The idea of sustainable living and livelihoods has become an increasing preoccupation of urban pundits today. However, can the discussion surrounding sustainability include more stakeholders in it? A Round Table organised by the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, seeks to speak to practitioners of art from across streams--music, dance, theatre and cinema-- to explore what they can contribute to the concept of sustainability.
Prof. A. Damodaran, a senior faculty member at the institute who teaches, consults and writes on Creative Economics, says the seed for this particular Round Table was sown five years earlier at a similar symposium he had organised. Excerpts from an email interview:
How did the idea for the proposed Round Table evolve?
The idea came from two simultaneous lines of inquiry that I was engaged with since 2008. In the previous Round Table which was organised in 2012, on the wellsprings of creativity, many artists spoke about how the inspiration for their creative process came from Nature. They also spoke about how their art sees and performs the inherent balance and beauty in Nature. I thought this idea of eulogising Nature could be a great contributor to the sustainability debate. Right now, we are only looking at external solutions to ensure sustainability. But why not rekindle our love for our surroundings in the first place?
The second line of inquiry was fuelled by the idea that earlier, and even today, art forms and groups organise themselves using basic resources, especially those that are close to nature. Open-air theatres, for instance is their answer to ventilation for the audience. It is because we have contributed to the heat in today’s world that we feel the need for fans and air conditioners.
So, how will the discussion be structured?
The main feature of the Round Table is that it seeks an in-depth discussion on how sustainability is approached by practising artistes, particularly from the angle of minimalism. The underlying theme this time around is ‘Minimalism as a route to Sustainability’. ‘Is Simple Beautiful?’- this is the question we seek to answer this time. But this does not eliminate the role of technology either-- artists say 3d and digital tools are a good substitute to giant hoardings or backdrops. So we will explore a variety of arguments.
Who will be the participating artists this year?
This year we propose to listen to Sanjna Kapoor, Anmol Vellani, Pawan Kumar, Sharon Lowen and Vipin Vijay, apart from seeking inputs of Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Girish Kasaravalli on practices of minimalism in the film industry.
How do you think art organizations are sustaining themselves today?
Most of them are not doing well. The economic problems faced by classical dance and opera theatres of Europe, USA and Russia are well known. They are not minimalist by any stretch of imagination – hence it is not surprising that they have fallen into this situation. The real tragedy is that our art organizations, which have minimalism as their credo are distracted from their creative process by their existential problems – mostly arising from their economic vulnerability. In the 1990s the Sangeet Natak Academy under the chairpersonship of Girish Karnad had tried to sustain India’s ancient theatre forms like Kutiyattum through a well thought-out funding scheme. Sadly, such schemes do not operate any more and the flow of funds to the Academy have drained up.
Finally, can you elaborate on what the value of such a workshop is in a management school?
This workshop could throw light on the concept of immanence in management, where focus is on the inherent attributes of a person or an entity. It is these inherent attributes that needs projection than the mere emphasis on the extrinsic. This is indeed a major challenge for management theory and practice.
