Teatro Dimitri Clown Workshops at Kattaikkuttu
Katja Groll, Stefania Mariani and Dominik Huber from Teatro Dimitri conducted workshops on clowning, acrobatics and mime for the students of Kattaikuttu. [dated June 2008]
Kattaikkuttu or Terukkuttu is a popular theatre of the northern parts of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A theatre of ritual and entertainment, Kattaikkuttu remains closely tied in with the social, economic, religious and communicative domains of contemporary village life.
The Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam was founded by the Kattaikkuttu Sangam to preserve and enhance the scope of the Kattaikkuttu theatre tradition and safeguard the artistic and economic position of its future exponents.
Workshops are organised at regular intervals in addition to those learned in the regular Kattaikkuttu Training. They offer the students the possibility to familiarize themselves with other art forms and to acquire skills that will enhance their artistic professionalism.
Katja Groll, Stefania Mariani and Dominik Huber from Teatro Dimitri conducted workshops on clowning, acrobatics and mime for the students of Kattaikuttu Gurukulam in Kanchipuram.
This unique exchange between the Teatro Dimitri performers and the students of Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam was supported by Pro Helvetia - The Swiss Arts Council
Rama and Sita – The Ramayana in Indian Painting
Museum Rietberg Zürich presents an exhibition of the works of Indian painters, inspired by the Ramayana’s narrative power. [ dated June 2008]
Venue: Museum Rietberg Zürich Date: 29 June to 28 September 2008
The Ramayana, one of India’s great epics, tells of the deeds of the divine crown prince Rama, exiled with his wife Sita in the wake of a palace intrigue. The heroic poem, written in 24,000 Sanskrit couplets, remains to this day South Asia’s most popular literary work.
The thoughtful design of the exhibition at Museum Rietberg Zürich invites viewers to enter the world of the Ramayana and visit the epic’s key sites. As if they were characters in the story, visitors follow the action through all seven books and experience for themselves how Rama’s beloved wife Sita is ravished by demons. Rama wins her back, with the help of the monkey Hanuman at the head of an army of woodland creatures, and returns to his birthplace, where he enjoys a long and just reign.
The Indian painters, inspired by the Ramayana’s narrative power and wealth of detail, created a comprehensive series of illustrations of all of the poem’s episodes. The small-format, exceptionally valuable pieces testify to a wide range of traditions and stylistic developments in Indian painting. Of note as well is the artists’ great familiarity with the epic, visible in their precise visualization of the text. Among the most splendid works on view at the exhibition are four folios belonging to a Persian translation of the Ramayana prepared during the reign of Akbar, Mogul emperor from 1556 to 1605. The work, created for the emperor’s mother by the most respected painters of the time, is an excellent example of the fusion of the Persian and Indian artistic traditions.
Curators: Jorrit Britschgi, Eberhard Fischer
Architect: Martin Sollberger
Parallel events A traditional shadow-puppet show from southern India will enliven the first week of “Rama and Sita”. Led by S. A. Krishnaiah and B. Veeranna, the puppeteers and musicians will enact an episode from the Ramayana twice daily.
From 16 to 19 September, Kapila Venu will perform classical Sanskrit theatre and dance in the Museum Rietberg. Accompanied by two percussionists, she will enact three episodes from the Ramayana.
Prayers and poems... by Rekha Tandon
Rekha Tandon, a classical Odissi dancer performed a dance inspired by the rituals of Indian temple dancers at Villa Straeuli, Winterthur. [dated May 2008]
In commemoration of the 60 Years Jubilee celebration of the Indo - Swiss Friendship Treaty, artist-in-residence Rekha Tandon performed at Villa Straeuli on May 17, at 2030 hrs at the 'TanzOrtamGleis'. An Odissi dancer, choreographer and scholar, Dr Tandon's mission is to conserve, present and embody tradition, with a contemporary aesthetic. Her innovative productions are created from research of the classical, folk and tribal performing arts.
Venue: TanzOrtamGleis, Untere Vogelsangstrasse 2, 8400 Winterthur Partner Organisation: Villa Straeuli at Winterthur
Audience Feedback:
Franz Probst, President Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce; Senior Partner Probst Attorneys-at-law Rekha Tandon successfully merges traditional Odissi dance with new elements. The dance performance was outstanding and gave valuable insight into Odissi dancing. Combined with the visual projections, the evening offered a wonderful opportunity to get acquainted with the efforts of Rekha to expand the possibilities and the reach of traditional Indian dancing.
