Wednesday 31 December 2014

Exhibition Alice from Switzerland
A collaborative project by Museum Rietberg, Zurich and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai based on the work of Alice Boner, a Swiss artist and scholar who worked and lived in Varanasi.

Alice from Switzerland, a visionary artist and scholar across two continents 

Exhibition on view till 31 January 2014
A collaborative presentation by Museum Rietberg, Zurich and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai on the works of Alice Boner, a visionary Swiss artist and scholar who worked and lived in Varanasi, India. 

Opening: 28 November 2014 
at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai 
on view to the public from 29 November to 31 January 2015.
View invite >>

The exhibition of Alice Boner's works was inaugurated by HE Dr Linus von Castelmur, Ambassador of Switzerland to India and Bhutan 

The event is jointly sponsored by Boner Foundation for Art and Culture | Memoriav (Association for the preservation of the audiovisual heritage of Switzerland) | VFS Global |Swiss International Air Lines | Monterosa Group | Consulate General of Switzerland | Star Worldwide Group | Sophie und Karl Binding Stiftung | Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council

Organisers 
Museum Rietberg, Zurich (www.rietberg.ch) 
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai. (http://csmvs.in/) 

Tuesday 30 December 2014


Swiss artist, Maja Hürst invited for St+ art Mumbai
Swiss artist Maja Hürst has been invited by the st+art Mumbai festival to present her work to the Mumbai public. Maja will create a graffiti work in a public space.

Swiss artist, Maja Hürst invited for St+ art Mumbai Street art

On exhibit from 7 - 30 November 2014
Maja Hürst has been invited by the festival organizers to participate in the festival and present her work to the Mumbai public. Maja will be in Mumbai in November 2014 to create a graffiti work in a public space.

Maja Hürst will also be putting up installations at

- Magma Vol I @St. Jude in Bandra, opening on the 14th of November.
a project room in dialogue with the streets. The artists will realize site-specific installations using found objects and materials rooted in Indian street life. 

- Magma Vol II @Upadrasta House in Kala Ghoda, opening on the 15th of November. 
The event will host the rarefied culmination of this unstoppable flow from the streets to inside spaces. Drawings, canvases and videos will be showcased highlighting the very contemporary art character behind the works of all the artists invited.

The next edition of the festival will show works of major street artists from across the globe together with a selection of the best Indian artists providing an in-depth view of the 'phenomenon' of Street Art and the movement of taking it from graffiti to public art .

About the artist: 
TIKA is the visual language of self-taught artist Maja Hürst. Her universe of clear, graphic shapes and vary textures originate in the broad nosed character which Hürst has first drawn in 2003. The imagery is a discourse of aspects of today's global society and the nearly forgotten traditions and sagas of the past. The strictly regulated way of living in modern megacities is catalyzed into reduced shapes on grid precision, filled with savagely applied textures and scratches through layers of dust, paint and history reminding of wild vintage tropicalism. Maja Hürst was born in Switzerland in 1978, raised in Cairo and Cologne. In 2004 she received her diploma in Visual Communication at the school of art and design Zürich, ZHdK. TIKA can be found as building bracing murals in Cape Town, Cologne, Atlanta, Bangkok, The Gambia, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Berlin, Alexandria, Zürich, to name a few. On canvas, burned in wood or painted behind glass, Maja Hürst's studiowork has been on display at various solo- and group expositions at museums and galleries around the world.
More: tikathek.com/latest/

About the Festival
The objective of the festival is to reclaim public space to promote sustainability in the urban landscape! The street art movement in India set a new milestone with st+art Delhi The festival is a joint-venture between Indian & international street artists who took over massive wall spaces in Delhi, and changed the urban city's landscape into a permanent walking art gallery. Over the years, India has had a share of various international artists leaving their mark (in various spots) across India. But st+art Delhi was the first time when so many artists from across the globe congregated in one spot in India to help push the street-art movement. The organizers of the festival believe that the power of street art lies in the influences that every artist absorbs from the street and re-works it with his/her unique spin. Street artists develop a way that is strongly rooted in mural art, and a form that has the immediacy in the manner in which it reaches the public.

Press mention:
Blouin Artinfo >> 
Completed work
Close-up of work

Monday 29 December 2014

Company Nicole Seiler presents K TWO in India
K TWO, a contemporary dance piece, presented by Company Nicole Seiler in Chennai, Mysore, Bangalore, Delhi and Jaipur is a public intervention based on the character of Madame K.

