Foundation Initiatives
Imagining Narratives – A Photography Workshop
Imagining Narratives A Photography Workshop Key information Course Facilitator: Srinivas Kuruganti Format: Online / RemoteDuration: 3 months (12 weeks)Intake: 12 participantsCommencement date: August 10, 2023Application deadline: July 31, 2023 About An Open Call for photographers who will be mentored and guided on individual projects of their choice. It’s a remote-workshop. Participants will work remotely from their […]
Practicing Public Art | Exploring tools for site-specific dialogues
Practicing Public Art Exploring tools for site-specific dialogues – A Collaboration with FICA Photo credit: Annalisa Mansukhani, Golconda fort, 2015 Key information Application Deadline: 19 October 2022 Duration of the workshop: 5 weeks All sessions for the first four weeks will be held online on Zoom. The last week of sessions will take place on-site […]
Mapping the Shifting Terrains- READING PUBLIC/READING ART
Mapping the Shifting Terrains Reading Public/Reading Art – A Collaboration with FICA Ankan Datta, details from his installation made as part of ON-SITE: A Workshop exploring process, dialogue and experimentation, organised by FICA and SAF, 2019 Key information Application Deadline: 1st September 2022Dates: September: 17, 24; October: 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 Timings: Every Saturday, […]
B-SIDE | DJ MIXING WORKSHOP
B-Side | DJ Mixing Workshop Key information Dates: 12th to 22nd October 2022Venue: Satori Wellness, Arambol, GoaWorkshop Facilitated by : Vridian About B-side is an initiative by Serendipity Arts centred around independent music and cultural currents stemming from contemporary music practices. The programme strives to spark conversations around music production, DJ-ing, research, performances, educational modules, and […]
WOULD I LIE TO YOU? -On the Use of Documents in Theatre
WOULD I LIE TO YOU? On the Use of Documents in Theatre RED by Living Dance Studio, Picture Credit – Richie Wong Key information Dates: September 1st to October 22nd, 2022Sessions: 3 sessions per week | 4 hours per session | 21 sessions totalTwice a week with facilitators and once a week collaborative/group work at […]
Pop up library space for people to visit
Papertrail at C340 by Chennai Photo Biennale Learning Lab & SAF Key information DATE – 28 August – 5 September(Closed on 30th August)TIME – 11 AM – 5PM Venue– Serendipity Arts, New Delhi About We’re delighted to be hosting books by two outstanding publishers and curators, Yaarbal Books and Offset Projects at the C340 pop-up library […]
Text/Matters: Delhi Arts Week at Serendipity Arts Foundation
Text/Matters: Delhi Arts Week at Serendipity Arts Foundation Key information DATE – April 3-10, 2021 TIME – 11 AM – 5PM VENUE – C 340, Defence Colony – a basement space in a residential area in Delhi that functions as a platform for artistic programmes. C340 aims to be space that can adapt itself to […]
Goa Glitch
Goa Glitch: Hanif Kureshi CREDITS Supported by Serendipity Arts Festival and Stir Creativity, in partnership with the Corporation of the City of Panaji. Serendipity Arts Festival, together with Stir Creativity, a campaign of Bombay Sapphire talk Global with local conscience and create bridges that unite and empower people. With strong common belief on creative platforms, […]
Writing Initiatives
Up and down the whole hungry longitude
On the corner of Rampart Row, across from Rhythm House in Bombay’s Kala Ghoda district, poet and artist Arun Kolatkar sits at a table at the Wayside Inn. It is a Thursday afternoon in the 1960s, and like every other Thursday, Kolatkar is gradually joined by friends and acquaintances – painters, poets, editors – who drop in for a conversation
The Last Poet
Eating food that is not prepared at home is a significant kind of eating that has risen with the growth of restaurants and cafés (Bhatia, 2022). While family meals are an interesting situation allowing us to study the relationship between food content and social setting, equally important are other situations of eating such as snacking,
From Chapati to Bread: Of New Dietary Belongings
Eating food that is not prepared at home is a significant kind of eating that has risen with the growth of restaurants and cafés (Bhatia, 2022). While family meals are an interesting situation allowing us to study the relationship between food content and social setting, equally important are other situations of eating such as snacking,
The Social Life of Food in Indian Cinema
In The Lunchbox (Dir: Ritesh Batra), a 2013 Hindi film about an epistolary romance in Mumbai, a series of montages shows the lead character Ila cooking a host of dishes. Not for her husband, but for a man called Sajan Fernandes who she only knows through letters exchanged via wrongly delivered dabbas meant for her husband.
A Table for One, Please
It was many moons ago that I had said those words for the very first time. What had then been a herculean quest, of walking into the Odeon cinema on the corner of New Street, had my young voice quivering at the moment of getting popcorn, my knees cold as I sat facing the screen in the dark. I no longer recall the film,
Expected Time of Arrival
Expected Time of Arrival AUTHOR Stuti Bhavsar With the promise of promptness, Swiggy was accompanied by other food-based apps on my phone with 10- to 20-minute delivery as their USP – BlinkIt with its compression of time into a blink, BigBasket Now, where the now is conceived as an instance, or Zepto, which announces itself […]
How Many Lives Does A Fruit Live?
