Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency, 4
December 2025, Kolkata: Today, Victoria Memorial
Hall (VMH), in collaboration with Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC), hosted
the inauguration of UTSAV IV, at the South Lawns of Victoria Memorial. This
event starting today will continue till 6th December, and it is a part of KCC's
annual interdisciplinary arts festival - AMI Arts Festival 2025, supported by
Emami Foundation. The festival, with an extensive line-up of exhibitions,
talks, dance, music, and theatre performances, film screenings, workshops and
more, started off on KCC's Foundation Day i.e. 21 November 2025, and will go on
till 21 December 2025.
UTSAV by KCC is a platform for emerging performing artists and organisations, encouraging artists across disciplines, bridging the gap between practice and audience, and celebrating diversity. It provides a space for performing artists and organisations to present their work in a celebration of all artistic forms, thoughts, and creations. This year, KCC has collaborated with VMH to stage 21 final performances, both solo and groups, in dance, music, and elocution, selected via an All-India Open Call. The performances of the awardees will take place on the 4th and 5th December, with special presentations by the students of distinguished music academies of Kolkata on 6th December.
Richa Agarwal, Chairperson of KCC, expressed her enthusiasm, stating, "Kolkata Centre for Creativity is delighted to strengthen its collaboration with the historic Victoria Memorial Hall for this edition of UTSAV. It is my privilege to bring young performers on a stage that stands as a symbol of the cultural legacy of our city. I hope partnerships like these will help create more opportunities for emerging artists and give them a chance to learn, shine, and take their rightful place in the larger narrative of Indian arts. This year, we have selected 21 outstanding performances through an All-India Open Call, where over 200 participants applied, across dance, music, and elocution. In every young performer here, we see focus, effort, and the unmistakable promise of a vibrant new generation in the arts."
On 4th December, the inauguration commenced with Taal Tarang, a captivating performance by the students of Manovikas Kendra, followed by the first set of performances by the UTSAV awardees. The event was attended by the eminent jury members and distinguished guests - Priti Patel Manipuri dancer, Pandit Anindya Banerjee - Sarod maestro and musicologist, Sudarshan Chakravorty - artistic director and dance choreographer, Saswati Guhathakurta elocutionist, Arnab Bandopadhyay actress, Bratati Bandopadhyay classical dancer and choreographer, Arkadev Bhattacharya - bharatnatyam dancer, Srikanta Acharya - singer-songwriter and music director, and Koushik Chakraborty - singer-songwriter, vocalist of bengali band Prithibi.