Kolkata, Sep 29 (UNI) The Serendipity Arts Foundation launched the Serendipity Arts Festival 2018 with the performance of The Dark Lord by Rukmini Vijayakumar and The Raadha Kalpa Dance Company in Mumbai last night.
Ms. Smriti Rajgarhia, Director, Serendipity Arts Festival introduced this year’s 14 Festival curators, representing Visual Arts, Photography, Culinary Arts, Craft, Music, Dance, and Theatre. The event also included the first screening of the Festival curtain raiser film presenting vignettes of 2018’s dynamic projects, according to a statement.
Founder of the Serendipity Arts Foundation Sunil Kant Munjal addressed the audience at the end of the performance emphasising the importance of arts and culture in India’s society, and the Festival’s commitment to accessibility and arts education, as well as the diversity and artistic integrity of this year’s projects.
Speaking about the event Mr Munjal said, “This was a really fantastic event to kick of this year's festival, we're delighted by the huge support we received from the audience in Mumbai, and were excited to showcase the diversity of projects we'll have in Goa this December.”
Over 90 projects will be presented at Serendipity Arts Festival 2018, which will be held in Goa from 15-22 December 2018.
A platform for the the visual, culinary and performing arts, the Festival tis year will be accompanied by collateral programming including panel discussions, children’s programmes, and workshops for the differently abled.
These initiatives are an integral part of the Foundation’s key mission of making the arts accessible whilst also energising arts production, awareness and practice across South Asia.
The Serendipity Arts Festival now in its third editions sets itself apart from other arts festivals in the country as the only arts event which unites the creative disciplines, showcasing performative, visual, and culinary practices.
Conceived as a long-term platform creating tangible change across the country’s cultural landscape, it aims to foster the development of thriving artistic communities across India, making the arts inclusive, educational and accessible whilst maintaining rigour and depth. The Serendipity Arts Foundation is a non-profit organisation, founded in 2016 by Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal.
Alongside the core discipline events, the Festival this year will also present a series of Special Projects including The Young Subcontinent curated by Riyas Komu, St+art curated by Hanif Qureishi, Out of Turn curated by Asia Art Archive and Meenakshi Thirukode and a Film Programme by Sabeena Gadihoke.
As part of the Festival’s collateral programming the Serendipity Arts Foundation will also hold a contemporary art symposium and panel discussion Common Ground: Location and Memory in Arts Practices.
The symposium sessions will be co-chaired by Rahaab Allana, Curator Photography and Annapurna Garimella Curator Craft at the Serendipity Arts Festival 2018. The keynote address will be presented by Ranjit Hoskote, Curator Visual Arts.
Other notable speakers and panellists include: Riyas Komu, Girish Shahane, Annapurna Garimella, Anusha Yadav, Abhishek Hazra, Karan Shrestha, Sabeena Gadihoke, Diwas Raja, Kaiwan Mehta, Abhay Sardesai, Ram Rahman, Sukanya Ghosh, Hanif Kureshi, Savia Viegas, Naman Ahuja, and Massoud Hossaini.
The symposium features speakers and panel participants who engage with different facets of art making, management and display including artists, curators, academics and historians from across all the creative disciplines.
Examining organic dialogues and synergy between various strands of creative practice, the panel discussions will look at the changing significance of visual and performance culture in contemporary India.
UNI SJC AKM