With the start of the 5th edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival across various venues in the capital city, Panaji will wear a festive look for the next nine days till December 23. The interdisciplinary art festival remains true to its core values and, at the same time, envisages propagating art and culture, ushering in ways to explore and enhance public involvement and engagement.
Speaking at the inaugural of the festival in Panaji, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant expressed happiness over Serendipity’s comeback after a gap of two years and pointed out that Goa is the melting pot for culture. “We want people to enjoy community and the arts. While it is the responsibility of the State to boost tourism in Goa we need festivals like Serendipity and patrons like Sunil Kant Munjal to provide impetus to the arts movement and to strengthen culture.” Dr Sawant also hoped that the festival will inspire the arts community at large to make Panaji and Goa the cultural hub for the region.
Sunil Kant Munjal, founder patron Serendipity Arts Foundation was present on the occasion along with other dignitaries including eminent personalities from Goa, luminaries from the art industry, and this year’s festival curators of culinary arts, exhibitions, talks and symposia, craft, music, dance, and theatre. Speaking at the event, Munjal thanked the government of Goa, CCP and ESG and the curators who put the projects together. “This year we have experimented with different forms and intersections, hoping it will leave a lasting impression with audiences and visitors with the quality of projects, diverse art practices and creative experimentations within the arts,” said Munjal.
This year the programme is in association with GMR, and supported by the government of Goa, the Corporation of The City of Panaji, the Directorate of Art and Culture, Goa, Entertainment Society of Goa, Goa Tourism Department and the Goa Forest Department, along with Technology partner Microsoft, and Logistics Partner Delhivery.
The programming for the festival promises unforgettable experiences, including exhibitions, culinary delights, craft, and music that will reflect Indian classical, fusion, folk, indie pop, rock, and other genres, to projects intersecting dance, drama, music, and storytelling and much, much more. The festival this year is more interdisciplinary in format and spread across exhibitions, performances, talks, workshops, public arts projects, accessibility and children’s programmes. The curatorial line-up for this edition will include Bickram Ghosh, Ehsaan Noorani, Sudarshan Shetty, Veerangana Solanki, Pramod Kumar KG, Anjana Somany, Prahlad Sukhtankar, Mayuri Upadhya, Geeta Chandran and Quasar Thakore Padamsee.
Smriti Rajgarhia, director, Serendipity Arts Foundation & Festival, introduced this year’s Festival to the guests iterating on the importance of art in a post-Covid world and the festival’s commitment to sustainability, inclusivity, accessibility, and arts education. Mentioning that the festival promises to enthral patrons, enthusiasts and new audiences alike with its many offerings from the world of the arts and its expanding boundaries, Rajgarhia stated, “This year’s programmes continue to be inclusive and experimental in reflection of our values. We have brought interesting and intriguing experiences within the fold of the festival.”
Serendipity will feature engaging projects in unique venues, carefully chosen for their sense of history, natural beauty, or intrinsic connection to the arts. The festival also promises an engaging line-up of projects curated by Shyamant Behal, Dr Jyotindra Jain and Jutta Jain-Neubauer, Rahab Allana and Pascal Beausse, Lina Vincent and Akshay Mahajan to name a few.
The festival will offer free shuttle services from all the venues, volunteers and art guides to help visitors with queries regarding the festival and registration requirements, special accessibility volunteers for Divyangas, emergency medical help and first aid on site, fire safety measures and free water stations.