How Many Lives Does A Fruit Live? AUTHOR Shankar Tripathi It was always the smell that first caught my attention. A smorgasbord of musky vapours, the room would be filled with its wafting hints of banana, pineapple, and rotten onion. Riveted to the ground, I would find myself carefully examining its cleft parts, wondering how […]
Shokher Ilish : Of Nostalgia, Nation-States, and the Cultural Connotations of Food in Zones of Conflict
Shokher Ilish : Of Nostalgia, Nation-States, and the Cultural Connotations of Food in Zones of Conflict AUTHOR Ankita Ghosh Two weeks into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, contemporary artist Zhana Kadyrova was one amongst thousands of Ukranians who had no choice but to flee their homes in search of safer horizons. While her family moved […]
Imagined and Lived Spaces of the Queer Kitchen
Imagined and Lived Spaces of the Queer Kitchen AUTHOR Upasana Das Rukmini Srinivas writes, in Tiffin: Memories and Recipes of Indian Vegetarian Food: “My mother, whom I lovingly call Amma, spent much time and thought in the preparation of the ‘everyday’ tiffin for me and my seven sisters…the tiffin that Amma made, usually one savoury […]
Collaborations
SAF x ASAP Curatorial Research Fellowship 2023
SAF x ASAP Curatorial Research Fellowship 2023 About Art South Asia Project (ASAP) and Serendipity Arts have come together to support a curatorial fellowship program for a diasporic South Asian curator living in the UK. The primary aim of this program is to establish cross-continental connections between South Asia and the UK, which will facilitate […]
My East is Your West
My East is Your West, was presented as a Collateral Event of the 56th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia. Commissioned by The Gujral Foundation, this landmark exhibition united for the first time at the Biennale the historically conflicting nations of India and Pakistan in a shared exhibition by artists from both countries.
Serendipity Grants
THE ISLAND THAT NEVER GETS FLOODED 2023
Artists contribute to the public realm in many ways, the outcomes of which may not always be readily defined as art. Public art projects may aesthetically enhance an environment; be utilitarian; respond to a particular site through material, form and concept; educate and comment on issues and events; commemorate the past; and much more. The project is free to observe as there are no class or social barriers in how it is encountered. It can become a familiar feature in the fabric of the city that generates a sense of ownership, a sense of place, and help in cultivating community identity. It can offer insights into issues through the research and expression of artists, and deliver a range of outcomes through community involvement.
Dwindling Traditions Grant
There is a multitude of art and craft forms, folk traditions and festivals that have been steadily declining for many decades and are now almost on the verge of disappearing completely. The increasedly insular outlook and attitude of the majority of the subcontinent is also posing a new threat to many traditional practices that belong to marginalised faiths and communites. Due to the accelerated urbanisation in the rural parts of India, the circumstances are even worse for the agnostic folk traditions in these areas.
Food Matters Grant
The Food Matters Grant supports projects that aim to contribute to the discourse around food and create a knowledge network to promote inquiry into food practices in India and South Asia. Through this grant, we hope to create a space for the exchange of ideas around food habits, traditions, and futures.
Serendipity Arts Virtual Grant
Serendipity Arts {Virtual} Grant is back for the second edition, inviting applications for digital projects across all disciplines responding to the interweb as a site. The Grant would be awarded to one collectives, group, duo, or collaborations to develop a project adapted to the digital space with funding up to INR 1 lakh. Projects have to be interdisciplinary in nature, inviting collaborative projects, and will be hosted on the Serendipity Arts website.
Arts Journalism Grant 2023
The SAF Arts Journalism Grant seeks to provide support worth 1 lakh to an early- or mid-career journalist/reporter in an effort to develop a body of reportage around creative communities/ practices in the subcontinent. Situated as we are within an ecosystem that is more saturated with initiatives for critical and curatorial writing, this Grant hopes to address a seeming lacuna in opportunities for accessible arts journalism, to drive greater interest and public stakeholdership in the arts. The awardee will be chosen from a pool of candidates nominated by the Jury.
Indian Classical Arts Mentorship Grant
The Serendipity Arts Classical Arts Mentorship Grant offers financial support to practitioners in the field of Indian Classical music and dance who wish to train under a mentor for a period of six months. The model for training follows the traditional teacher-student (Guru-Shishya) format of knowledge transmission and practice whereby the student learns and resides under the tutelage of the mentor for the period of their education. The goal of the grant is to facilitate the enhancement of the applicant’s practice either through further pursuance of their discipline or through the acquisition of allied art practices and skills within the Indian Classical music/dance traditions.
Production Grant for Independent Musicians
Serendipity Arts Production Grant for Independent Musicians is for all independent music creators across different genres to support the process of creating, recording, producing and releasing and/or presenting new music. The grant will be awarded to bands, duos, groups or individual independent musicians with a grant of up to INR 1,00,000.
