfect opportunity presented itself when the founders of Diskovalley Mountain Bike Park in Leh approached us for an exhibition at their 22-hectare venue at an altitude of 3600 meters. Originally, Sagardeep and I wanted to create a collaborative Land art installation, but we quickly realized that the 22 hectares would be much better suited as a collective exhibition space, inviting other artists as well. Dr. Monisha Ahmed, the founder of the Ladakh Arts and Media Organization, was a key supporter of sā from the beginning and facilitated access into the Ladakhi art community.

It was then that Tenzin Jamyang from Ladakh, a renowned high alpine climber and founder of the Suru Outdoor Festival, joined the founding team. Jamyang had the idea of linking the art concept with climate protection, as he had experienced first-hand on his expeditions how the effects of climate change were worsening in high-altitude regions. That was the beginning: three friends with different backgrounds, but with the same vision and passion. All our previous experiences came together: Land art in connection with climate, culture and community.

What results did you take away from sā of 2023 and how did these influence the concept of this year's exhibition?

RN: sā as a concept is an incessant learning, from successes and especially from setbacks. We do not strive for perfection in the artistic process, but for a shared exchange, support and learning. We took a lot away from Edition 1 of 2023, especially questions. How can we interact better with the environment? How do we want to create art, which materials and processes should we use and why? How should we communicate digitally and with the local community and how can we involve them better?

We also wanted to create a platform that not only brings artists together, but also builds a supportive network that provides safety, artistic freedom and support, even after the exhibition. sā was founded out of passion and love for landscapes, the environment and community, with the aim of involving people from all walks of life – especially the next generation, the future custodians of the land.

sā – Edition 2 focuses on immersive art experiences, which are in high demand. What new aspects and ideas do you want to convey with sā?

RN: Since the beginning, the values of sā have been based on the principles of climate optimism. We want to appeal to different senses through immersive works, but above all we want to stimulate intercultural, intergenerational and interdisciplinary exchange, as well as appreciation and care for the natural world through sustainable art.

In Land art, this is perhaps a new approach that we want to share with artists, institutions and other initiatives. After the insights we gathered last year, we understand sustainable art as art that can be made from recycled, local, renewable, biodegradable or reusable materials. For us, art is sustainable if it has no negative impact on the physical and cultural environment, if it can be reused by the community or is transportable and can be exhibited elsewhere.

Sustainable art involves all people, respects diversity and inclusion and raises awareness of climate solutions on a local and global level.

It is striking that the exhibition is intended for school workshops for almost as long as it is open to the public. Were you able to agree on this division quickly and what message do you want to send to the art world?

RN: When we think of our own school days, what positive memories come to mind? Maybe not the time in the classroom, but excursions or hiking days. When I was little and we lived in Sri Lanka, my father would often come home from work with selectively collected leaves and play a game with me where we identified different plants. I remember we played almost daily, and we spent a lot of time together in my grandparents' tropical garden, observing life in the jungle, undergrowth and canopy. I think this gave me a deep connection and love for the land and nature.

Jamyang and Sagardeep had similar experiences and we quickly agreed that children in particular build a bond, appreciation and respect for nature and the land during these early years. For us, Land art is more than just art in nature – we believe it is a continued learning or relearning of how we see our environment and our place in it.

Through climate optimism, we therefore aim to engage youth by offering workshops and visits to places that not only offer sustainable solutions to the problems of climate change in the 21st century, but also simply give children, teenagers and those interested the opportunity to be in nature through art – we hope to give students appreciation and remembrance through this opportunity. We also learned a lot from the students – with the Himalayas as a backdrop you feel small and insignificant but also a part of the overall landscape and you learn a new connection to nature – we would like to share this experience and feeling with the art world but also with other disciplines in India and worldwide.

How satisfied are you with the response, both locally and digitally?

RN: We recently received the press figures from our partner, the German embassy in India: we had a reach of 815 million this year – an incredibly high figure that was generated organically. We are of course very proud of this, but we want to grow slowly and not lose our community principles. In the four days of the exhibition on site, we had 2,000 mainly local visitors. Not a high number, but just right, as we also want to work sustainably in terms of sustainability in Ladakh, which is very much affected by mass tourism. That's why we are probably not a typical event, as we do not always want more visitors on site, but only a certain number that does not leave a negative impact on the region. To achieve this, we also work with local partners, such as Local Futures, who promote sustainable tourism and advise us.

How did your new experience as co-founder of sā affect your own artistic work?

RN: Very strongly. The participating artists, but also the volunteers, supporters and I, have been thinking much more about our own work and how we can work more sustainably since sā. It also opened my eyes to how strong a network can be when it is built with honesty, compassion and good communication and how enriching it is to learn new things and experience different world views through an interdisciplinary approach to art.

My Land art installation from last year was called »For A Fifty Million Years«. For this work, I used local soil and learned rammed earth as a sustainable construction method. Our history has been intertwined with that of our landscapes since the beginning. In the last 50 million years, the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates created a massif that is still forming – the highest and youngest mountain range on earth: the Himalayas.

What do we want to leave behind in the eons to come? Building with the earth of the Himalayas inspired me to reflect on time, our landscapes, our origins, our identity, our insignificance and our meaning in relation to environment and space. This year, I removed my work: »For A Fifty Million Years« became earth again, became part of the forming massif again, making space for new art, ideas and artists.

Note: We added the pictures of this year's project on June 25 and the interview and the picture of Raki Nikahetiya on Juli 23.