Jayachandran Palazhy, Artistic Director, Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts
What is the role of arts festivals in a community? What role is your festival currently playing in the community and how do you see its significance growing?
Depending on the nature of the communities it serves, the specificities of the contexts of a particular festival, its domain parameters and its chosen focus, the role of the arts festival can vary. However, broadly speaking it would be desirable for an art festival to invest in ideas and people, provide a platform for showcasing innovative and fresh works of art even if the ideas put forward seem to go against the existing norms and challenge the status quo. In other words, it should set new standards for research, creation and presentation of works of art as well as offer the audience multiple ways of experiencing the works and engaging with the artists.
It should also provide the artists a platform to view each others' works, exchange ideas and encourage them to imagine new endeavors. It should also open up possibilities to connect the artists and their works with existing as well as new audiences locally, nationally and even internationally. In a nutshell, a festival is a time bound confluence of multiple strands of people (artists, audiences, promoters, delegates, admin and tech staff, educationists, critics, media personnel, volunteers etc), organizations, thoughts, ideas and works of arts. It creates a sort of magical realm where people are able to imagine and sometimes experience something out of ordinary.
A good festival should also attempt, in my view, to present emerging artists along with the established names. Building on the strengths of what it has achieved so far a festival should be able to imagine the future possibilities and take calculated risks to open up new avenues for the arts and artists. A good festival should help to create new works and nurture new visions as much as it presents existing works of arts. This investment in the arts and artists is vital so that the arts festival does not merely become an agency similar to a fair where products and services are sold.
It should also strive towards an inclusive approach in terms of meeting the needs of various sections of the community it serves as much as possible. An arts festival should also aim to sensitise, develop and sustain an audience in terms of their sensibilities, commitment to the arts and willingness to try new things. Of course there are several practical limitations that come in the way of achieving what we dream of as a set of ideal objectives and matching those with what is possible within the parameters of the ground realities.
Over the years with its efforts Attakkalari India Biennial has managed to make contemporary movement arts as an important force in the national arts scene in India. A decade ago when we started many people did not know about contemporary movement arts (dance), let alone different trends or leading players or significant works. That has changed considerably today.
Attakkalari India Biennial over the years introduced audiences of Bangalore to a myriad of performances in a variety of contexts – on stage, off stage (site specific & promenade), screen based, virtual etc. Technical presentation of performances has really improved over the years, thanks to the input of TransMedia Technologies. The administrative team of Attakkalari India Biennial has managed to professionalise the running of the festival and set new standards for arts management in the country where as the existing practices were far from it.
Attakkalari India Biennial 2011 attracted more than 30 International festival directors to Bangalore. Over the years several national and international collaborations, co-productions and exchange programmes have come out of Attakkalari India Biennial and various projects associated with it.
In what historical context does your festival operate?
Dance and music festivals were an integral part of people's lives in India for centuries. In fact dance enjoyed a pivotal role in our social, religious and artistic calendar till a couple of centuries ago. During the colonial time it suffered some setbacks. But after Independence there were efforts to rediscover and reinvigorate the arts. In terms of dance it primarily focused on classical dance and that too with a relatively narrow focus of what they called as rediscovery and protection of fast disappearing forms. But the lopsided strategies by self appointed custodians in fact helped to take away the reins of artistic practices from several families and communities who were the real practitioners and disenfranchised and marginalised them in the process. Many dance artists were forced to move to the cities and operate in a system controlled by the upper class interests, thus creating an artificial disconnect between the art form and the communities that sustained and nurtured it. Over the years this process helped to wipe out several important artistic streams and standardised them into so called 'classical dances of India', an artificial socio-political construct.
Without the real investment of ideas and mechanisms to ensure quality and innovation this approach resulted in many forms losing its essential vitality, authenticity and relevance in the life and imagination of people. Even the folk forms and community festivals which offered a creative and secular space for artistic expressions slowly gave way to this phenomenon. It is in this context we need to think of vitalising and empowering creative and contemporary spaces for secular art practices in India today.
The contemporary expressions ideally should benefit from the inherited knowledge and physical wisdom from our rich traditions and be confident enough to access, explore and benefit from knowledge created elsewhere in the world. We need to encourage and nurture idioms that stem from contemporary Indian experiences, our traditional knowledge systems, artistic expressions and are yet open to information and influences from other parts of our globalised world. This calls for sustained investment in terms of ideas, human, material and financial resources and a political will and commitment to consult and engage with the arts community in imagining, envisioning and strategising to build a vibrant contemporary arts scene in the country. Contemporary physical expressions that stem from life experiences, memories and imagination are so vital in offering an individual the possibility to situate oneself in a meaningful way in society today and make sense of one's own experiences. The opportunities for an empathetic encounter with such performances and achieving an out of ordinary experience is crucial in enriching an individual's life and making meaning and sense out of seemingly disparate experiences of everyday life.
Why do you think there is now a sudden spurt of activity in art festival-making in India? How important are such events in a developing/transforming/globalising society?
Traditionally arts events in India were part of social or religious calendar. However, in the process of rapid urbanisation and increasing mobility of people the social fabric is undergoing tremendous changes. It is almost impossible to retain the spirit and structure of the arts events associated with social and religious activities as it was few decades ago. In the fast developing urban landscapes in India there are hardly any provision for art houses and community art centres to produce or present such works on a regular basis. Year-long curated performances or arts events are hard to find let alone investing in and nurturing an artist or a genre of works. In this, situation arts festivals offer the possibility of designing a time-bound set of activities with defined focus and priorities.
When there is no national or regional vision or frame work for sustained arts activities as part of provisions for civic amenities in our urban centres, it is invariably easier for individuals, governmental or non-governmental organisations, corporate houses, media etc to visualise a time-bound festival rather than ongoing commitment. Even though festivals do not substitute the long-term need of such provisions it is a welcome development that it catches public imagination and media attention even if it is for a relatively short span of time. If it is well conceived and well executed, festivals can also play a role in sensitising and developing audiences and giving the much needed platform and profile for an artist in a national or international context as the case may be. Festivals also provide a platform for artistic exchanges and could result in collaborations and co-productions. They also help the local community to connect with artists and art forms from other cultures, thus broadening the cultural horizon of the individual and the community.
Do you think arts festivals are more accessible to their audiences, than other fixed arts organisations? Why?
It is not necessarily so. It all depends on how each activity is conceived and executed. As there is an intensity of activities in a short span of time it might look that a festival will attract more eyeballs and bring more people to a city or a locality during the event. However, there are examples of prestigious venues in the world doing the same by programming a season with reputed artists and cutting edge art works. There are not many venues in India yet with a committed audience base they can count on who will come to show after show throughout the year. In such circumstances festivals offer an alternative. Also festivals often are able to have a geographical spread across the city, thus attracting audiences from those locations who otherwise might not have gone for a show. It also allows you to have multiple events on any given day to meet the needs of different sections of the society.
What according to you are the key components that make up an arts festival?
I would prefer to talk about a contemporary movement arts festival that too in an Indian context. It would be great to imagine one day we will have a national cultural policy outlining the vision for the arts, particularly performing arts. If such a policy has provisions for the infrastructure for the performing arts such as ongoing mechanism for consultation with the artists to constantly review the policies for course correction, fine tuning and better delivery; research and development to access inherited knowledge from our traditions; access information from other cultures and create new knowledge; laboratories for experimentation and exploration; training to acquire and update skill sets; production facilities to match the best in the world; dissemination opportunities through purpose built venues and curated festivals; informed critical analysis; non-biased and impartial assessment and evaluation; quality control based on the parameters set by the artists themselves to avoid fixed notions of excellence; adequate and assured funding at least for few years so that one can plan ahead etc., then it would be easier to outline the components of a contemporary dance festival in India.
Today Attakkalari India Biennial as well as other festivals are working in a volatile environment where at any given point there are too many variables and it is almost impossible to have a well thought out programme that is curated well in advance so that the impact can be optimised. Therefore, in the current scenario in India most festivals are working in a constrained situation. Therefore, some of the following points might be difficult to adhere to in all circumstances.
• Invest in ideas, artists and artworks, not just buy existing works as products
• Develop other activities such as discussions, seminars, exhibitions, workshops and residencies around performance whereever possible.
• Provide something for everybody without diluting the integrity of the festival
• Established artists and emerging fresh voices
• Take risks without alienating the audience en-masse
• Make the festival relevant for the community while challenging jaded notions and convenient status-quo.
• Increase stakeholders
• Broaden partnership with organisations and individuals
• Sensitise and develop audiences to take them along with programming priorities
• Specific expert teams dedicated to different aspects of the festival such as artistic, administrative, technical, venue management, ticketing, media and public relations, accommodation and travel, accounts, insurance and legal expertise, health & safety, artists' welfare, education and outreach.
• Ensure financial security and healthy cash flow situation
• Appropriate venues and public visibility for each event
• Ownership by the arts community and society at large
• Dissemination of information nationally and internationally
• User friendly programme schedules, maps and directions for festival venues
• Helpline for any emergencies
• Inspiring staff and committed volunteers
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Arts Management pratices at the Attakkalari India Biennale
Trupti Prasad, Festival Manager, Attakkalari Biennale
Organisational Structure:
Do you think Indian festivals are using European models of festival-making? If not, how are they different?
Attakkalari India Biennial has an identity that is its own but yes it does have global standards. Our mission statement a few years ago did say we would aim to give Bangalore the same stature as cities like Montpelier or Avignon.
In general, what is the period in which the team of festival works? During the entire year, or only in a period before and after the time in which the festival takes place?
It takes at least a year to 18 months to put together a festival of this scale. So it has now become almost a continuous process.
How has the role of the festival/artistic director evolved in the last few years in your opinion?
It is very important to have a festival director to give vision, structure and quality to a festival. Putting together a festival is much more that getting works to perform randomly.
How important is the location, legacy and place - understanding the context of the place and generating a passion for participating in the festival among local community?
