‘Creativity
involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way’ – Edward
de Bono. That is exactly how art spaces in Goa are merging different creative
forms together at a single venue.
Carpe Diem’s
activities have ranged from art and craft classes for all ages to baking
classes, gardening sessions, yoga and dance, book readings, film screenings,
jewellery and flower making, Papier mache, cold ceramics, pottery, glazing,
theatre, candle making, guitar classes and more. “Creativity knows no bounds,
therefore art too doesn’t necessarily have boundaries. Whether it is documentation
of a subject, or creating statements through various mediums, art cannot be
contained and experimenting with a form for the first time is always a
liberating experience for the individual,” says Daegal Godinho of Carpe Diem in
Majorda.
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He further adds, “In
terms of upcoming events, we will have a series of sculpting workshops using
various media, musical performances, writing workshops and book launches, a
long line up of art exhibitions, pottery classes, art and craft for adults and
kids and presentations and discussions for senior citizens and their caregivers
on multiple topics of relevance.”
Literati Bookshop and
Café in Calangute by Divya Kapur has transformed from a bookshop to a home for
book launches, interactions with authors and film screenings. “The frequency of
events at Literati depends on the availability of resource persons. We either
approach an author or a publisher informs us of the writers who are visiting
the state. For our weekly film screening, we focus on good films that you won’t
get to see in a theatre. We have been conducting workshops and film screenings
for the past four years and we have regular participants and many new members
who are visiting the state,” explains Divya.
Leonard Fernandes of
the The Dogears Bookshop, Margao says, “The turn up for events at the bookshop
depends on the event and whether it matches the interest of the participant.
Dogears regularly has film screenings, workshops for children and an open mic
session. On Saturday, we had a panel discussion about Konkani publishing, a
conversation in Konkani between Dinesh Manerkar and Anwesha Singbal, and on
Monday, we hosted an evening of music with Nadia, Omar and Errol singing live.”
He further adds, “We
are also planning a documentary film club that we will be launching soon. We
even had a stamp collection workshop. All these workshops are free as we want
people to get comfortable with the store. By increasing the number of
footfalls, we hope they have a look at the books.”
Museum of Goa,
Pilerne has reached out to experts in different fields from India and abroad to
share their views at their venue. A comfortable art space, it has gone beyond
art, exploring theatre, films, music, live performances and talks.
Subodh Kerkar, the
mastermind behind the museum, says, “The Museum of Goa is not to sell art but
to educate in art. Contemporary art in India is growing and it is more than
canvases with landscape and portrait paintings. If I take the names of the top
ten contemporary artists in India, out of 135 crore Indians, only 1.2 lakhs
will be able to identify them. One of them, Vasudev Gaitonde, had a painting of
his sold for a whopping Rs 28 crores. These are international artists and yet
very few know about them. Through the experiences and various programs at
Museum of Goa, we want people to see their works and learn more,” says Subodh.
Situated in the Latin
quarters of Panjim, Gallery Gitanjali has been pulling a mixed crowd of art
lovers with the various workshops and interactions. Recently, the gallery hosted
a saree draping workshop by Niketa Malhotra. Besides being a venue for Story of
Space, they will next host author Jessica Faleiro’s Travel Writing Workshop for
Beginners on November 18, 2017. Miriam Koshy, the owner of Gallery Gitanjali,
says, “We organise workshops for people so they can learn a new skill and
through the interactions with different artists, they learn about the quality
of work, hands on experiences and how much time they have to dedicate to a
particular art to reach that level. Art is about sharpening your inner eye.”
“We
also organise film and art appreciation classes to give a better understanding
and appreciate these forms of art. The gallery is placed in such a way that the
people who walk in feel inspired and even write down their names to know about
the various workshops they can sign up for,” informs Miriam.
