Starting November 23, Micro Galleries Kathmandu will be organising an open exhibition for two weeks across Patan, with art shows, workshops, tours and talks, which will “explore and exchange global and local issues…in the hopes of leaving a resonant outcome,” says Kat Roma Greer, global artistic director for Micro Galleries. 

The Patan edition of the initiative also includes live paintings and installation exhibits, workshops, interactive photography and guided tours along with a more exciting ‘singing by a water fountain’ event, wherein a team of musicians will gather to experiment with tunes from various genre and traditions. 

Micro Galleries is a global initiative that has already held nine installation exhibits and activities across five continents—in Tai Hang, Hong Kong; Nowra, Australia; Cape Town, South Africa; Denpasar, Bali; Graz, Austria; and Jakarta, Indonesia—in the past five years. 

Their goal, according to Greer, is to “make micro change on a large scale through art and creativity and to explore the effects of climate change and women’s empowerment in communities to draw attention to these important issues.” 

The exhibition will see artists from across the world taking part in putting up installations and creating art. “Projects  like  these show  that  art  matters  in  our  daily  life  and  contributes  to  improving  the  public’s  lives—not  to  mention  the  amazingly  wonderful  and supportive  artist  community  Micro  Galleries  builds  and  engages,” said Ika  Vantiani, an Indonesian artist  who will be part of the Micro Galleries Kathmandu. 

The Patan exhibition, themed ‘Empower!’, will see the creation of a Women on the Wall mural during its opening weekend. In keeping with the theme, the event will bring together women from various communities across Patan and some international artists to paint the mural to tell a story of female empowerment and “…give voice to women’s issues, concerns, strength and dreams in order to raise their voice as a collective—locally and globally,” the organisers say.