Very important - we have always maintained Bangalore is ideally situated for a contemporary dance festival like Attakkalari India Biennial
Attakkalari is situated in Bangalore and has over the years built an audience for contemporary dance. On a macro level the nature of its geopolitical and cultural location makes Bangalore a strategic centre to initiate a North-South dialogue on innovation and performance arts with an international perspective
Programming:
Did you conduct any formal / informal feasibility studies before launch to check if your festival has appeal?
No, it wasn't about feasibility - it was about passion for contemporary dance and the need to make it grow in India and Indian dance scene grow in the world.
What are the key challenges in programming your festival and how do you overcome them?
The lack of good venues I would say is one of our biggest challenges today. We really need world class auditoriums.
Finance is hard to garner, but there are always a few visionaries in the government and outside it as well as a whole range of cultural agencies who come together every two years to make this festival successful.
Do you need to differentiate between and define works along the lines of ‘contemporary’ and ‘traditional’ – does that become a challenge, do you have to seek a balance between representing the two?
Attakkalari's stated mission is: Traditional Physical Wisdom, Innovation and Technology. All the work shown at the festival is contemporary movement arts based on this and selected by curators who know what they are looking for.
How do you balance local community needs with the interests of external visitors and media viewers/readers?
We do this by having the right mix of Indian and International work as part of the programme.
Audiences:
Are you focused on any particular kinds of audiences that you are trying to attract?
No.The more varied it is the better. Penetrating into areas hitherto unfamiliar with contemporay movement arts and bringing people from there to watch the shows is one of our main targets.
Do you find a disconnect between engaging the audience vis-a-vis respecting the work and the artist. Do you think there is a trend in arts festivals towards more interactive performances?
Audience appreciation is subjective and evolves with exposure. Interaction of course is wonderful but need not always be the only way to engage an audience. At the end of the day people are discerning enough to appreciate quality.
What other factors do you consider when measuring the success of your festival: meeting the festival vision, ticket sale/audience numbers or how successful a festival is in launching new artists?
Apart from what you mention media coverage plays a big role. Artist and delegate feedback, networks that develop, funding availabilty, more international interest to participate, partnerships, collaborations...these are all important.
Can you detail some of your outreach initiatives?
Through Attakkalari’s Education Outreach Programme, now in its 8th year, trained facilitators from Attakkalari’s repertory take the Movement Arts to schools across the socio-economic divide. Attakkalari has worked with government schools, schools for underprivileged children, a juvenile remand home as well as private and international schools.
Attakkalari also offers community classes every evening. Over the years the community dance classes have attracted increasing numbers of young people and are now held every evening at the Attakkalari studios including weekends. The classes are held at a time convenient for working professionals interested in dance. The classes expose a growing number of young people to constructive ways of self-expression through movement besides helping them develop valuable inter-personal and intra-personal skills.
During the festival, visiting choreographers from India and abroad, offer classes. These master classes are open to the public and hugely popular. This festival we even had someone fly in from Sri Lanka to attend two sessions offered by an American choreographer and one by a dancer from UK!
Marketing and PR:
How much of a role does social media and online marketing play?
They play a huge role. We used it extensively in the last festival and even more this time round. Media management is an essential part of organising a festival, requiring professionals to do it.
Have there been any other major shifts in arts marketing – besides the use of online media?
Wouldn't really know about arts marketing but yes, technology has brought about a huge shift in the way we disseminate information. A lot of tools are available today.
Funding model:
What sources of funding are available to you? Are there any funding bodies in India that you approach?
Yes, there are funding bodies and agencies available to us in India but the funding is not adequate for a festival hosted on this scale. Other partners are needed.
How important has tourism been for your festival?
The Karnataka State Tourism Development Board was one of our partners in 2011 and we hope this partnership continues. Artists from all over the world and different parts of India are here for almost three weeks before, during and after the festival. They are bound to take in the sights, sounds and flavours of Karnataka as well as India.
Organisational Structure:
Do you think Indian festivals are using European models of festival-making? If not, how are they different?
Attakkalari India Biennial has an identity that is its own but yes it does have global standards. Our mission statement a few years ago did say we would aim to give Bangalore the same stature as cities like Montpelier or Avignon.
In general, what is the period in which the team of festival works? During the entire year, or only in a period before and after the time in which the festival takes place?
It takes at least a year to 18 months to put together a festival of this scale. So it has now become almost a continuous process.
How has the role of the festival/artistic director evolved in the last few years in your opinion?
It is very important to have a festival director to give vision, structure and quality to a festival. Putting together a festival is much more that getting works to perform randomly.
How important is the location, legacy and place - understanding the context of the place and generating a passion for participating in the festival among local community?
Very important - we have always maintained Bangalore is ideally situated for a contemporary dance festival like Attakkalari India Biennial
Attakkalari is situated in Bangalore and has over the years built an audience for contemporary dance. On a macro level the nature of its geopolitical and cultural location makes Bangalore a strategic centre to initiate a North-South dialogue on innovation and performance arts with an international perspective
Programming:
Did you conduct any formal / informal feasibility studies before launch to check if your festival has appeal?
No, it wasn't about feasibility - it was about passion for contemporary dance and the need to make it grow in India and Indian dance scene grow in the world.
What are the key challenges in programming your festival and how do you overcome them?
The lack of good venues I would say is one of our biggest challenges today. We really need world class auditoriums.
Finance is hard to garner, but there are always a few visionaries in the government and outside it as well as a whole range of cultural agencies who come together every two years to make this festival successful.
Do you need to differentiate between and define works along the lines of ‘contemporary’ and ‘traditional’ – does that become a challenge, do you have to seek a balance between representing the two?
Attakkalari's stated mission is: Traditional Physical Wisdom, Innovation and Technology. All the work shown at the festival is contemporary movement arts based on this and selected by curators who know what they are looking for.
How do you balance local community needs with the interests of external visitors and media viewers/readers?
We do this by having the right mix of Indian and International work as part of the programme.
Audiences:
Are you focused on any particular kinds of audiences that you are trying to attract?
No.The more varied it is the better. Penetrating into areas hitherto unfamiliar with contemporay movement arts and bringing people from there to watch the shows is one of our main targets.
Do you find a disconnect between engaging the audience vis-a-vis respecting the work and the artist. Do you think there is a trend in arts festivals towards more interactive performances?
Audience appreciation is subjective and evolves with exposure. Interaction of course is wonderful but need not always be the only way to engage an audience. At the end of the day people are discerning enough to appreciate quality.
What other factors do you consider when measuring the success of your festival: meeting the festival vision, ticket sale/audience numbers or how successful a festival is in launching new artists?
Apart from what you mention media coverage plays a big role. Artist and delegate feedback, networks that develop, funding availabilty, more international interest to participate, partnerships, collaborations...these are all important.
Can you detail some of your outreach initiatives?
Through Attakkalari’s Education Outreach Programme, now in its 8th year, trained facilitators from Attakkalari’s repertory take the Movement Arts to schools across the socio-economic divide. Attakkalari has worked with government schools, schools for underprivileged children, a juvenile remand home as well as private and international schools.
Attakkalari also offers community classes every evening. Over the years the community dance classes have attracted increasing numbers of young people and are now held every evening at the Attakkalari studios including weekends. The classes are held at a time convenient for working professionals interested in dance. The classes expose a growing number of young people to constructive ways of self-expression through movement besides helping them develop valuable inter-personal and intra-personal skills.
During the festival, visiting choreographers from India and abroad, offer classes. These master classes are open to the public and hugely popular. This festival we even had someone fly in from Sri Lanka to attend two sessions offered by an American choreographer and one by a dancer from UK!
Marketing and PR:
How much of a role does social media and online marketing play?
They play a huge role. We used it extensively in the last festival and even more this time round. Media management is an essential part of organising a festival, requiring professionals to do it.
Have there been any other major shifts in arts marketing – besides the use of online media?
Wouldn't really know about arts marketing but yes, technology has brought about a huge shift in the way we disseminate information. A lot of tools are available today.
Funding model:
What sources of funding are available to you? Are there any funding bodies in India that you approach?
Yes, there are funding bodies and agencies available to us in India but the funding is not adequate for a festival hosted on this scale. Other partners are needed.
How important has tourism been for your festival?
The Karnataka State Tourism Development Board was one of our partners in 2011 and we hope this partnership continues. Artists from all over the world and different parts of India are here for almost three weeks before, during and after the festival. They are bound to take in the sights, sounds and flavours of Karnataka as well as India.
Understanding the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival
Pallavi Sahney Sharma - Chief Executive Kala Ghoda Association and Committee Member, Kala Ghoda Art Festival
What is the role of arts festivals in a community? What role is your festival currently playing in the community and how do you see its significance growing?
The Kala Ghoda Festival was started to get people aware about the Kala Ghoda precinct – the festival acted as a fundraiser for the restoration of the area and to generate public interest in the area. Over the years it has evolved into a festival that aims to make people more sensitive to the arts, get more and more people interested and involved every year. With Mumbai being the financial centre of the country, I believe that a whole generation of her people has missed out on the arts. Delhi, I think has much more exposure to the arts and culture – the festival hopes to bring the same exposure to Mumbai.
The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, which was also one of the first of its kind in the country, has inspired many others to start such initiatives. The success of Kala Ghoda has created a demand for festivals – and we don’t see this as competition but a positive step towards reaching out to the people.
In what historical context does your festival operate? Religious festivals have long been used to build cohesive communities in india - what about arts festivals? Were there historical equivalents of arts festivals in the region?
I am aware of the Khajurao Festival and the Konarak Festival, but both were government initiatives, not private. The Kala Ghoda Festival aims at getting people to come and see a varied performances. It also tries to have a focus each year on certain key issues for the city, be it conservation or issues such as protecting our environment or spreading the message of communal harmony.
Why do you think there is now a sudden spurt of activity in art festival-making in India? How important are such events in a developing/transforming/globalising society?
Culture has over decades played a very important role in shaping various civilizations.India is now emerging as a very strong global market – and culture is playing an important role, which is why the festivals like the Jaipur Literature Festival and the Indian Art Summit are doing so well.
Where do arts festivals fit within the larger cultural framework of India - how are they different from other arts organisations and what unique opportunities do they offer?