Pro Helvetia New Delhi and Company Nicole Seiler present 
K TWO, a contemporary dance public intervention. 
23 - 30 November 2014

Schedule:
Chennai
Sunday 23 November 2014 
as part of Prakriti Excellence in Contemporary Dance Awards (PECDA)
--
Mysore
Monday 24 November 2014 at 5:00 pm
at Rangayana Kalamandir Vinoba Road, Mysore, Karnataka, 570005
-- 
Bengaluru
Wednesday 26 November 2014 at 5:00 pm
at the National Gallery of Modern Art Manikyavelu Mansion, 49 Palace Road, Bengaluru 560052
--
Delhi
Friday 28 November 2014 at 6:00 pm 
at Select CITYWALK A-3, District Center, Saket, New Delhi - 110 017
--
Jaipur
Saturday 29 November 2014 at 7:00 pm
at Bar Palladio Jaipur Narain Niwas, Palace Hotel, Kanota Bagh, Narain Singh Road, Jaipur 302004
--------------------


For venue details - please visit www.prohelvetia.in closer to the event

About the event: 
K TWO, a contemporary dance public intervention, is an improvised performance based on the character of Madame K (multimedia choreographic solo 2004). Two dancers explore the limits of the movements of video game characters executed by human bodies. As in street performances, this piece plays out the video game and the two individuals captured inside it in a public space. 

Nicole Seiler, choreographer
Born in 1970 in Zurich, Nicole Seiler studied dance and theater at the Scuola Teatro Dimitri in Verscio (CH), at the Vlaamse Dansacademie in Brugges (BE) and at Rudra Béjart in Lausanne (CH). As a performer she collaborated on many different productions, with such companies as Cie Buissonnière, the Teatro Malandro, Alias Compagnie, the Cie Philippe Saire and Massimo Furlan. She created her own company in Lausanne in 2002. 

Compagnie Nicole Seiler 
Within the artistic approach of Nicole Seiler image and video play a major role. Her research into multi-media which marries dance and video, gives rise to multifaceted dance performances, videos and choreographic installations. The last few years she has created a cycle of performances centered around the relation between image and sound. Since 2004 the company has toured internationally. In 2009 Nicole Seiler received the cultural prize for dance from the Fondation Vaudoise pour la Culture.

Sunday 28 December 2014

Greenwoman - Malcolm Braff India tour
After his residency in India in early 2014, where he created his new project Greenwoman, Malcolm Braff tours India with his band.

After his artist residency in India early 2014 where he created his new project "GREENWOMAN", Malcolm Braff is doing a 5-city tour in India with his band, from November 26th till 30th 2014.

Schedule: 
Nov 26th: DELHI - The Social 
Nov 27th: HYDERABAD - Western Music Foundation 
Nov 28th: KOLKATA - Congo Square Jazz Festival 
Nov 29th: BANGALORE - B-Flat 
Nov 30th: GOA International Jazz Live Festival
Dec 05th: MUMBAI - Cafe Nemo // Greenwoman Duo

Greenwoman the band:
Malcolm Braff (piano/Fender Rhodes)- Switzerland 
Claire Huguenin (vocals)- Switzerland 
Björn Meyer (electric bass)- Switzerland 
Lukas Koenig (drums)- Austria 
Alexandre Gaeng (video)- Switzerland 

Malcolm Braff is a singular animal. Seeded in Brazil, grown in Dakar (Senegal) and now rooted in Switzerland, he's sighted as a playful porcupine leading his electric trio, a hirsute grizzly pianist within the Blue Note stables or an enchanting panda at Erik Truffaz's side for his Indian project. Always, he strikes his audience with his rigorous sensuality, his volcanic energy, his masterful sense of improvisation. For this new project called Greenwoman, Malcolm undergoes once more a radical transformation and reveals a rare bird, a kind of garish quetzal matching jazz, pop and electro together with his magic ingredient: savory organic grooves. 

Friday 26 December 2014

Sachin George Sebastian awarded the FICA Emerging Artist Award 2014
As the recipient of the award, Sachin George Sebastian will be traveling to Switzerland, for a three-month studio-residency at Rote Fabrik in 2015.

Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council congratulates Sachin George Sebastian on winning the FICA Emerging Artist Award 2014. Pro Helvetia New Delhi is pleased to be collaborating with FICA for the Emerging Artist Award 2014.

As the recipient of the FICA Emerging Artist Award 2014 Sebastian will be traveling to Zurich, Switzerland, for a three-month studio-residency at Rote Fabrik from January 2015.

The jury consisted of artists Jaganath Panda and Manisha Parekh; Belinder Dhanoa, Adjunct Professor, School of Creative Expressions and Culture, Amebdkar University; Chandrika Grover, Director, Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council, New Delhi; and Vidya Shivadas, Director, FICA.