SERENDIPITY ARLES GRANT 2023-24
In 2020, the Serendipity Arts Foundation and Les Rencontres d’Arles announced the biggest lens-based media grant, supported by the Institut français en Inde, with the shared purpose of promoting cultural practices in the South Asian region. The winner of the previous grant, Sathish Kumar, was awarded the grant to develop and showcase his proposed project, Town Boy at Les Rencontres d’Arles in July 2022.
Residencies
B-SIDE | Music Production Residency
B-Side | Music Production Residency Key information Dates: 10th to 20th October 2023Venue: GoaFacilitated by Jay Pei Deadline: 06th September 2023 About B-side is an initiative by Serendipity Arts centred around independent music and cultural currents stemming from contemporary music practices. The programme strives to spark conversations around music production, DJ-ing, research, performances, educational modules, and […]
Serendipity Arts Residency 2023
Serendipity Arts Residency 2023 OPEN STUDIO The Open Studio event marks the culmination of a three-month-long Serendipity Arts Residency program, during which our talented artists have been hard at work. The event is not just about presenting finished projects; it’s a celebration of creative exploration, with our artists displaying their works-in-progress, all expertly curated by […]
Serendipity Arts Residency 2022
Serendipity Arts Residency 2022 KEY INFORMATION Residency Duration: 1st July – 16th September 2022 Location: Serendipity Arts Foundation, Defence Colony, New Delhi ABOUT Serendipity Arts Foundation is delighted to announce the OPEN CALL for Serendipity Arts Residency 2022, an annual three-month artists residency based in New Delhi. Applications are invited from emerging artists working across […]
Commissions
Stars in the New Sky
Over the last few years, there have been many determined and talented young amateurs who have used unique platforms to connect directly with new audiences and have bypassed mainstream vehicles such as films and recording labels. This project curated by Ranjit Barot created a platform to showcase such talent.
Space 340
THE STORYTELLERS: A Course Exploring Zines, Comics and Video
The Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA) organised a session titled The Story Tellers in September 2018. This session engaged with art practices that have histories of working outside the confines of the art gallery or related sanctioned ‘white cube’ spaces, seeking more direct and immediate contact with their audiences.
THE MOVING IMAGE: A Course Exploring Light, Movement and Narrative
The Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA), in collaboration with Serendipity Arts Foundation (SAF), organized a month long course, titled ‘The Moving Image: A Course Exploring Light, Movement and Narrative’ that ran from September 11 to October 13, 2017, culminating in an Open Display of the resulting artworks on October 14 that continued till October 27, 2017.
Education & Accessibility
Arts Encounter with Keli
In collaboration with Junoon, Arts Encounter was brought to Goa for the first time in November 2017. To conduct this workshop with a school in Goa, Junoon brought on board Keli a Mumbai-based organisation that introduces Kathakali to children, and works to support, sustain and encourage this classical heritage.
SENSES LEAD UP WORKSHOPS
SENSES introduction SENSES has focused on incremental inclusion and access for varied audiences. SENSES is India’s first-ever ‘accessible and inclusive outreach program’ curated for persons with special needs, for a multidisciplinary arts festival. Over the span of four years, Access For ALL has been able to reach out to over 700+ children with special needs […]
Beyond Serendipity
Serendipity Arts Foundation in collaboration with Kolkata Centre for Creativity presents Photo-Copy
photo-Copy in Kolkata In collaboration with Kolkata Centre for Creativity We have arrived in Kolkata with a sneak peek into South Asia’s largest celebration of the arts across disciplines and genres – Serendipity Arts Festival 2023. Photo-copy is a commissioned theatre piece that explores themes of grief, loss and reconciliation. A troubled family of four grapples with […]
Sufi Night with Mukhtiyar Ali
Presenting Mukhtiyar Ali Live in Pondicherry! We have arrived in Pondicherry with a glimpse of Serendipity Arts Festival – South Asia’s largest celebration of the arts across disciplines and genres. Join us for a mesmerising evening with Mir Mukhtiyar Ali as he dives deep into the Rajasthani folk idiom to sing the poetry of Kabir, Mira, and Bulleh Shah, among others. About Mukhtiyar […]
India Art Fair 2023
India Art Fair 2023 Image courtesy – Serendipity Arts Foundation at India Art Fair 2022 Projects FOOD LAB the cases of missing vegetables Project by Akash Muralidharan COOK AND SEE The concept for the ‘Cook and See’ challenge arose from the desire to find out why several vegetables from Samaithu Paar (A Tamil vegetarian cookbook […]
India Art Fair 2022
India Art Fair 2022 Image courtesy – Serendipity Arts Foundation at India Art Fair 2020 Information A dial flicks within, clouds move in the sky and there’s a sense of time that has vanished reappearing in small droplets from the sky. For the team at Serendipity, the long and circular arc of the pandemic has […]
LIVING TRADITIONS
The launch event for SAF 2017 which took place at the beautiful Royal Opera House in Mumbai showcased a unique classical music performance, reinterpreting archival information both in terms of its musical format as well as its visual presentation. The music renditions pay tribute to the manner in which artistes adapted their presentations for emerging formats like recording technology. Living Traditions was first performed at SAF 2016.