India has a very rich and diverse culture but still a lot of people aren’t exposed to it. Festivals such as Kala Ghoda give people the opportunity to witness varied art forms, both within India as well as internationally. The festival programmes and caters to all tastes and ages something for everybody – a mix of everything at one time. The same could be achieved by any other organization. After the success of KGAF, various institutions in the area have opened their doors to the festival and serve as added venue spaces to hold programmes and also attract people to visit these institutions even when the festival is not there.
Do you think arts festivals are more accessible to their audiences, than other fixed arts organisations? Why?
As the festival has grown the popularity has increased with has lead to an increase in the number. Most people don’t come to the festival for a particular act or artist, they come for the festive atmosphere, to just hang out. The festival is free, and happens annually – so people look forward to it. It becomes part of their cultural calendar. I agree that festivals tend to be more accessible than other arts organizations as there is a mass appeal to it--- the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is free, well advertised and presents good quality artists. People often come to just hang out at the Kala Ghoda. However we have found that certain acts such as a symphony concert or the Paul Taylor dance still attracts a different crowd versus the crowd who would come to listen to a popular Bollywood singer. Our tie-up with the Times of India newspaper has helped us reach out much more widely.
What according to you are the key components that make up an arts festival?
It is extremely important to have an aim and an audience—define who you want reach and then program accordingly. I personally don’t like bollywood, but have to program that in because it is a crow-puller and people enjoy it, and more importantly it is a part of our culture and is now know even internationally.
Organisational Structure:
Do you think Indian festivals are using European models of festival-making? If not, how are they different?
We haven’t conducted research on other models of festival-making. The KGAF has evolved through trial and error. However, as we are growing we are reaching out and getting foreign artists to perform at our festival. As our budgets don’t always permit us to get foreign artists we get consulates and other cultural institutions to collaborate with us. This has helped us become popular world over. But the most important difference between our festival and others is that ours is absolutely free for the spectators. A lot of international festivals have tickets for their performances. Also we select and program the artists that perform, whereas at some of the international festival artists apply and pay and book venues to perform.
In general, what is the period in which the team of festival works? During the entire year, or only in a period before and after the time in which the festival takes place? And what is the size of your team?
The work on the festival starts in July-August and continues till March but the pace picks up towards end October and continues till February. We have section heads for the various verticals who do the programming A lot of time goes in getting permissions as there are at least 25-30 permissions that an orgainisation is required to take when one is holding an event. One hopes that a simplier process can be there to get these permissions as a lot of valuable time is wasted in this. Apart from the various section heads (10-12) we have a festival committee of four members that take all the important decisions. We also have an additional festival team of 8- 10 people who help the section heads and also help in putting the festival together. We also have an event management team of about 30 -40 people who help us on ground with the festival. Security agency to manage the security, technical staff, housekeeping etc are all employed for the festival. The local authorities such as the police, traffic police , BMC etc also help us with the logistics of the festival of such a large scale.
How important is the location, legacy and place - understanding the context of the place and generating a passion for participating in the festival among local community?
The location is very important and I feel the success of KGAF is that it is located in the art district of Mumbai. I am not sure if the festival would have been as popular if it was located elsewhere. The KGAF began as a means to facilitate restoration projects in the locality and now we continue doing so by channelizing funds towards further beautification of the area by installing traffic islands and public furniture and cleaning up the area.
Programming:
Did you conduct any formal / informal feasibility studies before launch to check if your festival has appeal?
The festival started to draw people’s attention to the beautiful and historic art precinct that Mumbai had- the Kala Ghoda district. At the start, the festival focused on visual arts and all the galleries in the area were involved. The festival as we see it today as grown much beyond that and of course presents all the arts. We keep reviewing the festival each year to add in new elements so that the festival is not repetitive to the audience.
What are the key challenges in programming your festival – for instance, in commissioning new work, the pros and cons of using themes, financial and political barriers--and how do you overcome them?
Budget constraints – we can’t get the artists we want. There are also political challenges we face and we have to be sensitive towards them. Once we had an art installation of a cow, but had to take it down (the cow is a sacred animal in Hindu mythology). The KGAF is a festival for the masses and we have to run it without offending anyone.
Do you need to differentiate between and define works along the lines of ‘contemporary’ and ‘traditional’ – does that become a challenge, do you have to seek a balance between representing the two?
We present both contemporary and traditional arts. Very modernistic art however, doesn’t work with our audience. Artists need to adapt to our audience. Earlier solo performances were held at smaller venues such as the NGMA but now we request even the senior artists to perform in more public spaces as we feel that this will make them reach out to a much larger audience. Many renowned dancers such as Mallika Sarabai, Sonal Mansingh and Malvika Sarukai have all performed at our more public venues such as the Horniman Circle Garden and Rampart Row.
Is there a commitment to showcasing younger and emerging artists – and how do you how to develop and protect younger and emerging artists whilst putting them on a stage alongside international, world-class work.
We intersperse emerging artists with the established ones – we may end the day with an established artist but the emerging ones present during the day. We also encourage emerging acts just before an established one. The tie-up with the Times of India means that they also publish about the emerging artists giving them important coverage. The KGAF also recommends these artists to other organizations and festivals getting them greater exposure.
How do you balance local community needs with the interests of external visitors and media viewers/readers?
We do get a lot of international tourists through tour companies their factor us into their itinerary. However, we do not promote the KGAF internationally which is something we need to do.
Audiences:
Are you focused on any particular kinds of audiences that you are trying to attract?
We are increasingly focused on children – it is important to start young to get them interested in the arts. Schools or parents don’t provide enough opportunities for exposure to the arts so it is important for the festival to take on this mandate.
We are also not a South Mumbai (elitist) event, but a people’s festival. We get more crowds than we can accommodate. The city’s legislation bans loud speakers on Rampart Row, yet people throng there during the festival because there is such a dearth of things for people to do in the city.
Do you have any audience measurement / feedback systems in place? Can you briefly discuss them?
Feedback often comes on the ground, right on the street. There has been some criticism of the street stalls being repitative at times so we have taken a decision not to repeat the same stalls for more than two festivals. During a Sonu Nigam concert at the Asiatic which is equipped to house about 5000 people, we had crowds of over 30.000- we realized we needed to have a way to cut-off crowds as we don’t want to compromise on people’s safety.
Feedback also comes via the online channels of email and Facebook.
Do you find a disconnect between engaging the audience vis-a-vis respecting the work and the artist. Do you think there is a trend in arts festivals towards more interactive performances?
Most of our audiences have never been exposed to anything outside the usual. On our crowd puller nights we try to expose people to something they would not otherwise go to see. For example, before a popular Sonu Nigam concert, we had Fazal Qureshi perform, so people who came to take early seats for Sonu Nigam got to see another style of Indian music and were very receptive towards it.
What other factors do you consider when measuring the success of your festival: meeting the festival vision, ticket sale/audience numbers or how successful a festival is in launching new artists?
Feedback and audience numbers.
Marketing and PR:
We don’t do any PR – the media covers the event without bias against our partner the TOI.
Funding model:
What sources of funding are available to you? Are there any funding bodies in india that you approach?
Corporate sponsorship is the main source of funding, but money for culture still remains negligible. The Cultural Ministry does give some grants but we have never approached them so far and are managing independently. I feel still we as a nation are not sensitive towards our culture and don’t do enough to support , promote and popularize it.
Who are your partners/collaborators – do you engage in new models of governance and partner¬ship between the arts, sciences, politics, business and other sectors?
Our principal partner for the festival is the TOI. We also tie up with the Maharashtra Tourism development Corporation and last year with the zonal cultural centres. We are hoping to get government support to help us develop an easier process of getting permissions to conduct such a festival.
How important has tourism been for your festival?
We have tied up with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation and last year with the zonal cultural centres, yet tourism is something that needs a much greater focus.
What is the role of arts festivals in a community? What role is your festival currently playing in the community and how do you see its significance growing?
The Kala Ghoda Festival was started to get people aware about the Kala Ghoda precinct – the festival acted as a fundraiser for the restoration of the area and to generate public interest in the area. Over the years it has evolved into a festival that aims to make people more sensitive to the arts, get more and more people interested and involved every year. With Mumbai being the financial centre of the country, I believe that a whole generation of her people has missed out on the arts. Delhi, I think has much more exposure to the arts and culture – the festival hopes to bring the same exposure to Mumbai.
The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, which was also one of the first of its kind in the country, has inspired many others to start such initiatives. The success of Kala Ghoda has created a demand for festivals – and we don’t see this as competition but a positive step towards reaching out to the people.
In what historical context does your festival operate? Religious festivals have long been used to build cohesive communities in india - what about arts festivals? Were there historical equivalents of arts festivals in the region?
I am aware of the Khajurao Festival and the Konarak Festival, but both were government initiatives, not private. The Kala Ghoda Festival aims at getting people to come and see a varied performances. It also tries to have a focus each year on certain key issues for the city, be it conservation or issues such as protecting our environment or spreading the message of communal harmony.
Why do you think there is now a sudden spurt of activity in art festival-making in India? How important are such events in a developing/transforming/globalising society?
Culture has over decades played a very important role in shaping various civilizations.India is now emerging as a very strong global market – and culture is playing an important role, which is why the festivals like the Jaipur Literature Festival and the Indian Art Summit are doing so well.
Where do arts festivals fit within the larger cultural framework of India - how are they different from other arts organisations and what unique opportunities do they offer?
India has a very rich and diverse culture but still a lot of people aren’t exposed to it. Festivals such as Kala Ghoda give people the opportunity to witness varied art forms, both within India as well as internationally. The festival programmes and caters to all tastes and ages something for everybody – a mix of everything at one time. The same could be achieved by any other organization. After the success of KGAF, various institutions in the area have opened their doors to the festival and serve as added venue spaces to hold programmes and also attract people to visit these institutions even when the festival is not there.
Do you think arts festivals are more accessible to their audiences, than other fixed arts organisations? Why?
