A touch of India in Welshpool

Welshpool has welcomed a flavour of India this week following a collaboration between the National Trust, Oriel Davies, WAVE (Wolverhampton Art Gallery) and Meadow Arts.

Shakti is an ambitious contemporary arts programme that unfolds across four venues in both England and Wales, with Powis Castle and Garden exhibiting three pieces by Mumbai-based artist, Sharmila Samant, in the ballroom.

As part of the programme Samant will undertake a residency at the castle where, in response to the exceptional collection of Indian art in the castles Clive museum, she will gain inspiration for a further piece of art.

This afternoon (Thursday) between 2-4pm, attendees will have a chance to meet Samant, and to find out more about her fascinating work and how she is approaching her Shakti artist's residency. Following this, attendees will be led up to the ballroom where they will be given the opportunity to view the three pieces of work currently being exhibited at the property.

It is free to attend but contact Powis Castle on 01938 551929 (option 2) or visit http://meadowarts.eventbrite.co.uk/ to book your place.

The four art exhibitions that make up Shakti examine the strong cultural and artistic attractions or tensions that lie beneath the more conventionally explored economic and political discourses between the UK and the Subcontinent.

Powis Castle already houses a glittering collection of Indian Art accumulated by Clive of India, along with his son and daughter-in-law, Henrietta Herbert. This assemblage of over 300 objects, including the tent and jewelled tiger of Tipu Sultan, is the most outstanding of its kind outside of India.

Reflecting a broad spectrum of Indian arts, the treasures they have brought back show their own understanding of the culture of the region. Robert Clive ruled the fortunes of the East India Company, instigating a formidable commercial supremacy that would translate into a wider political domination of the subcontinent.

Samant exhibits her work internationally and it often comments on vital political issues such as global economic power struggles, against a backdrop of local and traditional means of production.

Her work is visually exciting and follows the major trends that define the globally evolving world from an Indian perspective, taking into account the remarkable developments of the country over the last few decades. The history of textiles features heavily in her work, as she sees it as an indicator of global economic trends.