Serendipity art festival weaves magic

Exhibition saw seamless movement across diverse art forms at signature venues along the river Mandovi

The Adil Shah Palace, Goa’s old State Secretariat building by the river Mandovi and the former palace of King Yusuf Adil Shah, the last Indian ruler of Goa from the 16th century has played host to photography exhibitions such as ‘Old Homes, New Homelands’ — an exhibition based on the private collection of Arminio Rebiero as part of the ongoing Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF).

The photos exhibited aim to capture the Goan diaspora experience through photographs from their geographical clusters.

The curated, interdisciplinary arts festival that aims to change the way art is viewed is witnessing a massive line-up of fascinating activities and eminent guests.

A perfect platform

Following its intent to provide a perfect platform for all art enthusiasts, the second day of the festival saw seamless movement across diverse art forms at signature venues along the river Mandovi.

“Our Eyes, Our Stories” is another exhibition that features the work of six photographers from across the globe, who, through their photography explored the unique connection between man and nature, issues of identity, metaphysical realm of individual existence, and the grief of rape survivors in India.

‘The Spoken Word Project | Kommune’ by Roshan Abbas is a modern day take on the good old days of sitting around a campfire sharing stories. At a time when interactions primarily take place across screens, ‘The Storytellers’ encourages people to look up and connect with one another by sharing personal experiences face to face, without inhibitions.

Since 2015, ‘The Storytellers’ has collected over 300 stories from across India and done 30 stage shows. The performers included Anoop K.R., Roshan Abbas, Shamir Reuben, and Tess Joseph.

A beautifully curated craft exhibition — ‘Indian Crafts: Traditions and Expressions’ — has brought to life folk and tribal arts and crafts.

The Adil Shah Palace continued to attract crowds to witness ‘Lucid Sleep’. Curated by HH Art Spaces Foundation, it is a series of unique theatre performances by artists who perform unchoreographed, unique pieces composed live, in-situ. One of the show, ‘Chotu Virtual Migration’, dealt with the issue of migration, physical and imagined, across class and social divide. The artist made references to the folklore around Goa as a place where people come to be cleaned and refreshed by the sea and the sun, a place where social boundaries are crossed freely, and sexual or spiritual freedom is not compromised.

The Old GMC Compound in the city hosted a workshop on ‘Sanjhi Paper Cut’ with Mohan Verma. Tiny tots received a dose of craft education at the Camlin Children’s corner where they unleashed their creativity.

Reviving a tradition

‘Post Goa’ offered children a scaled-up canvas of a postcard to openly share their thoughts.

The Mandovi Promenade across Campal on the outskirts of the city hosted a photography workshop — ‘The Promenade of Express/Aspire’ — an inclusive initiative by Samar S. Jodha, with young photographers and even younger students from local schools highlighting the importance of education for the less privileged.

The daily music and dance section saw specially curated performances included those by Sanjeev Bhargava, Pravaha — an amalgamation of dance styles performed by Parwati Dutta and her troupe, Nrityaruta.

There was a treat for lovers of classical music in the form of ‘Living Traditions’, a concert of Hindustani classical music curated by Shubha Mudgal. The performance featured Murad Ali, Kaushiki Chakraborty, and Mohammed Akram. ‘The Heart of Drums’ featured Sidi Goma Tribe, Electronica and Big Drums ensemble.