As the festival has grown the popularity has increased with has lead to an increase in the number. Most people don’t come to the festival for a particular act or artist, they come for the festive atmosphere, to just hang out. The festival is free, and happens annually – so people look forward to it. It becomes part of their cultural calendar. I agree that festivals tend to be more accessible than other arts organizations as there is a mass appeal to it--- the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is free, well advertised and presents good quality artists. People often come to just hang out at the Kala Ghoda. However we have found that certain acts such as a symphony concert or the Paul Taylor dance still attracts a different crowd versus the crowd who would come to listen to a popular Bollywood singer. Our tie-up with the Times of India newspaper has helped us reach out much more widely.
What according to you are the key components that make up an arts festival?
It is extremely important to have an aim and an audience—define who you want reach and then program accordingly. I personally don’t like bollywood, but have to program that in because it is a crow-puller and people enjoy it, and more importantly it is a part of our culture and is now know even internationally.
Organisational Structure:
Do you think Indian festivals are using European models of festival-making? If not, how are they different?
We haven’t conducted research on other models of festival-making. The KGAF has evolved through trial and error. However, as we are growing we are reaching out and getting foreign artists to perform at our festival. As our budgets don’t always permit us to get foreign artists we get consulates and other cultural institutions to collaborate with us. This has helped us become popular world over. But the most important difference between our festival and others is that ours is absolutely free for the spectators. A lot of international festivals have tickets for their performances. Also we select and program the artists that perform, whereas at some of the international festival artists apply and pay and book venues to perform.
In general, what is the period in which the team of festival works? During the entire year, or only in a period before and after the time in which the festival takes place? And what is the size of your team?
The work on the festival starts in July-August and continues till March but the pace picks up towards end October and continues till February. We have section heads for the various verticals who do the programming A lot of time goes in getting permissions as there are at least 25-30 permissions that an orgainisation is required to take when one is holding an event. One hopes that a simplier process can be there to get these permissions as a lot of valuable time is wasted in this. Apart from the various section heads (10-12) we have a festival committee of four members that take all the important decisions. We also have an additional festival team of 8- 10 people who help the section heads and also help in putting the festival together. We also have an event management team of about 30 -40 people who help us on ground with the festival. Security agency to manage the security, technical staff, housekeeping etc are all employed for the festival. The local authorities such as the police, traffic police , BMC etc also help us with the logistics of the festival of such a large scale.
How important is the location, legacy and place - understanding the context of the place and generating a passion for participating in the festival among local community?
The location is very important and I feel the success of KGAF is that it is located in the art district of Mumbai. I am not sure if the festival would have been as popular if it was located elsewhere. The KGAF began as a means to facilitate restoration projects in the locality and now we continue doing so by channelizing funds towards further beautification of the area by installing traffic islands and public furniture and cleaning up the area.
Programming:
Did you conduct any formal / informal feasibility studies before launch to check if your festival has appeal?
The festival started to draw people’s attention to the beautiful and historic art precinct that Mumbai had- the Kala Ghoda district. At the start, the festival focused on visual arts and all the galleries in the area were involved. The festival as we see it today as grown much beyond that and of course presents all the arts. We keep reviewing the festival each year to add in new elements so that the festival is not repetitive to the audience.
What are the key challenges in programming your festival – for instance, in commissioning new work, the pros and cons of using themes, financial and political barriers--and how do you overcome them?
Budget constraints – we can’t get the artists we want. There are also political challenges we face and we have to be sensitive towards them. Once we had an art installation of a cow, but had to take it down (the cow is a sacred animal in Hindu mythology). The KGAF is a festival for the masses and we have to run it without offending anyone.
Do you need to differentiate between and define works along the lines of ‘contemporary’ and ‘traditional’ – does that become a challenge, do you have to seek a balance between representing the two?
We present both contemporary and traditional arts. Very modernistic art however, doesn’t work with our audience. Artists need to adapt to our audience. Earlier solo performances were held at smaller venues such as the NGMA but now we request even the senior artists to perform in more public spaces as we feel that this will make them reach out to a much larger audience. Many renowned dancers such as Mallika Sarabai, Sonal Mansingh and Malvika Sarukai have all performed at our more public venues such as the Horniman Circle Garden and Rampart Row.
Is there a commitment to showcasing younger and emerging artists – and how do you how to develop and protect younger and emerging artists whilst putting them on a stage alongside international, world-class work.
We intersperse emerging artists with the established ones – we may end the day with an established artist but the emerging ones present during the day. We also encourage emerging acts just before an established one. The tie-up with the Times of India means that they also publish about the emerging artists giving them important coverage. The KGAF also recommends these artists to other organizations and festivals getting them greater exposure.
How do you balance local community needs with the interests of external visitors and media viewers/readers?
We do get a lot of international tourists through tour companies their factor us into their itinerary. However, we do not promote the KGAF internationally which is something we need to do.
Audiences:
Are you focused on any particular kinds of audiences that you are trying to attract?
We are increasingly focused on children – it is important to start young to get them interested in the arts. Schools or parents don’t provide enough opportunities for exposure to the arts so it is important for the festival to take on this mandate.
We are also not a South Mumbai (elitist) event, but a people’s festival. We get more crowds than we can accommodate. The city’s legislation bans loud speakers on Rampart Row, yet people throng there during the festival because there is such a dearth of things for people to do in the city.
Do you have any audience measurement / feedback systems in place? Can you briefly discuss them?
Feedback often comes on the ground, right on the street. There has been some criticism of the street stalls being repitative at times so we have taken a decision not to repeat the same stalls for more than two festivals. During a Sonu Nigam concert at the Asiatic which is equipped to house about 5000 people, we had crowds of over 30.000- we realized we needed to have a way to cut-off crowds as we don’t want to compromise on people’s safety.
Feedback also comes via the online channels of email and Facebook.
Do you find a disconnect between engaging the audience vis-a-vis respecting the work and the artist. Do you think there is a trend in arts festivals towards more interactive performances?
Most of our audiences have never been exposed to anything outside the usual. On our crowd puller nights we try to expose people to something they would not otherwise go to see. For example, before a popular Sonu Nigam concert, we had Fazal Qureshi perform, so people who came to take early seats for Sonu Nigam got to see another style of Indian music and were very receptive towards it.
What other factors do you consider when measuring the success of your festival: meeting the festival vision, ticket sale/audience numbers or how successful a festival is in launching new artists?
Feedback and audience numbers.
Marketing and PR:
We don’t do any PR – the media covers the event without bias against our partner the TOI.
Funding model:
What sources of funding are available to you? Are there any funding bodies in india that you approach?
Corporate sponsorship is the main source of funding, but money for culture still remains negligible. The Cultural Ministry does give some grants but we have never approached them so far and are managing independently. I feel still we as a nation are not sensitive towards our culture and don’t do enough to support , promote and popularize it.
Who are your partners/collaborators – do you engage in new models of governance and partner¬ship between the arts, sciences, politics, business and other sectors?
Our principal partner for the festival is the TOI. We also tie up with the Maharashtra Tourism development Corporation and last year with the zonal cultural centres. We are hoping to get government support to help us develop an easier process of getting permissions to conduct such a festival.
How important has tourism been for your festival?
We have tied up with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation and last year with the zonal cultural centres, yet tourism is something that needs a much greater focus.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
International Cultural Bodies and Indian Art Festivals
Adam Pushkin, Head of Arts, British Council India
What arts festivals have you funded or supported in the last 2 years?
As a matter of policy, the only festival that we directly fund (i.e. pay money directly to the festival) is the Hay Festival in Kerala – and that’s because it’s part of a global network of literary festivals that we support across the world, and it’s also specifically linked to the UK. We have also paid sponsorships to Jaipur Literature festival and the NH7 Weekender music festival in Pune; in those cases it was because it was logistically easier for our support for UK artists and companies to be routed through the festival.
There are more festivals that we have supported indirectly, i.e. by helping UK artists and companies to appear there and meeting those costs or putting in staff time directly. They include:
- NSD Festival (Delhi)
- Kala Ghoda Festival (Mumbai)
- Ahmedabad International Arts Festival
- Jodhpur Folk Festival (RIFF)
- Jaipur Heritage Festival
- Ahmedabad International Arts Festival
- Attakkalari Contemporary Dance Biennial (Bangalore)
- IGNITE! Festival of Contemporary Dance (Delhi)
- India Art Fair (if you call that a festival)
- Kolkata Book Fair (ditto)
- International Women’s Film Festival (Chennai)
- Kashish Queer Film Festival (Mumbai)
- International Film Festival of India (Goa)
- Magic Lantern Festival (Delhi)
- Unbox Festival (Delhi)
Do you have a separate funding policy for arts festivals specifically - is there an application process specifically for festivals or is it the same as for any artist or arts body? And are there specific criteria you use for festivals to identify the ones you would support?
We don’t aim to support arts festivals in India specifically – but one of our aims is to help the best of the new of UK arts reach new audiences in India, and festivals are one way of doing that. So there are no criteria: it’s more about whether it works logistically (i.e. cities and dates), whether the festival is well-run and looks after artists properly, and whether it will reach the audiences we want to reach.
What is the level of funding you offer? And what other forms of support do you offer?
It varies hugely, from a few hundred pounds (e.g. one person’s international flight ticket) to several thousand pounds (e.g. for a touring performing arts company). We also put in our knowledge and networks in the UK: e.g. for the International Film Festival of India this year, we are putting in very little financial investment, but our knowledge and networks in the UK are meaning that the festival can put together a package and attract people that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.
How much does funding impact the curatorial decision making of an arts festival? Hugely, in my experience. Ultimately every arts festival has to achieve a balance between what they want to achieve curatorially, and what they can get funded. The skill is in finding things that can do both! But invariably, it involves compromises between what you really would like to do and what’s fundable.
What are the key differences in festival-making approaches in India vs the UK?
The biggest difference is the subsidy system – in the UK, most serious arts festivals receive funding from the state, via the Arts Council and via local authorities, to cover their core costs (i.e. salaries, office costs, the bulk of the programming, etc). Secondly, most UK festivals – although not all – charge for tickets, and that is an important part of their income. This means that sponsorship, while important, is only one part of the funding mix: so festivals are usually able to take more artistic risks.