Sachin George Sebastian
Sachin George Sebastian is a New Delhi based artist. Sebastian completed his under graduation in Communication Design from National School of Design, Ahmedabad in 2007. He participated in the International Artist Residency The Idea of the Book, at Khoj Delhi in 2009, following which he exhibited his works in various shows in the city and outside. Some of his participation includes Ghummakkad Narain, The Travelling Children's Literature Festival, Dehra Dun, 2010; ART MAKERS "Circa 2010", Part 1, curated by Ranjita Chaney, Exhibit 320, New Delhi, 2010; Words: A User's Manual, curated by Himali Singh Soin, Exhibit 320, New Delhi, 2011; Roti Kapda aur Makaan, curated by Anubhav Nath, Ojas Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2012; and Art Chennai, with OED Gallery (Cochin), 2012. 

Jury's note
The jury appreciated the mature way in which Sachin dealt with the theme of the city and migration, a theme many other young artists are exploring today. While Sachin's approach to the city focuses on the aspect of degradation it also engaged with the lived experience in more complex ways by creating layered narratives which the jury felt was compelling. To Sachin the city presents itself like a "carnivorous plant" deceptively beautiful from afar yet capable of devouring its prey. His skills and versatility with paper as a medium was particularity appreciated by he jury . They felt that Sachin has great potential and hope that this award platform will allow him to expand his field of experience, and experiment with his practice from a fresh perspective. As the recipient of the FICA Emerging Artist Award 2014 Sebastian will be traveling to Zurich, Switzerland, for a three-month studio-residency at Rote Fabrik from January 2015. 

The Award 
The FICA Emerging Artist Award seeks to promote young artists studying or practicing in India who demonstrate extraordinary skill and promise in the visual arts. Selected by an independent jury of distinguished artists and professionals in the field, the recipient gets the opportunity to travel and work in an international residency and exhibit in a solo show in India. 

Thursday 25 December 2014

Sound Reasons 2014
Festival for sound art, contemporary Jazz and electronic music is back with performances in Delhi, Bangalore, Goa, Dhaka and Colombo.

Presenting Swiss musicians, Thomas Peter, Feldermelder, Marcus Maeder and Diatribes (Cyril Bondi and D'incise) at Sound Reasons 2014, a sound art, contemporary Jazz and electronic music festival.

Cities: 
Delhi, India
Bangalore, India
Goa, India
Colombo, Sri Lanka  and
Dhaka, Bangladesh 

Festival schedule: 
31 Oct Outset- 24 Jorbagh, Delhi | Installations Talks Opening |
02 Nov Art Escape, Zoya - Benualim Beach | Goa | Live |
03 Nov 6 Assagaon | Goa | Live |
04 Nov Peninsula Studio | Delhi | Live Recording Session |
05 Nov Alliance Française de Delhi | Live |
05 Nov Social - Hauz Khas | Delhi | Live
06 Nov Goethe Institute - Max Muller Bhawan | Bangalore | Live |
08 Nov Goethe Institute | Colombo | Live |
10 Nov German Club | Dhaka | Live |

With installations, performances and recording sessions taking place, the main focus of Sound Reasons this year will be on jazz-electronic music crossover. Besides Swiss musicians the line-up will consist of other European and Indian artists.

The festival is being presented by Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council in collaboration with Goethe Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan.

Media
Statesman article

Wednesday 24 December 2014

The Emerging Feminine
A book by Rashna Imhasly - Gandhy, The Emerging Feminine unearths the rich and unexplored traditions of female heroism by scrutinising and identifying strong female characters from our mythology.

You are cordially invited 
to the launch of Rashna Imhasly - Gandhy's 

THE EMERGING FEMININE
Discovering the Heroine Within

4th November 2014, 6.30pm 
At the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, 3 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi

The book will be released by
H.E. Dr Linus Von Castelmur Ambassador of Switzerland to India and Bhutan

The author will be in conversation with Madhu Threhan and Shobita Punja.

RSVP  - Praktikum2.Program@Delhi.goethe.org
To view invite click here.

About the book and author:
The Emerging Feminine unearths the rich and unexplored traditions of female heroism by scrutinizing and identifying strong female characters from our mythology.

Rashna Imhasly-Gandhy works as a Transpersonal Psychologist. She lives and practices in Mumbai and New Delhi, India, and teaches and lectures in Switzerland, Holland and Mexico. Besides her private practice, she works with groups in conflict areas in Kashmir. She is the author of Psychology of Love:Wisdom of Indian Mythology. The Emerging Feminine:Discovering the Heroine Within is her new work on relationships.

