BANGANI ART FOUNDATION

​Padav—a term signifying a temporary stop or resting point—serves as a compelling metaphor for this reflective art mentoring initiative nestled in the Himalayan foothills. More than a physical pause, it embodies an intentional slowing down—a contemplative space where artistic trajectories converge, and transformation unfolds through dialogue, presence, and collective experience.
​This program reimagines mentorship not as a top-down transmission of knowledge, but as a reciprocal, lived engagement. Mentors and mentees reside together, sharing the rhythms of daily life—walking, creating, conversing, and reflecting. Within this shared temporal and spatial framework, learning emerges organically through attentiveness, embodied interaction, and experiential discovery.
​Each year, twenty emerging artists from the northern Himalayan states of India are selected for this residential fellowship. What begins as a moment of retreat gradually evolves into a long-term relationship, sustained through both in-person encounters and continued online engagement. At its core, Padav values slowness, care, and rootedness—qualities often neglected in fast-paced creative economies, yet essential for deep artistic inquiry. It cultivates a nurturing environment where voices are not only heard but shaped in communion with nature, community, and the quiet power of pause.