Started in 2014, PhotoSpark is a weekly feature from your story With photos that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the previous 830 posts, we had a feature art festival, Cartoon Gallery. World Music Festival, Telecom Expo, millet fair, Climate Change Expo, wildlife convention, startup festival, diwali rangoli, and Jazz Festival.
The ninth edition of Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF) in Goa celebrates the beauty and impact of art across the spectrum: craft, photography, visual arts, music, dance, film, theatre, and culinary arts. Check out our coverage of the past three editions of SAF here.
An initiative of Hero Group’s Serendipity Arts Foundation, the festival offers broad and deep exposure to multi-disciplinary arts. There are expert curators for each track, as well as walkthroughs of the exhibition for those interested in fascinating backstories.
Sunilkant Munjal, Chairman, Hero Enterprises and Founder of SAFE said, “Nine editions of the festival confirm our original vision that more people will engage in the arts if given the opportunity”. your story
The festival also has a strong emphasis on audience engagement and education through interactive installations and workshops.
“Art is something you can do yourself, not just what others do and what you see or hear. SAF has workshops on many art forms for people of all ages. We also have academicians, researchers and intellectuals imparting their rich insights,” adds Munjal.
Overall, these features make the festival experience more complete and wholesome. “Something stays with you after the festival. It also makes you think a little bit, and that’s part of our effort,” he said.
In this photo essay, we showcase some highlights of several SAF locations: Old GMC Complex, ESG Building, Art Park, Directorate of Accounts, Excise Building, Samba Square, Azad Maidan, and Nagalli Hills Arena.
According to SAF’s music co-curator Zubin Balaporia, musicians play a major role in fostering harmony in society. He is a founding member and keyboard player of the rock band Indus Creed.
“This is especially important for senior musicians in the region. With our band, Indus Creed, we have made a conscious decision to try and promote young talent. This is our small way of giving back,” he affirms.
At SAF, he brought a choir from Happy Home and School for the Blind to the stage along with his jazz pianist Nitesh. “We opened SAF with One World, a peace initiative concert that I envisioned,” adds Balaporia.
Music co-curator Vikram Ghosh, a noted tabla artist and composer, sees the rise in popularity of Indian classical music. It is completely wrong to say that young people are moving away from this music. Indian classical music is on a very good wicket now,” he explained.
Audiences love Indian classical music. “They’re finding part of their natural being in that music. They’re listening to music that has no soul,” he adds.
While music for dancing is certainly popular, there is much more to music. “Music is also meant to be listened to deeply, to internalize and absorb the emotions associated with music,” says Ghosh.
As for trends in the food sector, Anusha Murthy and Elizabeth Yorke, co-founders of Food Issue, emphasize food sustainability and waste reduction, as well as the revival of regional and indigenous ingredients.
“Like our workshops Don’t scrap that! and Waste-to-value The sessions show participants how to explore innovative ways to recycle kitchen scraps into valuable resources,” explains York.
Like sessions Secret Market Walking Tour and Crisis Food: Adapting Food for Resilience Immerse yourself in the local food culture of Goa. “We discuss ways to adapt traditional knowledge to modern challenges,” Murthy adds.
Crafts curator Christine Michael sees post-Covid-19 craft marketing and online sales using social media as a very different phenomenon than previous community-based sales of traditional crafts. Digital access and global awareness have changed craft activities locally and internationally in terms of product design, marketing, and trends.
“Socially, the craft community’s family unit is changing with more opportunities and education. Craft has always responded to change and new influences,” Michael signed off.
what now you Done today to pause your busy schedule and use your creative side for a better world?
Anuja Dasgupta
Anupama Bhagwat (Sitar) and Mayank Bedekar (Tabla)
Rose Angon
(All photos taken on location at SAF 2024 by Madanmohan Rao.)