The Washington Post looks at New Delhi’s public art program:

“Public space is shrinking in this city, and we are trying to reclaim and reengage with it through art,” said Pooja Sood, curator of the public art extravaganza, which ends Sunday. “We broke through prevailing social, cultural and political barriers to bring contemporary art out of the elitist, white-cube galleries.”

In the past decade, New Delhi has witnessed an unprecedented boom in the construction of high-rises, overpasses, malls and multiplexes at the expense of countless trees and old buildings. Conspicuous consumption and changing lifestyles are depleting the city’s underground water supply and slowly edging the once-sacred Yamuna River out of people’s consciousness.

“The installations ask a question, ‘Where are you in this debate about environment versus progress?’ And many people have looked at the installations and asked, ‘Is this art?’ ” Sood said. “This is the beginning of a conversation between art and the city.”

New Delhi Reclaims Public Space Via Art (Washington Post)