First-Ever Sā Ladakh Festival Comes to a Colorful and Memorable Close
The inaugural Sā Ladakh exhibition, Asia’s highest land art display, ended with a magnificent closing ceremony in Leh’s Disko Valley. The event drew around 400 people, including Leh visitors, to the Himalayas under the moonlight.
Founded by Tenzing ‘Jammy’ Jamyang—a Ladakhi mountaineer, Raki Nikahetiya—an Austrian-Sri Lankan artist, and Sagardeep Singh—an Indian designer, Sā Ladakh utilized the 20-acre Disko Valley Bike Park to promote climate change awareness and cultural links. Artists turned the valley into a climate optimism show for 23 days.
The festival’s co-founders thanked the local community for supporting culture, climate awareness, and land art. A performance by Ladakhi folk-rock band Dashugs and immersive live art projections by German light artist Philipp Frank set to ambient music made the festival’s closing ceremony extraordinary. Germany’s cultural contribution to India’s G20 leadership was supported by embassies. Kunzang from Local Futures, a Ladakh-based NPO, stressed the necessity of such events, acknowledging music and art’s ability to transmit important ideas.