Also, the decision-making about government funding is more transparent in the UK: the arms-length (from government) decision-making process is hugely valuable, and ensures that even if you don’t like the decision, you’ll normally respect the process through which it was made.
Festivals are in a state of boom in India, as so many new ones are starting up: this to some extent mirrors the situation in the UK a few years ago, which has now started to retreat because of the economic downturn.
Some festivals in India have a very sophisticated approach to programming, while many others simply want to put on a lot of work with little quality control. One key difference is the importance of international cultural institutes (like the British Council, Max Mueller Bhawan, Inko Centre, Pro Helvetia etc); some festivals simply write to all the embassies and international cultural institutes asking for ‘an act’, which I would see as a very basic approach to programming. But many others have relationships with us that are more of an ongoing two-way conversation about potential ideas and opportunities, which is more healthy.
In your opinion, are Indian arts festivals adopting European models of festival making? Or do they have a distinct approach?
Well the main difference is that many festivals in India are still completely free of charge. This means that they are very accessible of course, although from an audience development perspective, you might argue that the attendees are still overwhelmingly from more affluent backgrounds and could easily afford to pay. It does make it difficult to develop a sustainable creative economy if the core audiences / regular arts attenders are in the habit of not having to pay for their arts.
Otherwise, many of the same patterns exist in India: some festivals work as ‘umbrellas’ (i.e. they encourage other people to do stuff around the same time, publicise it all together and call it a festival); some work as fully curated festivals (e.g. the Jaipur lit fest); and some are somewhere in between.
There are a number of organisations, both public and private sector, that are looking to encourage the development of ‘mega festivals’, that drive cultural tourism. While this ambition is welcome, I do think it’s important to recognise that festivals like Edinburgh, or the Venice Biennale, have grown over several decades: they didn’t become mega festivals overnight, and it takes many years to develop the serious reputation amongst media, sponsors, government, and most importantly artists and audiences, to really create a sustainable mega festival.
The British Council has published resources that chart the Indian arts scene. How important a role are arts festivals playing in the Indian context?
Increasingly important – certainly for us, they are among our key partners. But they will only ever be one part of the mix: it also requires venues, companies, promoters, curators, entrepreneurs and so on.
What arts festivals have you funded or supported in the last 2 years?
As a matter of policy, the only festival that we directly fund (i.e. pay money directly to the festival) is the Hay Festival in Kerala – and that’s because it’s part of a global network of literary festivals that we support across the world, and it’s also specifically linked to the UK. We have also paid sponsorships to Jaipur Literature festival and the NH7 Weekender music festival in Pune; in those cases it was because it was logistically easier for our support for UK artists and companies to be routed through the festival.
There are more festivals that we have supported indirectly, i.e. by helping UK artists and companies to appear there and meeting those costs or putting in staff time directly. They include:
- NSD Festival (Delhi)
- Kala Ghoda Festival (Mumbai)
- Ahmedabad International Arts Festival
- Jodhpur Folk Festival (RIFF)
- Jaipur Heritage Festival
- Ahmedabad International Arts Festival
- Attakkalari Contemporary Dance Biennial (Bangalore)
- IGNITE! Festival of Contemporary Dance (Delhi)
- India Art Fair (if you call that a festival)
- Kolkata Book Fair (ditto)
- International Women’s Film Festival (Chennai)
- Kashish Queer Film Festival (Mumbai)
- International Film Festival of India (Goa)
- Magic Lantern Festival (Delhi)
- Unbox Festival (Delhi)
Do you have a separate funding policy for arts festivals specifically - is there an application process specifically for festivals or is it the same as for any artist or arts body? And are there specific criteria you use for festivals to identify the ones you would support?
We don’t aim to support arts festivals in India specifically – but one of our aims is to help the best of the new of UK arts reach new audiences in India, and festivals are one way of doing that. So there are no criteria: it’s more about whether it works logistically (i.e. cities and dates), whether the festival is well-run and looks after artists properly, and whether it will reach the audiences we want to reach.
What is the level of funding you offer? And what other forms of support do you offer?
It varies hugely, from a few hundred pounds (e.g. one person’s international flight ticket) to several thousand pounds (e.g. for a touring performing arts company). We also put in our knowledge and networks in the UK: e.g. for the International Film Festival of India this year, we are putting in very little financial investment, but our knowledge and networks in the UK are meaning that the festival can put together a package and attract people that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.
How much does funding impact the curatorial decision making of an arts festival? Hugely, in my experience. Ultimately every arts festival has to achieve a balance between what they want to achieve curatorially, and what they can get funded. The skill is in finding things that can do both! But invariably, it involves compromises between what you really would like to do and what’s fundable.
What are the key differences in festival-making approaches in India vs the UK?
The biggest difference is the subsidy system – in the UK, most serious arts festivals receive funding from the state, via the Arts Council and via local authorities, to cover their core costs (i.e. salaries, office costs, the bulk of the programming, etc). Secondly, most UK festivals – although not all – charge for tickets, and that is an important part of their income. This means that sponsorship, while important, is only one part of the funding mix: so festivals are usually able to take more artistic risks.
Also, the decision-making about government funding is more transparent in the UK: the arms-length (from government) decision-making process is hugely valuable, and ensures that even if you don’t like the decision, you’ll normally respect the process through which it was made.
Festivals are in a state of boom in India, as so many new ones are starting up: this to some extent mirrors the situation in the UK a few years ago, which has now started to retreat because of the economic downturn.
Some festivals in India have a very sophisticated approach to programming, while many others simply want to put on a lot of work with little quality control. One key difference is the importance of international cultural institutes (like the British Council, Max Mueller Bhawan, Inko Centre, Pro Helvetia etc); some festivals simply write to all the embassies and international cultural institutes asking for ‘an act’, which I would see as a very basic approach to programming. But many others have relationships with us that are more of an ongoing two-way conversation about potential ideas and opportunities, which is more healthy.
In your opinion, are Indian arts festivals adopting European models of festival making? Or do they have a distinct approach?
Well the main difference is that many festivals in India are still completely free of charge. This means that they are very accessible of course, although from an audience development perspective, you might argue that the attendees are still overwhelmingly from more affluent backgrounds and could easily afford to pay. It does make it difficult to develop a sustainable creative economy if the core audiences / regular arts attenders are in the habit of not having to pay for their arts.
Otherwise, many of the same patterns exist in India: some festivals work as ‘umbrellas’ (i.e. they encourage other people to do stuff around the same time, publicise it all together and call it a festival); some work as fully curated festivals (e.g. the Jaipur lit fest); and some are somewhere in between.
There are a number of organisations, both public and private sector, that are looking to encourage the development of ‘mega festivals’, that drive cultural tourism. While this ambition is welcome, I do think it’s important to recognise that festivals like Edinburgh, or the Venice Biennale, have grown over several decades: they didn’t become mega festivals overnight, and it takes many years to develop the serious reputation amongst media, sponsors, government, and most importantly artists and audiences, to really create a sustainable mega festival.
The British Council has published resources that chart the Indian arts scene. How important a role are arts festivals playing in the Indian context?
Increasingly important – certainly for us, they are among our key partners. But they will only ever be one part of the mix: it also requires venues, companies, promoters, curators, entrepreneurs and so on.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
IFA on Funding for arts festivals
Anmol Vellani, Executive Director, India Foundation for the Arts
What festivals have you funded in the last few years?
None – we do not fund festivals as a whole but have supported some modules that would be relevant to our programmes. For instance we funded some modules of the Theatre for Young Audiences conference in New Delhi. We may support seminars which are part of a festival that enable participants to engage with themes that are related to IFA’s programmes.
What festivals have you funded in the last few years?
None – we do not fund festivals as a whole but have supported some modules that would be relevant to our programmes. For instance we funded some modules of the Theatre for Young Audiences conference in New Delhi. We may support seminars which are part of a festival that enable participants to engage with themes that are related to IFA’s programmes.
We also engage with festival authorities to introduce them to the individual works that we have supported. We also have our own New Performance Festival every two years in different cities as part of which we curate four-to-five productions that have emerged from our grants under the New Performance programme.
What is the level of funding and what types of support do you offer?
We do not fund festivals because we believe there is enough funding available from the various levels of the government – national, state and municipal – as well as corporate sponsorship. Bilateral agencies and other external funders also provide support. There is a new scheme being introduced by the government for funding of large-scale arts festivals.
IFA is the only independent grant-making organization in India working exclusively to support the arts and we focus our attention on areas that are less visible and less likely to be supported by others – such as arts education in schools, curatorship, risk-taking art.
How does funding impact curatorial practice of festivals?
Funding at the moment is not available for festivals to take well-informed curatorial decisions because funding for pre-festival R&D activities is not available generally. Funding is made available only for the execution of the festivals but not at the research stage.
The new government scheme for funding festivals focuses on mega-festivals. It treats large festival as a magnified version of a small fest, which is problematic. In this case as in others, the government is unwilling to take risks or provide support at an early idea or inception stage.
What is your opinion about the festival scene in India – what role are they playing in the community and why are they so popular?
There is more money in the economy at the moment to support festivals. Supporting festivals is popular because they offer large participation and give greater mileage.
The government has also learned from the Jaipur Literature Festival that such festivals have a positive impact on the local and national economies.
Festivals play multiple roles in the community. They allow artists to get a broader audience, interact with other artists and build networks with other festival producers.
In the city, art and culture is not something with which people regularly engage, so festivals offer a compelling forum that draws people. The success of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is telling in this respect.
The KGAF started with the heritage precinct idea and draws attention to the neighbourhood. Such festivals bring the community together.
What is the cultural and historical context within which arts festivals in India operate?
We have a very long history of village festivals, which create the space for rituals and allow for mythology to flourish. Arts festivals in urban locations are of more recent origin. One of the oldest is the music season in Chennai, which began in the 1920s or 1930s. Today it runs for two months with innumerable sabhas presenting concerts, lec-dems and seminars round the clock.
Urban arts festivals change their complexion over time as they grow and respond to the rapidly changing urban landscape. Being of relatively recent origin, they are in the process of creating their own traditions and forms. For instance, the idea of ‘neighbourhood’ did not exist earlier – the Bandra and Kala Ghoda festivals respond to these new urban constructs.
