A huge, soft bed placed in the centre of the gallery. People slowly walked up to it and then sat down beside strangers. Some leaned back and relaxed. Some simply watched the surroundings. Outside, the building’s windows were covered with letters from both Bengali and English language, and the patio buzzed with the nostalgia of childhood days. This was the scenario at TRI Art & Culture during the opening of its latest exhibition.
Recently, the centre opened its doors to its most immersive exhibition, ‘ADDA: The Third Space’. Curated by St+art India Foundation, the exhibition turns TRI’s heritage building into a sensory journey inspired by the street life of Kolkata. The exhibition takes its name from the Bengali word ‘adda’, which refers to a place of long talks and warm connections. It uses this idea to explore what lies between public and private, street and home, movement and rest.
The exhibition utilises every corner of the triangular building: the facade, the terrace, patio, staircase and both gallery floors. Each artwork is placed where it belongs, responding to the space around it. On the outside walls, artist KHATRA creates a work called ‘A Threshold Opening’. By mixing Bengali and English letters, he turns the façade into a poetic street language that invites people to enter. Inside the ground floor gallery, another artist blurs the line between domestic and public with ‘Into the Shared Bed’. The expansive installation encourages people to sit, lie down, or simply share the space quietly. It turns rest into a collective experience.
In the patio, Anikesa Dhing sets up a playful installation that uses the idea of candies and sugar to bring back memories of childhood joy. As visitors climb the stairs, they see Nabi’s ‘For a Masquerade of Mirage’. Embroidery, light, and shadows come together to explore identity, ancestry, and imagination. The work mixes anime-style art with folk images, and makes visitors think about what is seen and what often remains unseen. On the first floor, ZERO, Deep Adhikary, and Dr. Ishita Dey create a very different space. Their piece looks like a mix of a kitchen, bathroom, and scratch room. It uses smell and touch to show how daily spaces hold memories of gender, labour, and caste. The terrace also features an audio-visual installation inspired by Kolkata’s street games.
The work uses only pawns on a redesigned chessboard, through which the artists suggest that listening to others is a powerful way to build community. Speaking to The Statesman, Madeleine St. John, Director of TRI Art & Culture, highlighted why the theme is unique and meaningful. “We believe that art has the power to enrich and transform our lives. It’s in that spirit that we are hosting ‘ADDA: The Third Space’ in collaboration with the St+art India Foundation,” she said, adding, “St+art India Foundation specialises in street art interventions. In this collaboration, they have brought the streets into our institution and taken the institution back to the streets. This is reflected in the title of our exhibition.” She further reflected on the idea of the third space. “The Third Space refers to a liminal zone that is neither work nor home.
It is a space in between. Much like a Bengali adda, it is a place where connection, conversation, and a sense of togetherness can happen. St+art was inspired by the streets of Kolkata while developing this exhibition. During their research, they walked through the city’s bylanes and noticed the rowaks at the thresholds of Bengali homes. They saw these rowaks not just as transitional spaces but as places that hold connection, conversation, and even a sense of suspended time. That inspiration shaped the idea of turning our institution itself into a third space.” Offering a final insight into the scale of the exhibition, she concluded, “It is our most extensive exhibition so far. Seeing the entire space activated with the installations feels holistic and expansive. It is exciting to witness such a full, sensory display of art that invites visitors to engage creatively with every part of the building.”