Ana Tajouiti, president ‘tanzinwinterthur’
With extraordinary precision and an impressing stage presence, Rekha Tandon showed at the TanzOrtamGleis impressions of her dance works. She was able to mix in a very sensible way, elements of the western culture by video sequences, music and text with Indian dance art. Rekha was able to impress the audience by her courageous effort to bridge the gap between the two diverse cultures.
Evelyn Klöti, Dance Critic
Seeing Rekha Tandon dancing and hearing her speaking about her art (and her work) is of equal value. She has to tell a lot. Whether in a graceful movement of the hands, a glance, a stamp, a word - it is direct and precise. The evening "meet the artist" in Winterthur was a very inspiring meeting with classical Indian dance and mythology and with a great dancer and researcher.
Christian Huggenberg, Journalist
Rekha is an extraordinary dance performer. Never before have I seen such a performance on stage. She is a performer full of rhythm and power, elegance and spiritual wisdom. Her dance art expresses the spirit of Indian culture and history in a unique and wonderful new way.
Media coverage in Switzerland
Article by Evelyn Kloti (PDF) 16 May 2008 in Der Landbote, a Swiss Daily
Event Listing (PDF) 16 May 2008 in Der Landbote, a Swiss Daily
My Big Fat Zurich Residency
Jeet Thayil, an Indian performance poet, writer and musician, writes about his residency and experiences in Zurich. [ dated May 2008]
May 2008
I arrived on the 26th of March to a snowstorm. It was hard to believe it would soon be spring. In fact, in the space of a month or so, it was summer. As a former resident of New York and New Delhi, I treat extreme weather as a fact of life. I felt pretty much at home.
On March 31, I met with Pro Helvetia and Edward Rushton, the composer. By then, Edward and I had decided on the story for our chamber opera, a retelling of the Ramayana from the point of view of Sita. I finished the first scene in two weeks and gave it to Edward, who started working on the music. We’ll go back and forth, making it a genuine collaboration.
I’ve also been working on the novel I’ve been shaping for the past four years. I wrote a hundred pages in Zurich and will soon have a first draft done. And the city? I like it that you can’t get lost here, walk far enough and you’ll come to a familiar square or street. I am moved that there is a law against renting basements because the Swiss have decided that a space without air and light is not fit for human habitation; and that a certain percentage of all public projects must go to art. I like it that there are drinking fountains everywhere and the water is safe. I like it that people ask me for directions and though I have little or no Swiss-German, I’m usually able to oblige.
I feel pretty much at home.
Jeet Thayil
Zurich
Emerging Trends in Landscape Architecture
Swiss Landscape Architects, Prof Günther Vogt, Andy Schönhoizer and Olivier Lasserre to participate in a conference in Chandigarh. [dated November 2008]
Saakaar Foundation Chandigarh has invited Swiss Landscape Architects, Prof Günther Vogt, Andy Schönhoizer and Olivier Lasserre to participate in an international conference on 'Emerging Trends in Landscape Architecture'.
Date: Sunday 9 November 2008 Venue: Government Museum and Art Gallery Time: 10:00 am to 2:30 pm
Mr Salman Khurshid, Former Minister of State for External Affairs and senior Congress leader has consented to be the chief guest.
Presentations by Swiss architects:
'European Landscape Architecture' - by Prof Günther Vogt
'Urban Transformation Processes' - by Andy Schönhoizer
'Landscape Structure as Pattern for the Project' - by Olivier Lasserre
This conference is being organised by Saakar Foundation in partnership with Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council, UNESCO, Chandigarh Tourism, Archi Design Perspective and Foundation for Architectural & Environmental Awareness.
DanzLenz, the video dance festival
As part of the World Dance Day celebrations, Kri Foundation and Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council present DanzLenz, a video dance festival. [ dated April 2008]
DanzLenz, the video dance festival, is a pioneering international effort of the Kri Foundation. Video dance has certain distinct characteristics, which define it, and make it different from the regular understanding of both film and dance. It takes its strength from both, but is an expression of a new genre of art. Video dance is not tied to music, rhythms and juxtaposes the rhythms of the film process, with the rhythms of dance movement projected and located in decontextualised settings.
