A Beatles song, titled, ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’,
begins with the line, “Picture yourself in a boat on the river.” January would
be a great time to picture yourself in such a boat on the Mandovi River, as a
quick glimpse towards the riverbank will reveal all kinds of artistic displays
as The Story of Light comes to town.
The Story of Light is a non-profit festival, the intention
of which is to make it accessible to as many people as possible across social
strata. Each of the 45 Installations across the 5 days of the festival is free
for the public to attend. It is the first art and science convergence in the
form of a festival in India, aiming to bring together two areas of human life
that symbolise passion, movement, discovery, inspiration and progress. The
brainchild of educator Jaya Ramchandani and designer Nash Paul D’Souza, the
festival aims at understanding the convergence of art and science as well as disseminating
methods of informal learning.
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Elucidating further, Nash Paul says, “I am trying to do my
bit to turn around the uninspiring education system that I grew up with.
Through interactions and installations, I hope to help open minds
to the wondrous stories that exist all around. I hope we manage
to achieve this, considering that we are expecting 50,000 – 1,00,000 visitors at
the festival from Goa, India and world over.”
The Story of Light is one amongst the listed events within a
series happening across the globe in response to the UN declaration of 2015 as
the International Year of Light. This festival brings together artists,
scientists and philosophers from across the globe to work, share ideas and
perform around the theme of light. Jaya says, “There was an open call for
artists and scientists to engage and respond to the festival theme which is
further broken down and grouped under various categories of the likes of
‘seeing and perceiving’,‘ the universe’ and so on. Close to 200 proposals came
in from all across the globe and the festival organisers and curators have
shortlisted about 45 of them to be a part of the festival.”
The consortium of scientists, artists and educators present
at the festival will showcase 45 public installations, workshops and
performances from various parts of India and around the world including
Australia, Brazil, The Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal,
the UK and the US. These 45 projects will be built keeping a local context in
mind during a one month pre-festival period that started on December 15, 2014,
where the organisers, artists and educators came together to co-create the
festival experience.
Putting together a project of this size and nature is no
mean feat. Speaking on the finances involved in putting a project of this size
together, Nash Paul says, “It’s entirely self-funded so far. Our team and the
participants have been the greatest supporters especially in the effort towards
the Story of Light. We have an independent crowd funding campaign going at
indiegogo.com as well. The Goa Government has been extremely supportive and we
continue to look for sponsors to help fund this festival.”
The Corporation of the City of Panjim has in turn partnered
with the festival with several aims of its own. Sanjit Rodrigues, Commissioner of the CCP, says, “We have partnered with the
festival in an attempt to brand the city as a venue for such quality ventures.
The activities involved are very citizen-centric and provide a platform on
which several issues can be addressed through proper mediums.”
Whether Nash Paul’s dreams of opening the minds of his many
visitors come to fruition or not, only time will tell, but he, along with his
team, will clearly spare no effort in bringing their views and ideas to light.
Where the festival
will happen
Located across major hubs in Panjim, the festival will
transform the two-kilometre stretch from Miramar Beach to the Promenade to
Panjim Church into a creative, entertaining and educational space. A children’s
area with unique and educational activities, a screenings tent and a concert
stage will all add to the festivities. The programme presents visual play,
dance performances, installations with light and colour, photography workshops
and live projections, all directed at teaching us a little something about the
universe in fun and interactive ways.
