On June 1st the 5th Viborg International Billboard Festival opens in Viborg, Denmark.

Aditya Aryal is among the 10 artist the jury invited – among hundred applicants from all over the world – to create new billboard painting inspired by the theme: The Human Body: action, emotion, communication.

Aditya Aryal’s invitation to the Billboard Festival marks a small break through in our work. He will not be the first artist we help getting to international exhibitions outside Nepal.

I’m sure he will make the European art scene look out for other Nepalese artists.
Thomas Tingstrup, founder and driving force behind Art@Tings

Art@Tings is not a gallery. It’s an Art Space

Back in 2010 Thomas & Annette Tingstrup created Art@Tings to have a ‘platform’ for all the projects that grew from the creativity & energy around Tings Tea Lounge & Lounge Hotel in Kathmandu.

They focus internationally in all their projects: An International Music Film Festival, international DJ/Jazz Festival, international Art Pashminas, work shops etc. In 2010 Art@Tings joined forces with culture entrepreneur Torsten ‘Metalstein’ Hvass and managed to set up the very successful and sold out Nepal Night Film festival in Copenhagen, Denmark where Arpan Thapa and Murray Kerr participated.

We are not gallery-people. We just love art. When Tings was up and running, the art and culture projects just happened around us. And without really knowing how, we just got involved with the art scene.

It was soon clear to us that some of the problems that creative people were struggling with was something we might be able to help them out with – through our personal art experience and our many friends around the world.

Now Art@Tings is our small way if contributing – we work for free and don’t charge royalty for the artists sales.
Thomas Tingstrup

If you want to make a living from your art, you need a bigger market – you have to get contacts outside Nepal. The only way to get that is by visiting galleries, art buyers and art people. That’s Art@Tings’ focus!

Aditya Aryal’s invitation to the Billboard Festival marks a small break through in our work. He will not be the first artist we will help getting invitations to exhibitions outside Nepal. I’m sure he will make a good impression and make the European art scene look out for other Nepalese artists.
Thomas Tingstrup

Photography by Stephen Freiheit

Aditya Aryal’s European tour is a break through for Art@Tings.

Aditya Aryal’s participation in the Billboard Festival is the result of 5 years of focused work on promoting talented Nepalese Artists internationally.

Since the first show NoNameNoThemeJustArt back in 2013 Art@Tings have followed a handful of young local artists whom – they believe – have what it takes to make it outside Nepal.

Since we met Aditya for the first time during the NoName exhibition we’ve followed his works. We never invite artists to collaborate – the initiative must come from themselves. And that what was Aditya did when he returned after the NoName show as the creative driving force behind the very successful Prasad@Tings in 2013. Since then we’ve supported him as much possible.
Thomas Tingstrup

Art@Tings never interfere in the artists creative works. The artists integrity & freedom-to-express means everything to their art. But when asked Thomas and Annette’s they never hesitate and always come up with constructive and serious feedback and critic.

With our more than 35 years love and involvement in art and culture we feel we have something Aditya needs to grow as an artist. We hate the think-about-their-situation-developing-country-nonsense we hear a lot. Living as an artist is tough – in Nepal and in the rest of the world. No artist gains anything by being ‘nice’. So we’re always very tough in our criticism. And that sometimes hurts – Aditya will probably agree in that. And I’m sure that he also will agree that once he got used to this open and honest way of communicating, things work.

For the last 5 years we’ve had hours of hours talks (and chats during our travels) about art, music, literature, food and life in general. We have gained a lot from these talks – and we’re sure he has done that too.

So its a huge privilege to us helping him to Europe. Being invited is already a big achievement for him.
Thomas Tingstrup

The Billboard Festival kicks off Aditya Aryal’s 3 month European tour.

When Aditya finish his participation at Viborg International Billboard Festival on 15 June he will continue to Copenhagen to do another show during the Copenhagen International Jazzfestival that opens on July 3rd.

After the Copenhagen shows Aditya will travel to Oslo in Norway. We haven’t had time to set up an exhibition there – but we will try to arrange one or two meetings with galleries, so he gets a chance to present himself and his works.
Thomas Tingstrup

Finally it looks as if something will happen in Lisbon in Portugal before Aditya Aryal returns to Kathmandu. Art@Tings has discussed the possibility with one of the new happening galleries.

It’s very short notice – but the curators love what we’ve shown them and are very keen on doing something. Hopefully we will be able to set up a pop-up art event here before Aditya go home. He will be very busy!
Thomas Tingstrup