How are India’s art festivals like to evolve or grow in the future?
I believe that city festivals will grow. With increasing support, festivals will also travel to other cities and network with other festivals – for instance, earlier editions of the Prithvi Theatre Festival and Thespo have travelled to other cities. Festivals in all areas of the arts, and particularly city-wide and multidisciplinary festivals, will grow.
We do not fund festivals because we believe there is enough funding available from the various levels of the government – national, state and municipal – as well as corporate sponsorship. Bilateral agencies and other external funders also provide support. There is a new scheme being introduced by the government for funding of large-scale arts festivals.
IFA is the only independent grant-making organization in India working exclusively to support the arts and we focus our attention on areas that are less visible and less likely to be supported by others – such as arts education in schools, curatorship, risk-taking art.
How does funding impact curatorial practice of festivals?
Funding at the moment is not available for festivals to take well-informed curatorial decisions because funding for pre-festival R&D activities is not available generally. Funding is made available only for the execution of the festivals but not at the research stage.
The new government scheme for funding festivals focuses on mega-festivals. It treats large festival as a magnified version of a small fest, which is problematic. In this case as in others, the government is unwilling to take risks or provide support at an early idea or inception stage.
What is your opinion about the festival scene in India – what role are they playing in the community and why are they so popular?
There is more money in the economy at the moment to support festivals. Supporting festivals is popular because they offer large participation and give greater mileage.
The government has also learned from the Jaipur Literature Festival that such festivals have a positive impact on the local and national economies.
Festivals play multiple roles in the community. They allow artists to get a broader audience, interact with other artists and build networks with other festival producers.
In the city, art and culture is not something with which people regularly engage, so festivals offer a compelling forum that draws people. The success of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is telling in this respect.
The KGAF started with the heritage precinct idea and draws attention to the neighbourhood. Such festivals bring the community together.
What is the cultural and historical context within which arts festivals in India operate?
We have a very long history of village festivals, which create the space for rituals and allow for mythology to flourish. Arts festivals in urban locations are of more recent origin. One of the oldest is the music season in Chennai, which began in the 1920s or 1930s. Today it runs for two months with innumerable sabhas presenting concerts, lec-dems and seminars round the clock.
Urban arts festivals change their complexion over time as they grow and respond to the rapidly changing urban landscape. Being of relatively recent origin, they are in the process of creating their own traditions and forms. For instance, the idea of ‘neighbourhood’ did not exist earlier – the Bandra and Kala Ghoda festivals respond to these new urban constructs.
How are India’s art festivals like to evolve or grow in the future?
I believe that city festivals will grow. With increasing support, festivals will also travel to other cities and network with other festivals – for instance, earlier editions of the Prithvi Theatre Festival and Thespo have travelled to other cities. Festivals in all areas of the arts, and particularly city-wide and multidisciplinary festivals, will grow.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Sanjoy Roy on the Jaipur Literature Festival and the host of festivals he runs around the world
Sanjoy Roy, Festival Producer, Jaipur Literature Festival and Managing Director Teamwork Films
Festival Context:
What is the role of arts festivals in a community? What role is your festival currently playing in the community and how do you see its significance growing?
The arts impact community groups directly and arts festivals are showcases for these activities. In economically difficult times there is an increased need to connect with young people struggling to come to terms with their debts, uncertain job future and tentative new life styles outside of their former parental homes - the arts plays an important role in creating a focus, ensuring energies are being utilized in a positive way, creating new bonds which could last longer and create a safety net, and a platform for net working. For young people from disenfranchised communities this is of greater importance. For example at the Salaam Baalak trust an organisation providing support services for street and working-children in the inner city of Delhi for the past 24 years - the arts have become a backbone for rehabilitation, for the young people to find a new sense of confidence, to be able to perform for their peers and realize they are no different and for their socialization process. In juvenile remand homes, theater workshops and remedial drama projects have created a new sense of confidence and allowed kids to see things somewhat differently. Recently a juvenile was part of a theater production while pending trial. He was released by the court on the day of his production. he left the court a free man only to return to the jail and beg to be allowed back to perform in the play.
Arts festivals too play a variety of roles:
• provide platforms for creativity which allows for costs to be amortized and marketing to be focused
• provide an arena for work to be judged for excellence and innovation
• create an economic incentive to towns, villages and cities.
• The Edinburgh festival contributed 950,000 GDP of extra spend to Edinburgh economy
• Jaipur contributes approximately 10 crores of extra spend during the Jaipur literature festival
• Ramlila and festival celebrations contribute close to 1.5 billion dollars during the 10 days of celebrations.
In what historical context does your festival operate? Religious festivals have long been used to build cohesive communities in India - what about arts festivals? Were there historical equivalents of arts festivals in the region?
Religious festivals especially like Ganesh Chaturthi or Durga Puja become symbols of resistance against the British Raj. Cultural festivals have a more recent history.
The biggest festival in India is the Chennai season which began as an offering of classical dance by a sabha and has grown to be a program with over 3500 events over a month across multiple spaces.
The Khajuraho Dance Festival and Konarak Dance Festival became signature programs to focus on tourism in the region. The only handicap they suffer was that it was run by government and has not achieved what it set out to do. However, the Khajuraho Festival continues to attract over 7000 - 8000 villagers from the area who come together to savor the best of classical music and dance ...in itself a rare feat.
The festivals we have set up have no historical antecedents and are both fairly new in concept in design in India. Internationally they follow a new trajectory of marrying commerce with the arts.
In recent times we have been propagating the transformation of inner city locations through the arts. By advising Realtors to provide rent free or discounted accommodation to artists and the arts community for living accommodation, studio or exhibition space and rehearsal space, inner cities can attract artists to convert unusable spaces into edgy neighborhoods. Once this happens ...gentrification of the area is a matter of time with boutiques opening, lofts being converted and real estate prices going up.
Why do you think there is now a sudden spurt of activity in art festival-making in India? How important are such events in a developing/transforming/globalising society?
Traditionally there have been many arts festivals in India springing up across metros and smaller tourist towns for a few decades. The increase in recent years can be attributed to the economic development in metros and A,B and C category cities where there is a larger appetite for entertainment, Bollywood and local or traditional arts offerings.
On the sociological side ...festivals tend to be used as dating platforms or legitimate match making platforms which earlier were restricted to local fairs.
Festivals are also economic activities with more and more young people looking to events as a career option.
Where do arts festivals fit within the larger cultural framework of India - how are they different from other arts organisations and what unique opportunities do they offer?
Arts festivals and arts organisations are as different as apples and aubergine. Arts festivals provide a gamut of different opportunities - some of these I have mentioned in the answers above and include:
• economic development in the area
• tourism potential
• platform for creative expression
• enhancement of local infrastructure and facilities
Arts organizations offer somewhat different opportunities but these would vary from organization to organization depending on their aims and vision
• an opportunity for expression
• remedial facilities for the physical and mentally challenged
• empowerment for disenfranchised youth
• employment
• economic activity for artists
• creative expression
• technical development
• infrastructure creation
Do you think arts festivals are more accessible to their audiences, than other fixed arts organisations? Why?
Arts festivals create a focus and if it is concentrated, it tends to garner more attention. Say u have a book reading or panel discussion... this would appeal to a group of people as opposed to say a literature festival which offers a host of choices, many authors and more opportunity to interact.
Similarly a theater festival like the one by National School of Drama offers multiple choices for both viewers and those who wish to learn as opposed to a one off play.
However there is no argument that an arts festival is better than a one-off presentation or the other way. Each has its own needs and requirements and space in the larger scheme of things.
What according to you are the key components that make up an arts festival?
• location, location, location
• city scape, distance from main venue
• primary focus of the festival
• program mix
• production lay out
• facilities including parking, security, toilets, shops and merchandising, ticket outlets
• marketing, marketing, marketing
• pr
• technical facilities
• stage requirements, green room and other requirements for the artists
• travel facilities - access to railway station, airport, etc
• hotel facilities for tourists, artists, etc
• local permissions, police requirements
• networking with local community leaders
• volunteers
Organisational Structure:
What is the structure of the team in your festival?
The Jaipur Literature Festival has:
• festival directors
• festival producer and associate producer
• print and design head
• marketing
• sposnorship
• volunteers coordinator
• registration and ticketing
• venue managers
• decor and infrastructure
• travel
• accomodation
• ground transport
• artist liaison officers
• technical head
• food and catering
• music stage
• back stage
• press and pr
• sponsor relationship manager
• volunteers
In general, what is the period in which the team of festival works?
We normally work in a 12 - 18 month cycle with most programming completed at least a year in advance and sponsorship an ongoing activity with multiple visits to cities and offices depending on where the festival is being based and what kind of coordination is required by our different offices.
How has the role of the festival/artistic director evolved in the last few years in your opinion?
Festival directors tend to be more CEOs of the festival with artistic directors being more creative and focused on content delivery. Given the paucity of budgets, directors today like Jonathan Mills at Edinburgh International Festival have to deliver their vision, program, find money and coordinate (fight) with government. In almost all these roles networking is the key to the festival.
How important is the location, legacy and place - understanding the context of the place and generating a passion for participating in the festival among local community?
Vital. In Jaipur for example the general impression was that this was an exclusive festival for white people. We had to work overtime to ensure democratic access, equality in seating and in treatment and hospitality. Today the city feels it’s their festival.
In Srinagar we did not do enough homework nor built vital links with the community and this was one of the reasons why we were unable to quell the protest by a small group of radicals who threatened violence and ensured we cancelled the fest.
In South Africa working with local organisations across the rainbow divide ensure that we get different communities buying in to our fest. Similarly in Vancouver reaching out to both white Canadians and people of Indian origin worked well specially knowing the sensitivities that surround Khalistan in Vancouver.
Programming:
What are the key challenges in programming your festival – for instance, the pros and cons of using themes, financial and political barriers--and how do you overcome them?
I personally don't favour theme based festivals as I find them restrictive. Theme-based festivals however are in fashion with artistic directors as this model allows them to be creatively different and often contributes to the age old press question of what's different.