Tuesday 23 December 2014

Chris Solarski invited for the 5th Animation Convention in New Delhi
Chris Solarski whose work explores the intersections between video games and classical art and animation and film, will conduct workshops in Delhi.

Cinedarbaar in partnership with Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council has invited Chris Solarski from Switzerland to participate at the 5th Animation Convention in New Delhi. 

Swiss game designer, Chris Solarski's work explores the intersections between video games and classical art, animation and film, with a focus on adapting techniques that help artists convey complex narratives and emotions in games.

Dates: 17 - 19 October 2014 
Venue: NSIC Exhibition Complex, Okhla, New Delhi 
Entry: As per convention rules

Chris Solarski is an artist, game designer and author from Zurich, Switzerland, who is interested in the intersections between video games and classical art, animation and film. His works explore how player interaction has changed the way in which images are interpreted and engaged with. His focus is on adapting techniques that help artists convey complex narratives and emotions in video games.

AnimeCon-Character Design Workshop
This practical workshop will focus on classical art techniques from Chris Solarski's book, Drawing Basics and Video Game Art: Classic to Cutting Edge Art Techniques for Winning Game Design (Watson-Guptill 2012). Attendees will learn a reliable process for concept development as well as how to create unique and exciting characters. The workshop will begin with a presentation introducing fundamental design concepts and follow with a series of exercises including, drawing basics (perspective, form and light), character gesture drawing and concept development. Attendees will then be free to develop their character concepts over the course of AnimeCon with regular feedback from Chris. 

Additionally, Chris Solarski has been invited to conduct a workshop/masterclass 
on Monday 20 October for students of AJK Mass Communication Research Centre (MCRC), Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi. The workshop, Visual Art Development for Game Design will focus on classical art techniques from Chris Solarski's book, Drawing Basics and Video Game Art: Classic to Cutting Edge Art Techniques for Winning Game Design (Watson-Guptill 2012).

For more information on Chris Solarski visit www.solarskistudio.com

Sunday 21 December 2014

Reading by Charles Lewinsky, Swiss German author and dramatist
The Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi and the Embassy of Switzerland in India invite you to an evening of reading and narration by Charles Lewinsky.

"MELNITZ" - chronicles of a Jewish family in Switzerland

Reading and narration by Charles Lewinsky, Swiss German author and dramatist 

The Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi and the Embassy of Switzerland in India invite you to an evening of reading and narration by Charles Lewinsky, Swiss author and dramatist. Charles Lewinsky will read from his family saga "Melnitz". The reading will be followed by an interaction with the author led by Prof. Dr. Jyoti Sabharwal, professor for German literature at the Delhi University. 

Saturday 18 October 2014, 07:00 pm 
Siddhartha Hall, Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, 3, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 
The reading will be in German. English text versions will be provided.

"Melnitz" a family saga about a Jewish family. The story of this family evolves in the background of Switzerland between 1871 and 1945. The author portrays Jewish life over generations, providing insights into the Swiss perception on anti-Semitism.

Excerpt from Melnitz: They sat in all the trees, a swarm of black birds, playing chess with each other. Melnitz had carved the pieces out of bones; he could name the origins of every beaten peasant, his country and his family. He knew everything and wouldn't let anyone forget it.

'Enjoy your lives,' he said. 'You've been lucky, here in Switzerland.'

Every time he died, he came back.  

About Charles Lewinsky: 
Charles Lewinsky (b. 1946 in Zürich) studied German literature and theatrical sciences and then worked at several German theatres as dramaturg and stage director. In 1975 he joined Swiss TV as a producer, deciding five years later to become a freelance writer. He wrote a great number of books, plays and TV-shows. His best known works in the respective fields are: One hundred episodes fort he sitcom "Nearly a Family", the stage play "Friends, life is worth living", the script fort he movie "An Ordinary Jew" (starring Ben Becker), the musical "Gotthelf" (Music by Markus Schönholzer) and the novel "Melnitz", which reached sales of more than half a million in ten languages and for which he was awarded numerous awards. 

RSVP: ndh.events(at)eda.admin.ch

Saturday 20 December 2014

Thread... an exploration with textiles and thread.
The exhibition brings together the practice of Swiss artist Matthias Spiess with Nidhi Khurana and Priya Ravish Mehra, whose exploration of thread as a medium has brought them together.

