Come April and Mumbai will see a plethora of cultural programmes, thanks to the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) making a splash with a two-day festival called ‘India Foundation for the Arts Festival'. Exhibitions, performances, workshops, discussions, bioscopes...all this and more will form the mainstay of the fest.
Anmol Vellani, Executive Director IFA, says, “The arts have always got generous support from the government, corporate bodies, developmental organisations etc. But the perspective largely remains rooted in marketing or income generation. The IFA seeks a dialogue with the community to know their needs and perspective and then gives grants, so that their vision is manifested in the most wholesome perspective, as they intended it to. The primary criteria for any project is that it has to be a well-etched programme/project; an original concept; and in the ideal scenario, a catalytic idea.”
Arundhati Ghosh, Deputy Director, IFA, continues, “We give grants in various fields such as performing arts, literature, dance, documentation and so on. We have now decided to showcase a plethora of work under one roof with the intent that the audiences get to savour the creative genius of around 15 immensely talented grantees, through film screenings, lecture demonstrations, musical performances, presentations, exhibitions and theatre performances. These grants were made in the last few years and represent a variety of artistic forms and expressions from all over the country.”
IFA has chosen Mumbai as their port of call to commence what will hopefully be a series of fests over the country. Arundhati explains, “The city has an enthusiastic audience for all sorts of creative expressions which we thought would be a big boost for grantees from beyond Mumbai. Also, we're looking to spread our wings in every way; for which resources are pertinent in all forms.”
Tha IFA Festival will be inaugurated by actor Naseeruddin Shah and comprises a photo exhibition on ‘Tamasha'; bioscopes such as ‘Mayabazar'; discussion on ‘Tichi Satra Prakarne'; conversations with a puppeteer and more.
Bottomline: A variety of artistic forms and expressions from all over the country.
India Foundation for the Arts Festival;Prithvi Theatre, Juhu, Mumbai, April 7 and 8.
