PANJIM: The ongoing tension between India and Pakistan appears to have taken a toll on an art festival to be held in Goa.
The State will host the week-long Serendipity Arts Festival, a multi-disciplinary event with a special focus on music, dance, theatre, crafts, visuals and culinary arts from December 16 this year.
“We are thrilled to announce the first edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival, which we believe will change the way art is consumed in India. We understand the eminent need to break the conventional compartmentalisation of art in India, wherein every discipline is evolving in isolation,” Preeta Singh, the festival director said on Wednesday.
“Through this festival we aim to bring together all these disciplines on one collaborative platform to achieve even bigger creative outcomes. We are celebrating diversity in art with a special focus on visual, performing and culinary arts, each of which will be led by renowned artists with distinct backgrounds,” she said.
However, asked whether Pakistani artists would be part of the festival, she said, they may not be here. “The ongoing tensions between the two nations may not permit the young artists from Pakistan to be part of the Serendipity Festival,” she said.
The organisers said that four Pakistani artists were supposed to be part of the festival but their visas haven’t been cleared yet. “So we really don’t know anything on that as of now,” said an organizer, who did not want to be named.
The festival will be held between December 16 and 23 and will be dispersed across a 1.8 km stretch along River Mandovi at a mix of indoor and outdoor locations.
These six venues range from the historic Portuguese structures to modernist marvels, namely – The Adil Shah Palace, Jardin Garcia de Orta, Entertainment Society of Goa, Kala Academy, Bandodkar Ground and SAG Ground.
“Audiences will get to engage with the arts in beautiful, carefully designed and often, unconventional settings. Most venues will be within walking distance of each other and the festival will provide transit/shuttle options,” Singh said.
She said the festival will be curated by a panel of experts spanning the major disciplines – the performing arts, visual arts, and culinary arts.
Singh said workshops, lectures, conclaves, and a host of pedagogical platforms will be led by leading artists and educators to create exciting opportunities for learning.
