The second edition of the Sikkim Arts and Literature Festival (SALF) will bring writers, poets, artists and cultural practitioners to Gangtok for three days of discussions, performances and workshops centred on identity, memory, landscape and contemporary culture. The festival will run from October 28 to 30 at Ridge Park, as announced by organisers at a press conference on Tuesday.
Presented by the Students’ Welfare Board under the Education Department of the Government of Sikkim and produced by Teamwork Arts, SALF 2026 will feature prominent names such as Chuden Kabimo, Mamang Dai, Nawaraj Parajuli, Ranjit Hoskote, William Dalrymple, Yuvan Aves, Guru T Ladakhi and Stephen Alter.
The festival is an initiative of Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) and aims to give young people greater opportunities to engage with literature, art and cultural conversations. It will highlight Sikkim’s literary and cultural traditions and bring stories from the wider Himalayan region into discussions on identity, belonging, memory and landscape.
Program highlights include “Echoes of Verse”, a conversation featuring Mamang Dai and Ranjit Hoskote with Guru T. Ladakhi on poetry, memory, landscape and lived experience. Workshops for adults and children will be run by Gangtok‑based creative organisations Tangible Tangerines and Mind Matters.
