Maihar Art Ichol Festival - 2026
20 -22 February 2026
ART | FILM | MUSIC | CONVERSATION
MAI Festival 2026 at Art Ichol celebrates creative exchange — from powerful performances by Shubha Mudgal to installations by Veer Munshi and Shilpa Joglekar, and conversations that bridge tradition and contemporary practice. A celebration of legacy, listening, and living art.
Set in the quiet, immersive space of Art Ichol, Maihar, the festival brings artists, thinkers, filmmakers, musicians, and curious minds into one shared rhythm. Three days of coming together through Art, Film, Music, Conversations.
ART
The 11th MAI Festival opened with a significant milestone at Art Ichol — the inauguration of Arts Ananda Gallery. The new gallery space was inaugurated by Honourable Ganesh Singh, Member of Parliament, Satna, Madhya Pradesh. marking a meaningful beginning to this year’s festival.
Echoes From My Homeland by Veer Munshi
Echoes From My Homeland speaks to the lives of many displaced people who carry fragments of home across geographies. It reflects disrupted everyday life through abandoned homes, interrupted rituals, and languages sustained in absence. Through artistic articulation, the work offers a tentative resolution, where homeland endures as resonance and belonging is imagined beyond physical return.
Mannat by Shilpa Joglekar
Wish rituals hold deep significance in India and many other cultures, symbolizing the act of petitioning for blessings and honoring the divine. From tying threads on sacred trees to tossing coins into wishing wells, these acts are ways of setting intentions into motion. “Mannat” offers an immersive, meditative experience where participants can symbolically “write” or record their wishes through physical interaction. Each visitor will become a co-creator, contributing to the constantly evolving artwork.
FILM
A documentary film titled Sardar Gurcharan Singh – The Lotus and The Swan: Pioneer of Indian Ceramics, directed by Nirmal Chander, was screened at the Festival. The film offered a glimpse into the life and legacy of Sardar Gurcharan Singh, a pioneering figure in Indian ceramics.
