The fifth edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival aims to make the arts inclusive and accessible

From embracing technology to including arts from the fringes in order to help them contemporise, the fifth edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa is highlighting important conversations

Most festivals are back on the ground after the pandemic-induced two-year hiatus, and among them is the Serendipity Arts Festival, which is of particular interest as it is  one of the largest multidisciplinary initiatives in South Asia. Organised by the New Delhi-based Serendipity Arts Foundation (SAF), the festival that returns to Panjim covers the ambit of visual, performing and culinary arts, across genres such as film, literature and fashion. For its fifth edition, which will be held between December 15th and December 23rd, the festival is bringing in a set of curators with over 120 events spanning various disciplines. 

Democratising the arts

The festival is a key part of SAF’s programming as an extension of its larger aim of democratising the arts by widening their scope for learning, engagement and participation. Smriti Rajgarhia, director of the Foundation, emphasises the ethos of “inclusion, accessibility, sustainability and interdisciplinarity of the arts” that guide them. “SAF aims to connect the past, present and future of the arts, and increase the interaction and collaboration with the public, questioning the dialectic between tradition and modernity. The initiatives undertaken by the Foundation, like the festival, aim to transform venues into spaces where diverse audiences can experience the wonders of the arts in new and exciting contexts,” she says in a chat with The Established. 

In a nutshell

With acts like Indian hip-hop outfit the Ta Dham Project, whichuses Konakkol to dancer Latha Srinivasa’s ‘Cycle of Love’ and ‘111,’ a duet between a ballet dancer (Eve Mutso from Estonia) and a paraplegic dancer (Joel Brown from Scotland) taking centrestage, the festival offers a glimpse into the range and diversity of programming; there is also the famous ‘River Raag’ performances curated by Bickram Ghosh.

Meanwhile, ‘An Amalgamation of Art and Gastronomy’ will see chef Madhav Dayal and the team at Panjim-based cocktail bar Miguel’s plate up dishes to explain the connection between the two, while chef and baker Priyanka Sardesai will help the audience reutilise bread to create new dishes. Independent curator Veerangana Solanki will present ‘Future Landing,’  a visual project where artists have “scoured the internet for inspiration, pushed firewalls and cracked codes”.

A focus on craft

While art, music and culinary initiatives don’t fail to draw in sustained interest, the crafts section, as per SAF’s ethos, has always been a priority as they try to provide a platform–both educative and performative–to communities to bolster them. “The crafts sector in India is the second-largest employer in the country after agriculture. But, the roadblocks in the sector reaching its peak lie in its need to be redefined to meet contemporary needs,” says Anjana Somany, curator of the crafts discipline. The current president of the Delhi Crafts Council, Somany will present her exhibition, ‘Srijan: Space-making Craft Practices of India’ at the festival. “It will explore various space-making elements of our everyday—including roofs and ceilings, doors and windows, pillars and stairs, walls and floors. An attempt has been made to look at indigenous, sustainable practices with a new eye, boasting of practitioners who are keeping traditions alive by applying them in modern contexts to reimagine and continue the practice of the craft,” Somany says.

Somany’s curation for the craft discipline resonates with SAF’s objective of taking art—both artisanal and contemporary practices—beyond the white cube. “We aim to host an inclusive festival that challenges the public to imagine the arts beyond notions of what is traditionally ‘accepted’ as art,” says Rajgarhia. 

Technology in contemporary art

While SAF  embraced technology during the pandemic to keep their programming running, the festival had also used it to keep itself connected to the people.. “We re-adapted to mediums and reacted to spaces around us, including the Internet, to reach out to our audience and make the arts and conversations around it democratic and participatory,” says Rajgarhia, referring to the open calls and grants that the festival initiated during the pandemic.

While events like the Serendipity Arts Festival have been setting the right precedent, it is still an interesting time of flux in the art community in India as accessibility remains an issue. However, as Somany points out that the biggest change caused by the pandemic in this space is “an open-mindedness amongst artisans and craft activists and groups to willingly embrace technology,” which holds out hope for more positive changes.

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