One has to be politically conscious. For example in Singapore u wouldn't do a festival with a drug theme or in Iran with a Christian theme. Sometimes u need to disguise the intent for example in Jerusalem we create a platform which allows both sides of the divide to communicate and speak to each other about issues of segregation, inequality, etc without it being seen ostensibly as a hostile political platform.
How do you balance local community needs with the interests of external visitors and media viewers/readers?
Festivals must be for the largest cross section of the local population and the rest will follow. Presentation needs to be to international standards which will allow everyone to access the festival. The Pushkar Camel Festival is a local activity whose exotic nature appeals to all.
Is your festival’s content progressing increasingly towards multidisciplinary programming?
12 of our 17 festivals are multidisciplinary with music, theater, dance, film, visual arts, digital arts, crafts, food and fashion having equal space.
Our lit fests have music, food, crafts, workshops and visual arts as part of the program
Audiences:
Are you focused on any particular kinds of audiences that you are trying to attract?
A cross-section of audiences. The aim is to continue to grow these and include everyone from those who live on the streets to those who come in fancy private jets.
Do you have any audience measurement / feedback systems in place? Can you briefly discuss them?
Most festivals have a basic feedback system available through our web site. Some have more detailed ones which let us know the problems - kind of surveys.
Do you find a disconnect between engaging the audience vis-a-vis respecting the work and the artist. Do you think there is a trend in arts festivals towards more interactive performances?
Not really. Audiences are clever and know exactly what they wish to see, pay for and take time out for. They are informed and while happy to experiment are quite clear of what they like or dislike. You have to get the program mix right and have known names with unknown, classical shows with contemporary performances and marry the popular with the experimental. Audiences must want to trust in you... they will hate some and like some, but these are personal choices... if they trust you they will turn up and be happy to be surprised.
This changes from country to country - Singapore loves big names, Europe the more experimental, Brazil the risqué and adventurous, etc
What other factors do you consider when measuring the success of your festival:meeting the festival vision, ticket sale/audience numbers or how successful a festival is in launching new publications? What about dealing with failure?
• press reportage
• audience feedback
• numbers who have attended
Failure is the most difficult thing to overcome ... if u learn the lessons from the failure u will be well set to pursue greater ambitions.
Marketing and PR:
How much of a role does social media and online marketing play?
More and more important. For Harud, the Srinagar lit fest - social media ensured we canceled the festival… it also ensured we were able to lose the battle but win the war and turn the tide in our favour.
No media can be ignored anymore - you need a combination of outdoor, print, radio, electronic and social media to market effectively.
Have there been any other major shifts in arts marketing – besides the use of online media?
Word of mouth remains the biggest draw. As newspapers have more or less cut out reviews and reviewers , so most shows depend on word of mouth or sometimes through tweets, facebook, etc
Funding model:
What sources of funding are available to you? Are there any funding bodies in India that you approach?
Corporate sponsorship, government grants. There are no major arts funding bodies in India. Internationally we also look to corporate support, sponsorship, CSR funds, government grants and city organisations.
Who are your partners/collaborators – do you engage in new models of governance and partnership between the arts, sciences, politics, business and other sectors?
We have for our festivals partnered with most cities like the city of Johannesburg, Durban, Vancouver city council, Tel Aviv municipality. Also arts councils like the Arts Council of England, Creative Scotland, British Council, American state department. Corporates like Microsoft, Google, Tata, Mahindra and Mahindra, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Coutts, RBS, Coca Cola, and media groups.
How important has tourism been for your festival?
Tourism is a main stay for any festival and our primary aim always is to drive more traffic to our festivals from across the world.
Festival Context:
What is the role of arts festivals in a community? What role is your festival currently playing in the community and how do you see its significance growing?
The arts impact community groups directly and arts festivals are showcases for these activities. In economically difficult times there is an increased need to connect with young people struggling to come to terms with their debts, uncertain job future and tentative new life styles outside of their former parental homes - the arts plays an important role in creating a focus, ensuring energies are being utilized in a positive way, creating new bonds which could last longer and create a safety net, and a platform for net working. For young people from disenfranchised communities this is of greater importance. For example at the Salaam Baalak trust an organisation providing support services for street and working-children in the inner city of Delhi for the past 24 years - the arts have become a backbone for rehabilitation, for the young people to find a new sense of confidence, to be able to perform for their peers and realize they are no different and for their socialization process. In juvenile remand homes, theater workshops and remedial drama projects have created a new sense of confidence and allowed kids to see things somewhat differently. Recently a juvenile was part of a theater production while pending trial. He was released by the court on the day of his production. he left the court a free man only to return to the jail and beg to be allowed back to perform in the play.
Arts festivals too play a variety of roles:
• provide platforms for creativity which allows for costs to be amortized and marketing to be focused
• provide an arena for work to be judged for excellence and innovation
• create an economic incentive to towns, villages and cities.
• The Edinburgh festival contributed 950,000 GDP of extra spend to Edinburgh economy
• Jaipur contributes approximately 10 crores of extra spend during the Jaipur literature festival
• Ramlila and festival celebrations contribute close to 1.5 billion dollars during the 10 days of celebrations.
In what historical context does your festival operate? Religious festivals have long been used to build cohesive communities in India - what about arts festivals? Were there historical equivalents of arts festivals in the region?
Religious festivals especially like Ganesh Chaturthi or Durga Puja become symbols of resistance against the British Raj. Cultural festivals have a more recent history.
The biggest festival in India is the Chennai season which began as an offering of classical dance by a sabha and has grown to be a program with over 3500 events over a month across multiple spaces.
The Khajuraho Dance Festival and Konarak Dance Festival became signature programs to focus on tourism in the region. The only handicap they suffer was that it was run by government and has not achieved what it set out to do. However, the Khajuraho Festival continues to attract over 7000 - 8000 villagers from the area who come together to savor the best of classical music and dance ...in itself a rare feat.
The festivals we have set up have no historical antecedents and are both fairly new in concept in design in India. Internationally they follow a new trajectory of marrying commerce with the arts.
In recent times we have been propagating the transformation of inner city locations through the arts. By advising Realtors to provide rent free or discounted accommodation to artists and the arts community for living accommodation, studio or exhibition space and rehearsal space, inner cities can attract artists to convert unusable spaces into edgy neighborhoods. Once this happens ...gentrification of the area is a matter of time with boutiques opening, lofts being converted and real estate prices going up.
Why do you think there is now a sudden spurt of activity in art festival-making in India? How important are such events in a developing/transforming/globalising society?
Traditionally there have been many arts festivals in India springing up across metros and smaller tourist towns for a few decades. The increase in recent years can be attributed to the economic development in metros and A,B and C category cities where there is a larger appetite for entertainment, Bollywood and local or traditional arts offerings.
On the sociological side ...festivals tend to be used as dating platforms or legitimate match making platforms which earlier were restricted to local fairs.
Festivals are also economic activities with more and more young people looking to events as a career option.
Where do arts festivals fit within the larger cultural framework of India - how are they different from other arts organisations and what unique opportunities do they offer?
Arts festivals and arts organisations are as different as apples and aubergine. Arts festivals provide a gamut of different opportunities - some of these I have mentioned in the answers above and include:
• economic development in the area
• tourism potential
• platform for creative expression
• enhancement of local infrastructure and facilities
Arts organizations offer somewhat different opportunities but these would vary from organization to organization depending on their aims and vision
• an opportunity for expression
• remedial facilities for the physical and mentally challenged
• empowerment for disenfranchised youth
• employment
• economic activity for artists
• creative expression
• technical development
• infrastructure creation
Do you think arts festivals are more accessible to their audiences, than other fixed arts organisations? Why?
Arts festivals create a focus and if it is concentrated, it tends to garner more attention. Say u have a book reading or panel discussion... this would appeal to a group of people as opposed to say a literature festival which offers a host of choices, many authors and more opportunity to interact.
Similarly a theater festival like the one by National School of Drama offers multiple choices for both viewers and those who wish to learn as opposed to a one off play.
However there is no argument that an arts festival is better than a one-off presentation or the other way. Each has its own needs and requirements and space in the larger scheme of things.
What according to you are the key components that make up an arts festival?
• location, location, location
• city scape, distance from main venue
• primary focus of the festival
• program mix
• production lay out
• facilities including parking, security, toilets, shops and merchandising, ticket outlets
• marketing, marketing, marketing
• pr
• technical facilities
• stage requirements, green room and other requirements for the artists
• travel facilities - access to railway station, airport, etc
• hotel facilities for tourists, artists, etc
• local permissions, police requirements
• networking with local community leaders
• volunteers
Organisational Structure:
What is the structure of the team in your festival?
The Jaipur Literature Festival has:
• festival directors
• festival producer and associate producer
• print and design head
• marketing
• sposnorship
• volunteers coordinator
• registration and ticketing
• venue managers
• decor and infrastructure
• travel
• accomodation
• ground transport
• artist liaison officers
• technical head
• food and catering
• music stage
• back stage
• press and pr
• sponsor relationship manager
• volunteers
In general, what is the period in which the team of festival works?
We normally work in a 12 - 18 month cycle with most programming completed at least a year in advance and sponsorship an ongoing activity with multiple visits to cities and offices depending on where the festival is being based and what kind of coordination is required by our different offices.
How has the role of the festival/artistic director evolved in the last few years in your opinion?
Festival directors tend to be more CEOs of the festival with artistic directors being more creative and focused on content delivery. Given the paucity of budgets, directors today like Jonathan Mills at Edinburgh International Festival have to deliver their vision, program, find money and coordinate (fight) with government. In almost all these roles networking is the key to the festival.
How important is the location, legacy and place - understanding the context of the place and generating a passion for participating in the festival among local community?
Vital. In Jaipur for example the general impression was that this was an exclusive festival for white people. We had to work overtime to ensure democratic access, equality in seating and in treatment and hospitality. Today the city feels it’s their festival.
In Srinagar we did not do enough homework nor built vital links with the community and this was one of the reasons why we were unable to quell the protest by a small group of radicals who threatened violence and ensured we cancelled the fest.