As part of the three day World Dance Day celebrations, Kri Foundation in collaboration with Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council will present a two day Festival of video dance
Date: Sunday 27 April & Tuesday 29 April 2008 Time: 7:00 pm Venue: Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre ( Entry from Gate 3) Seating on first come first served basis
Films to be screened on 27 & 29 April are:
1) Mini Golf Duration – 9:02 mins Director – Kamal Musale Dance Company – Cie Philippe Saire from the compilation Cartographies
2) Les Arches Duration –7:51 mins Director – Philippe Saire Dance Company – Cie Philippe Saire from the compilation Cartographies
3) Twist Duration – 11:10 mins Director – Alexia Walther Choreography – Foofwa d’Imobilitè
4) Durée Déterminée Duration – 19:24 mins Director – Frèdèric Lombard (Cie 7273) Artistic Collaboration - Jennifer Bonn, Nicolas Cantillon, Cie7273, Laurence Yadi
5) Luj Godog? Duration – 28:06 mins Conceptualisation – Foofwa d’Imobilite and Nicolas Wagnières Choreography – Foofwa d’Imobilite
6) uno-duo Duration – 03:11 mins Director – Nicole Seiler Dance Company – Cie Nicole Seiler
7) hülle -fülle Duration – 00:58 mins Director – Nicole Seiler Dance Company – Cie Nicole Seiler
8) devant - avant Duration – 03:30 mins Director – Nicole Seiler Dance Company – Cie Nicole Seiler
9) plug-play Duration –1:53 mins Director – Nicole Seiler Dance Company – Cie Nicole Seiler
10) One in a million Duration – 09:15 mins Director – Nicole Seiler Dance Company – Cie Nicole Seiler
'Chandigarh: An Approach'
A photographic exhibition by Maja Weyermann on the architecture of Chandigarh and the work of Le Corbusier. [dated March 2008]
Maja Weyermann's preoccupation with Chandigarh urged her to visit the city. Her photographic work that Le Corbusier's city inspired explores how a foreign culture is understood beyond the cliche and the stereotype. The work portrays a perception of space very much her own, but what she also attempts to do is to understand how specific cultural practice can influence these interpretations. Time, light and perspective also determine these renderings drawing the onlooker into spaces that one sees, perhaps for the first time.
Maja Weyermann's photographs on the architecture of Chandigarh and the work of Le Corbusier will be exhibited in Chandigarh and New Delhi as per the schedule below:
Chandigarh:
Venue: Museum of Fine Arts, Panjab University, Chandigarh Exhibition Opening on Monday, 17 March 2008 at 6:00 pm. Exhibition on view from 17 - 28 March 2008 from 10am to 5pm
New Delhi
Venue: Art Gallery, India International Centre Annexe, Lodi Estate New Delhi Exhibition Opening on Friday, 4 April 2008 at 6:30 pm. Exhibition on view from 5 to 11 April 2008 from 11am to 7pm
Partners: Institut fur Auslandsbeziehungen e.V. Panjab University, Chandigarh India International Centre, New Delhi
Da Motus! to perform in India
DA MOTUS!, a contemporary dance performance company from Switzerland will perform in Chandigarh, Delhi and Jaipur. [dated March 2008]
DA MOTUS! (da!=give, offer! / motus=movement) was founded in 1987 by Antonio Bühler and Brigitte Meuwly and has performed at various International Festivals and cultural events in more than 100 cities across 30 countries.
Da Motus cannot be defined as theatre, neither as dance, nor as any conventional form of body art. They are different and constantly surprise their audiences. Their performances are eclectic and stand out for their vivid creativity and are known for their constant search of artistic renewal, enriched by a subtle ability to play with the circumstances, on stage as well as out-door.
The performance in India is called en vie ... en ville (French for ‘in life…in a city’) and has touches of fancy and poetry bringing colour into the grey urban space while sending out inevitable warnings.
Chandigarh: Sunday 23 March 2008 at the Sukhna Lake Promenade, Chandigarh at 6:00pm Partner: Chandigarh Tourism and STEPS
New Delhi: Wednesday 26 March 2008 at Gallery Espace, Ne Friends Colony at 6:00pm Partner: Khoj Live 08, Khoj International Artists’ Association, Gallery Espace
Jaipur: Saturday 29 March 2008 at Amber Village at 6:00pm Sunday 30 March 2008 at Gaurav Towers at 6:00pm Partner: Jaipur Virasat Foundation , Rajasthan Tourism, Rajasthan Day Celebrations
DA MOTUS! is supported by the Department of Cultural Affairs Canton Fribourg and Pro Helvetia – the Swiss Arts Council.
