Goa’s biggest Arts festival is finally coming to Delhi this April. Serendipity Arts Festival is a cultural arts extravaganza originating in Goa, and is now bringing a small slice of the action to Delhi. The festival will be held at Bikaner House for 11 days, from April 6 to 16, 2017. The first edition of Serendipity Arts Festival was held in Goa in December over 8 days. It was spread across 8 venues in Panaji, had 14 curators facilitating dialogues and 53 projects in various fields. The Delhi edition of Serendipity Arts will include a crafts exhibition, photography exhibition, design installation, dance performances, storytelling session and a theater performance.
Photo Credit – Serendipity Arts Festival
Whether you’re an arts enthusiast who couldn’t quite make it to Goa for the festival, or just looking to do something a little different to kick-start the Spring season, this is a chance to get a taste of the inspiration that goes on on a huge scale each year in Goa. And with the Goan Serendipity Festival taking place in December, there is more than enough time to book your tickets for the full scale event if you feel inspired by Serendipity in Delhi.
Serendipity Festival is an arts event with a difference. Not only does Serendipity aim to display and celebrate the arts of national artists, it also sets out to forge new directions for the arts by challenging the norms and experimenting with the boundaries of art.This project is a true depiction of creative collaborations, and the productions have provided an opportunity for interdisciplinary synergy where literature and music within dance are emphasized. Through these projects, the Trust hopes to engage and reach out to artists and audiences from all demographics, and bring art back into people’s lives.
Photo credit – Serendipity Arts Festival
Photo Credit – Serendipity Arts Festival
There are various projects that form a part of Serendipity Arts Festival 2016 in 2017. Indian Crafts: Traditions and Expressions, an exhibition by Manjari Nirula and Jyotindra Jain, explores the possibility of creating a contemporary environment for artisans by nudging them to explore their inherent creativity. These works on display will be on sale, where the proceeds go back to the Serendipity Arts Trust, and the funds will be used to support artisan communities. The Express/Aspire project with the Auxilium High School, Goa, explores photography and how a child looks through the lens. This project curated by Samar Jodha, begins a multi-layered inquisition into how to engage children with creativity and how it helps develop the child’s personality.
There is also exploration on the connectivity of Art and Design with Chakraview, which is curated by Rajshree Pathy with design by Sumant Jayakrishnan. This project represented India at the London Design Biennale. This project was added into the programming to bring these two communities together and to draw inspiration from their confluence.
This is just the tip of the plethora of events the Serendipity Arts Festival has to offer, the only way to get a feel of the core of this unique festival is to com and see it for yourself. With so much to offer across so many days it is convenient to catch at least a few of the events over the 11 days.
Storytelling ‘ Eight Moon Project’ by Sahil Mukhi. Photo credit – Serendipity Arts Festival
Photo Credit – Serendipity Arts Festival
How To Travel There
Bikaner House is in the heart of New Delhi with good road and metro connectivity. Bikaner House bus station is within walking distance of Bikaner House, and both Khan Market and Udyog Bhawan metro stations are within walking distance or alternatively reachable by Auto-rickshaw.