Matthias Spiess | Nidhi Khurana | Priya Ravish Mehra
present an exhibition of their recent work, an exploration with textiles and...
Thread

Curated by Julia Libertad
On view: 5th - 13th October, 2014
Preview: 4th October - 5:30 pm onwards
Gallerie Romain Rolland Alliance Française de Delhi 
72 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi - 110003

This exhibition brings together the practice of Nidhi Khurana, Matthias Spiess and Priya Ravish Mehra, three artists whose exploration of thread as a medium has brought them together. Swiss artist, Matthias Spiess came to India for a residency funded by Christoph Merian Stiftung/IAAB, and facilitated by Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council in 2012/13. Matthias was able to spend six months in Lajpat Nagar, where he made the acquaintance of Nidhi Khurana and Priya Ravish Mehra, both artists working with textiles in unique ways. They discovered they shared similar artistic approaches expressed through different media and a common interest in re-interpreting traditional design and in recycling discarded materials. The thread linked their practice and helped them develop new work in conversation with each other.

According to Cas Holmes, a well known textile artist, 'reusing found materials is a form of alchemy'. The artists use this alchemy to express their artistic research and to connect with one another, finding a line that unites them to their practices and learning from backgrounds, geographies, mediums and preoccupations, each of them bring forth in their formal dialogue with one another. Despite this not being a 'hands-on' co-production, this exhibition can be considered a collaborative project due to their sharing of ideas and experiences during the time they spent together in Delhi. Spiess, Mehra and Khurana expose a genuine creation: the materialization of space for intellectual connection.

During his residency, Matthias was influenced by the role of textiles in Indian culture and decided to incorporate it into his, until then purely geometrical representations, reimaging patterns in combination with traditional Indian techniques.. Nidhi Khurana uses the insignificant katran thrown away by most tailors and designers to create maps of real and imagined spaces, mapping her experiences and those of others she encounters, while Priya's work revolves around the use of distressed textile pieces and the idea of repair through the ancestral practice of darning (rafoogari). Linking together these three artists is the thread; embroidered, darned, stitched in grids, piecing together what is left behind by others, and making new with old.

About Matthias Spiess
Matthias Spiess grew up in Basel, Switzerland. He studied at the École Supérieure d'art visuel in Geneva. He now lives and works in London and Basel and has exhibited in Switzerland, Sri Lanka, France and the UK among other countries.

Many of Spiess's paintings loosely refer to architecture. He creates and develops illusionistic spaces which are reminiscent of stage designs. He studies urban surfaces, collects architectural fragments and combinations of colours from which he extracts and abstracts geometrical forms. His complex structures grow additively, layer after layer. For many years, he has used colour in a very restrained manner to create his labyrinths and explosions of space.

During his six-month residency in Delhi in 2012/13, Spiess radically transformed his approach. He cut up his paintings and recomposed the pieces confronting his stern compositions with new experimentations. He also put together his fragmented paintings with works of art found at markets in Lajpat Nagar, the Delhi neighbourhood where he stayed. The rich art history and the contemporary art scene in India had a profound influence on his work during this residency. Taking inspiration from artists he met and starting to combine his art with traditional Indian techniques such as textile art, blockprints and embroidery, Spiess also filled his, until then, empty spaces with life. True to Indian form, he considerably enlarged his colour palette, radically redeveloping his work.

Friday 19 December 2014

Swiss author and poet, Heike Fiedler to visit India
Heike Fiedler who works in the fields of text, sound, visuals and performance will read from her book in Goa, Delhi and Jaipur.

Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council invites you to a poetry performance by
Swiss author and poet
Heike Fiedler

Schedule
Goa / Friday 19 September 2014 at 6:45 pm at the 
Sunaparanta Goa Centre For The Arts 
63/C-8, Near Lar de Estudantes, Altinho, Panaji, Goa - 403 001 
The evening will be in English, German and French. 
Entry open to all.

Delhi / Wednesday 24 September 2014 at 7:45 pm at the
Social, 9A & 12 Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi - 110016
as part of the September Night of Literature 2014
The evening will be in English and German. 
Entry open to all.

Jaipur / Friday 26 September 2014 at 8:00 at the
Bar Palladio JaipurNarain Niwas Palace Hotel, Kanota Bagh, Narain Singh Road, Jaipur - 302004 
The evening will be in English, German and French. 
Entry open to all.

About Heike Fiedler
Swiss author and poet, Heike Fiedler works in the fields of text, sound, visuals, performance, installation and intervention in public space. Between improvisation and composition, Heike Fiedler has participated in festivals and exhibitions in many countries in collaboration with musicians, artists and writers. Heike will read from her book << langues de meehr edition spoken script>> DER GESUNDE MENSCHENVERSAND.

For more information on Heike Fiedler visit www.realtimepoem.com 
Photo credit: Mathilde Missioneiro

The event is presented by Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council in partnership with Goethe Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan, Sunaparanta Goa Centre For The Arts, Social New Delhi and Bar Palladio Jaipur.