The performances in India are part of the jubilee celebrations commemorating 60 years of Indo- Swiss friendship. more>>
Phantomville - a graphic novel project
The Phantomville project is an experiment in telling short graphic tales, which, individually and together, create a local universe. [dated 2008]
The Phantomville project is an experiment in telling short graphic tales, which, individually and together, create a local universe.
Thematically, the project will explore hidden urban themes, prise open the psychic core of the two cities and open a conversation channel between the two. Artefacts of the city themselves would give rise to the stories. The structure would follow connects that are obvious, connections that are ephemeral and connections that don’t exist.
The participants from both India and Switzerland create stories and within stories, which either bear a relationship with the other or are set independent of each other, yet belong to a single meta-narrative.
This project will generate interest in the graphic novel form in artists and readers in both countries. It will create strong professional networks across two cultures, furthering creative practice on both sides. In India this is an emerging art form and the Swiss collaboration will be both enriching and enabling.
The following Indian artists have already visited Switzerland: Harsho Mohan Chattoraj visited Zurich in November 2007. Shekar Mukherjee visited Zurich in January 2008.
Swiss graphic novelists Andreas Gefe, Christoph Schuler and Andrea Caprez are currently in Delhi (Jan to Feb 2008)
The project will culminate in the publication of the first volume of Swiss-India graphic. The volume will be published by a common imprint of Phantomville and Edition Moderne in India in November 2008 in both English and German and will be ready for distribution by January 2009 in both countries. Some of the work will also be pre-published by Edition Moderne in their publication Strapazin, which is doing a special feature on travel in other cultures in September 2008.
India Photo Now’08
Jean-Christophe Blaser, Associate Curator at the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne visited India to participate in the INDIA PHOTO NOW’08. [dated January 2008]
Organised by the Embassy of France, INDIA PHOTO NOW'08 will act as a platform to encourage new initiatives in photography. Born from the collaboration of various Indian and European partners, this large-scale series of events is scheduled to be held throughout the year 2008.
IPN’08 will promote debate and exchange, create a basis for appraising heritage issues through the use of public space, initiate and sustain publishing endeavours through a series of events such as exhibitions, installations, meetings and seminars, workshops, residence programmes and more.
The series of dialogues on photography will start with a two-day seminar in which well-known speakers from France, India, Switzerland and other countries will speak about the various issues related to photography such as curating, publishing and reviewing.
Jean-Christophe Blaser, Associate Curator at the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne is visiting India in January 2008 to participate in the round table on 'A new place for photography in Indian culture & society ?' which will be held on January 28 & 29 at the India International Centre. The IPN'08 platform is based on a concept by independent photographer Alain Willaume.
For more information visit: INDIA PHOTO NOW'08
Portofino-Ballade by Peter Rinderknecht
In collabration with the Ishara International Puppet Festival 2008, Ranga Shankara and Goethe - Zentrum, Hyderabad. [dated January 2008]
Portofino-Ballade by Peter Rinderknecht Pro Helvetia – the Swiss Arts Council presents Peter Rinderknecht’s PORTOFINO – BALLADE
Bangalore
Fri 18 Jan'08 at Ranga Shankara at 11:00 am & 7:30 pm.
Sat 19 Jan'08 at Ranga Shankara at 11:00 am & 7:30 pm.
Partner: Ranga Shankara
Hyderabad
Wed 23 Jan'08 at ITC Hotel the Kakatiya at 7:30 pm.
Thurs 24 Jan'08 at Vidyaranya High School - Matinee show
Thurs 24 Jan'08 at Vidyaranya High School at 6:30 pm
Partners: Goethe-Zentrum and ITC Hotel the Kakatiya
Delhi
Ishara International Puppet Festival 2008
Sun 27 Jan'08 at the Amphitheatre, India Habitat Centre at 6:30 pm.