In South Africa working with local organisations across the rainbow divide ensure that we get different communities buying in to our fest. Similarly in Vancouver reaching out to both white Canadians and people of Indian origin worked well specially knowing the sensitivities that surround Khalistan in Vancouver.
Programming:
What are the key challenges in programming your festival – for instance, the pros and cons of using themes, financial and political barriers--and how do you overcome them?
I personally don't favour theme based festivals as I find them restrictive. Theme-based festivals however are in fashion with artistic directors as this model allows them to be creatively different and often contributes to the age old press question of what's different.
One has to be politically conscious. For example in Singapore u wouldn't do a festival with a drug theme or in Iran with a Christian theme. Sometimes u need to disguise the intent for example in Jerusalem we create a platform which allows both sides of the divide to communicate and speak to each other about issues of segregation, inequality, etc without it being seen ostensibly as a hostile political platform.
How do you balance local community needs with the interests of external visitors and media viewers/readers?
Festivals must be for the largest cross section of the local population and the rest will follow. Presentation needs to be to international standards which will allow everyone to access the festival. The Pushkar Camel Festival is a local activity whose exotic nature appeals to all.
Is your festival’s content progressing increasingly towards multidisciplinary programming?
12 of our 17 festivals are multidisciplinary with music, theater, dance, film, visual arts, digital arts, crafts, food and fashion having equal space.
Our lit fests have music, food, crafts, workshops and visual arts as part of the program
Audiences:
Are you focused on any particular kinds of audiences that you are trying to attract?
A cross-section of audiences. The aim is to continue to grow these and include everyone from those who live on the streets to those who come in fancy private jets.
Do you have any audience measurement / feedback systems in place? Can you briefly discuss them?
Most festivals have a basic feedback system available through our web site. Some have more detailed ones which let us know the problems - kind of surveys.
Do you find a disconnect between engaging the audience vis-a-vis respecting the work and the artist. Do you think there is a trend in arts festivals towards more interactive performances?
Not really. Audiences are clever and know exactly what they wish to see, pay for and take time out for. They are informed and while happy to experiment are quite clear of what they like or dislike. You have to get the program mix right and have known names with unknown, classical shows with contemporary performances and marry the popular with the experimental. Audiences must want to trust in you... they will hate some and like some, but these are personal choices... if they trust you they will turn up and be happy to be surprised.
This changes from country to country - Singapore loves big names, Europe the more experimental, Brazil the risqué and adventurous, etc
What other factors do you consider when measuring the success of your festival:meeting the festival vision, ticket sale/audience numbers or how successful a festival is in launching new publications? What about dealing with failure?
• press reportage
• audience feedback
• numbers who have attended
Failure is the most difficult thing to overcome ... if u learn the lessons from the failure u will be well set to pursue greater ambitions.
Marketing and PR:
How much of a role does social media and online marketing play?
More and more important. For Harud, the Srinagar lit fest - social media ensured we canceled the festival… it also ensured we were able to lose the battle but win the war and turn the tide in our favour.
No media can be ignored anymore - you need a combination of outdoor, print, radio, electronic and social media to market effectively.
Have there been any other major shifts in arts marketing – besides the use of online media?
Word of mouth remains the biggest draw. As newspapers have more or less cut out reviews and reviewers , so most shows depend on word of mouth or sometimes through tweets, facebook, etc
Funding model:
What sources of funding are available to you? Are there any funding bodies in India that you approach?
Corporate sponsorship, government grants. There are no major arts funding bodies in India. Internationally we also look to corporate support, sponsorship, CSR funds, government grants and city organisations.
Who are your partners/collaborators – do you engage in new models of governance and partnership between the arts, sciences, politics, business and other sectors?
We have for our festivals partnered with most cities like the city of Johannesburg, Durban, Vancouver city council, Tel Aviv municipality. Also arts councils like the Arts Council of England, Creative Scotland, British Council, American state department. Corporates like Microsoft, Google, Tata, Mahindra and Mahindra, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Coutts, RBS, Coca Cola, and media groups.
How important has tourism been for your festival?
Tourism is a main stay for any festival and our primary aim always is to drive more traffic to our festivals from across the world.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
In conversation with Rahul Mehrotra, Architect and Co-Founder, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival
What is the role of arts festivals in a community? What role did you envision for the KGAF?
I was at the time working to get the Fort area in Mumbai recognized as a conservation zone and identified what might potentially be the engines that would drive the process of conservation in this area – what were the interests that we could align with to make conservation happen on the ground. The Kala Ghoda area – the arts district – started kicking off the fastest largely because cultural institutions are often more spontaneous in reacting than other functions and institutions. Once this area organized itself as an association we began identifying spaces that could be used for art to expand the potential for the area to be identified as an art district. I identified buildings like the Army & Navy building that required restoration.
The festival was really a form of activism to get the city to recognize Kala Ghoda as an arts district. After two or three years of running the festival we had raised enough money for restoration of the buildings we had identified and wanted to demonstrate how buildings could be revived. Today, I believe the festival has become too much of a mela (social gathering or event) and lost its focus on promoting art . I personally think this should become the centre of the agenda of the association because now that part of the physical restoration has occurred and its has developed an identity as an art district the arts in general could gain a great deal with some rigorous curation to make this a hub of a serious art festival that could gain national importance. The district then would play a crucial role for Mumbai as a art district in the national imagination!
In what historical context does your festival operate?
Art festivals are an urban, Western notion. When the KGAF was initiated, we unfortunately hadn’t defined the parameters for curation – it was a spontaneous reaction to mobilize people and resources to conserve the buildings and public spaces in the area. At least my personal efforts were focused not so much content, but to show another use of public space.
We conducted a survey with six galleries in the area and realised that a festival could be a contemporary engine that could transform this space. So I lobbied the galleries for their support. Though my aim was the physical transformation of the area, I still had art in the centre of my own imagination and realised that the galleries needed a forum for collective identity.
Why do you think there is now a sudden spurt of activity in art festival-making in India? How important are such events in a developing/transforming/globalising society?
There is a vested financial interest in festival-making. Festivals are part of a global culture by elite who have the power to influence. Festivals tend to feed a frenzy – it is like going to a shopping mall, but good things also come out of it. Festivals are an outlet for creativity, an opportunity to network and bring recognition for artists.
With respect to globalization – festivals prepare the terrain for global capital to land. It is of course an alter-global model and also a form of resistance to globalization - by default festivals provide a forum and avenue for local arts.
Do you think arts festivals are more accessible to their audiences, than other fixed arts organisations? Why?
Festivals offer a critical mass. In the case of the Kala Ghoda festival in its first year, we decided one month before the festival actually happened that we wanted such an event. I basically went from gallery to gallery and listed was happening, made a poster with all that was already happening and then added a couple public events in the evenings to mobilize public space use. This synergy created a festival with little investment.
What according to you are the key components that make up an arts festival?
Integrity. Festivals need an identity and purpose. They can bring allied forms of art together and create dialogues, but there needs to be an agenda.
How are India’s art festivals likely to evolve or grow in the future?
The festivals in India will get more specialized. As younger generations form interests around specific genres, festivals will also grow to meet these niche audience needs. Artists meanwhile are getting increasingly multi-disciplinary, so festivals must too.
I was at the time working to get the Fort area in Mumbai recognized as a conservation zone and identified what might potentially be the engines that would drive the process of conservation in this area – what were the interests that we could align with to make conservation happen on the ground. The Kala Ghoda area – the arts district – started kicking off the fastest largely because cultural institutions are often more spontaneous in reacting than other functions and institutions. Once this area organized itself as an association we began identifying spaces that could be used for art to expand the potential for the area to be identified as an art district. I identified buildings like the Army & Navy building that required restoration.
The festival was really a form of activism to get the city to recognize Kala Ghoda as an arts district. After two or three years of running the festival we had raised enough money for restoration of the buildings we had identified and wanted to demonstrate how buildings could be revived. Today, I believe the festival has become too much of a mela (social gathering or event) and lost its focus on promoting art . I personally think this should become the centre of the agenda of the association because now that part of the physical restoration has occurred and its has developed an identity as an art district the arts in general could gain a great deal with some rigorous curation to make this a hub of a serious art festival that could gain national importance. The district then would play a crucial role for Mumbai as a art district in the national imagination!
In what historical context does your festival operate?
Art festivals are an urban, Western notion. When the KGAF was initiated, we unfortunately hadn’t defined the parameters for curation – it was a spontaneous reaction to mobilize people and resources to conserve the buildings and public spaces in the area. At least my personal efforts were focused not so much content, but to show another use of public space.
We conducted a survey with six galleries in the area and realised that a festival could be a contemporary engine that could transform this space. So I lobbied the galleries for their support. Though my aim was the physical transformation of the area, I still had art in the centre of my own imagination and realised that the galleries needed a forum for collective identity.
Why do you think there is now a sudden spurt of activity in art festival-making in India? How important are such events in a developing/transforming/globalising society?
There is a vested financial interest in festival-making. Festivals are part of a global culture by elite who have the power to influence. Festivals tend to feed a frenzy – it is like going to a shopping mall, but good things also come out of it. Festivals are an outlet for creativity, an opportunity to network and bring recognition for artists.
With respect to globalization – festivals prepare the terrain for global capital to land. It is of course an alter-global model and also a form of resistance to globalization - by default festivals provide a forum and avenue for local arts.
Do you think arts festivals are more accessible to their audiences, than other fixed arts organisations? Why?
Festivals offer a critical mass. In the case of the Kala Ghoda festival in its first year, we decided one month before the festival actually happened that we wanted such an event. I basically went from gallery to gallery and listed was happening, made a poster with all that was already happening and then added a couple public events in the evenings to mobilize public space use. This synergy created a festival with little investment.
What according to you are the key components that make up an arts festival?
Integrity. Festivals need an identity and purpose. They can bring allied forms of art together and create dialogues, but there needs to be an agenda.
How are India’s art festivals likely to evolve or grow in the future?
The festivals in India will get more specialized. As younger generations form interests around specific genres, festivals will also grow to meet these niche audience needs. Artists meanwhile are getting increasingly multi-disciplinary, so festivals must too.
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