West Windsor Arts will bring the South Indian tradition of Golu back to the community in October with an expanded celebration built around storytelling, music, dance and visual art.
“Golu 2026: The Ten Avatars” will be held Saturday, Oct. 3, and Sunday, Oct. 4, from 4 to 8 p.m. at West Windsor Arts, 952 Alexander Road.
Now in its third year at the arts center, the event has grown from a traditional Golu, in which friends and neighbors come together to create and share elaborate displays of dolls and treasured heirlooms, into a broader community celebration designed to introduce the tradition to people of all backgrounds.
This year’s event will include guided storytelling, live performances of Indian music and dance, interactive art activities for children, Indian refreshments and a display of dolls and figurines built around the theme of the 10 avatars of Vishnu.
Golu is traditionally associated with Navratri, a nine-night Hindu observance celebrated in the fall and especially prominent in South India. Families create tiered displays of dolls and figurines, often combining deities and mythological characters with musicians, animals and scenes depicting everyday life, history and culture.
Many of the dolls are made of clay or wood and brightly painted, and some are treasured heirlooms passed from one generation to another. A family’s collection can grow over many years as new figures are added alongside dolls inherited from parents and grandparents.
The arrangement itself becomes a form of storytelling, with each display reflecting the interests, traditions and creativity of the family that creates it.
But Golu is not only about the objects on display. Visiting other homes is an important part of the tradition, making the celebration social as well as artistic and religious. Friends, relatives and neighbors gather to view one another’s displays, share food and conversation and, in some homes, sing devotional songs or perform music.
That tradition of gathering around a display is part of what West Windsor Arts has sought to recreate on a larger public scale.
West Windsor Arts first brought the household tradition into its gallery space in 2024 with “From Ethereal to Real: A Navratri Golu,” an installation created by local artist Padmaja Ganapathy.
That year’s installation used mythology and metaphor to explore global warming while also introducing visitors to the cultural and spiritual significance of Golu. The display remained at the arts center for 11 days, giving people several opportunities to visit outside of the main celebration.
The 2024 event included Indian classical music, a presentation about the tradition and art activities for children. Ganapathy said at the time that Golu displays could offer a cross-section of society, with the figures reflecting history and culture as well as religious stories.
The West Windsor Arts celebration has continued to evolve since then. Rather than simply reproducing a household Golu in a gallery, organizers have increasingly used the tradition as a framework for visual art, performance, storytelling and audience participation.
This year, Ganapathy, now president of the West Windsor Arts Board of Trustees and curator of the event, has developed an installation centered on the 10 avatars of Vishnu.
“We reimagined a traditional Golu as an immersive and symbolic art installation: The ten avatars of Vishnu are represented through symbolic masks, objects, fabric and suspended forms, with the sleeping Vishnu presiding above them,” Ganapathy said. “The installation invokes questions and sparks curiosity about what the ten avatars are.”
In Hindu tradition, Vishnu is associated with preservation and the maintenance of cosmic order. The avatars represent the different forms Vishnu takes in stories in which balance must be restored.
Visitors will not need to already know those stories to follow the installation. QR codes placed with each of the 10 avatars will allow visitors to learn more about the figures and their significance as they move through the display.
“The installation explores how Vishnu, the ‘Preserver’ in Hindu mythology, takes different forms to restore balance when the world is in turmoil,” Ganapathy said. “Together, the avatars represent transformation, resilience and the timeless hope that harmony can be renewed, time and time again.”
The event is designed to be participatory rather than simply an exhibition for visitors to view.
Ganapathy said people are encouraged to become part of the celebration by singing and dancing, participating in art activities, completing images and using their own imaginations to connect the stories presented throughout the installation.
That community involvement reflects the traditional spirit of Golu, which centers not only on the dolls themselves but also on people gathering around the displays and sharing music, stories and other traditions.
For visitors unfamiliar with Golu or Hindu traditions, the combination of performances, guided storytelling, QR-code explanations and hands-on activities offers several ways to experience the celebration without any previous knowledge.
“As the event grows in popularity over the years, it has been seen as a great venue to showcase artistic talents, and many artists have reached out this year to perform,” Ganapathy said. “We have local as well as out-of-state talent from as far away as Canada.”
The growing interest from performers also reflects how the West Windsor Arts celebration has expanded beyond the central installation. Music and dance have become part of the experience, giving artists another way to interpret and share elements of Indian culture with visitors.
Another traditional art form will greet visitors before they enter. A dedicated “Kolam committee” will create kolams at the entrance to the arts center.
Kolams are decorative geometric designs traditionally created at the entrances of homes, often using repeating patterns and symmetrical forms. Their inclusion adds another visual element to the celebration before visitors even reach the Golu installation.
The event also serves as a fundraiser supporting West Windsor Arts’ cultural programs.
Admission is $10 per person per day for ages 5 and older, according to the arts center’s registration site. Children younger than 5 are admitted free. (secure.westwindsorarts.org)
The registration page describes the event as a two-day celebration of art, culture, music and community inspired by the South Indian festival of Navratri. (secure.westwindsorarts.org)
Donors will have an opportunity to preview the Golu installation during a special donor appreciation event Friday, Oct. 2.
West Windsor Arts offers arts and cultural events, workshops and classes for children and adults in disciplines including visual arts, dance, theater and writing.
For more information or to register, call 609-716-1931 or visit westwindsorarts.org.
