Painting, photography, percussion – how Serendipity Arts Festival delights art lovers across genres

Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 650 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.

The fifth edition of Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF) is well under way in Goa, attracting visitors from across India and overseas. See Part I of my photo essay here, and my eight-part photo-essay series from the 2019 edition.

The artistic treat spans over 120 curated programmes across various disciplines; visual arts, culinary heritage, crafts, music, dance, theatre, photography and more. Cross-cultural collaborations included Lavanya Katta, with Lavani and Tamasha artists.

4X4: Four Galleries, Four Voices featured artworks by Aziz Hazara (via Experimenter), Karan Shrestha (Shrine Empire), Tara Kelton (GallerySKE), and Areez Katki (TARQ), from four cities: Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

India by Book in the 21st Century, curated by Pramod Kumar KG, brought together specialist books on Indian arts and culture. Themes include cinema, photography, painting, design, textiles, and architecture.

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The Art Park featured a range of bookstores, eco-friendly products, and culinary ware, by Jampa Creations, Ecotopia, and Tapti-Maati. Handicrafts from Shantiniketan were on sale at the Alag Festival Shop.

The crafts exhibition at Azad Maidan featured the diverse works of artisans from across India, including Stairway to Kashmir.

The children's programming includes a library for storytelling sessions, and a workshop creatively titled Scrapture – making art from waste! The indoor galleries included showcases of colonial-era art, as well as photography by Sridhar Balasubramaniyan.

One of the musical highlights was Ghatam Tarangini: The Magic of Clay Pots. Presented by Vidwaan V. Suresh. Svaram Sound Experience’s interactive exhibits in the Sound Garden at the Art Park invite participants to play the instruments.

A memorable sunset performance as part of the River Raga segment, curated by Bickram Ghosh, featured Sandip Chatterjee (santoor) and Unmesh Banerjee (tabla).

One of the night-time highlights was the spectacular production, Sari: The Unstitched. It was presented by Daksha Sheth Dance Company, Asima Ensemble and the Sari School. The story of how a sari is made and its cultural significance through the ages was set to pulsating music, aerobatic dances, accompanied by outstanding choreography.

The production Tiranga featured a four-segment composition curated by Durga Jasraj, focused on the elements of the Indian national flag: saffron, green, white, and the chakra.

“The wheel has no beginning and no end,” Durga summed up, in an apt metaphor on the symbiosis between art, culture, and philosophy.

Now, what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule and find new avenues to apply your creativity?

(All photographs were taken by Madanmohan Rao on location at the festival venues.)

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