Partner: Teamworks Production
The actor, director and author, Peter Rinderknecht has been one of the most important personalities in theatre for young audiences in Switzerland for over two decades and travels the world with his plays. With his open form of story telling Peter creates his own theatre world, in which reality and fantasy merge. Portofino – Ballade is a play with music and puppets for curious people from the age of 7 plus. Mr Cuckoo pops out of the clock on the hour, every hour, year in, year out. That’s his job. His son hangs out in the back room, bored to death. He doesn’t want to take over his father’s job; he wants to make his own way in the world. Playing a double bass that opens up like an advent calendar, a musician takes us into the land of "what if? “. What if double basses were clocks? What if cuckoos were men? A poignant story of family and freedom and what they really mean.
By: Peter Rinderknecht
Director: Andreas 'Paulchen' Günther with Peter Rinderknecht
Music: Res Wepfer
Scenery and Puppets: Benno Widmer
For more information on Peter Rinderknecht click here.
PLASMA performs at Bharat Rang Mahotsav 08
Swiss theatre company PLASMA to perform at Bharat Rang Mahotsav 08, organised by the National School of Drama. [dated January 2008]
PLASMA explores the borders between theatre, music and fine arts and in this manner creates performances, which are densely layered.
Delhi - 5 January, at Kamani Auditorium at 7:00 pm
Mumbai - 7 January, at the Nehru Centre at 7:30 pm
DELIRIUM is a 70-minute piece with five actors and two musicians, and is a co-production with the Hebbel-Theater (Berlin), Schlachthaus Theater (Bern) and Fabriktheater (Zürich). It has been staged at the German OFF-Festival IMPULSE, the Wiener Festwochen 2006, Reminiscencje Teatralne (Cracaw), and Seoul Performing Arts Festival in 2007 and will be shown at the Baltic Circle Helsinki 2008, after Bharat Rang Mahotsav 08.
DELIRIUM, a theatrical machine somewhere between digital dataflow and tangible melancholy, is inspired by the company's own experiences of the Finnish winter during their tour to Helsinki. People at a bar. The endless night. Shifting perceptions, slowly dissolving the borders between the fantasized, the remembered and the experienced. We find ourselves in regions the other side of consciousness, in a space between last orders and locking up. That moment when, having had a glass or two, we sit quietly in the corner of the bar and watch the room bend, and wait for the taxi or the next drink.
Commemorating 60 years of Indo-Swiss friendship
Commemorating 60 years of Indo-Swiss Friendship
The year 2008 is a year of celebrations for India and Switzerland – a year that commemorates 60 years of the signing of the Indo-Swiss Friendship Treaty. [dated 2008]
The year 2008 is a year of celebrations for India and Switzerland – a year that commemorates 60 years of the signing of the Indo-Swiss Friendship Treaty and of friendship that dates back to much earlier than that.
It is the objective of strengthening present relationships, seeking new partnerships and presenting the diverse image of Switzerland to the decision makers of today and tomorrow, that serves as a basis of the jubilee celebrations, apart from celebrating 60 years of the signing of the treaty. Various projects, in the fields of culture, economic, politics, education, science & technology and development, have been planned in India and Switzerland across the year 2008, in association with a number of partners like Pro Helvetia, Switzerland Tourism, Swiss Development Cooperation and Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce. Projects are being coordinated by the Embassy of Switzerland, New Delhi and Presence Switzerland.
The visit of the President of the Swiss Confederation, Ms. Micheline Calmy-Rey, to India, in November 2007, served as the ‘launch’ of the jubilee celebrations.
For more information on the jubilee celebrations visit: www.indiaswitzerland.in/
“See: Saw”
“See: Saw” collocates the collaboration between Pascale Mira, Michael Husmann Tschaeni and Aditya Pande. [dated December 2007]
The art show titled “See: Saw” collocates the unique collaboration between the works of Pascale Mira, Michael Husmann Tschaeni and Aditya Pande. Curated by Dr. Alka Pande, the exhibition is open from 3 - 13 December 2007, at The Stainless Gallery in New Delhi.
About the Artists
Pascale Mira & Michael Husmann Tschaeni, roam between comic and art and have carried this over the years with continuing international success. It was like two completely different, somewhat incompatible picture languages had collided when they started working together. But somehow they managed to create pictures, stories and rooms together, without having to change their own individual styles or expressions in any way at all. The result is a rather unique picture world whose quality lays in the harmonious confrontation of two totally different artists. The Tschaenis live and work in Switzerland.
Aditya Pande studied graphic design. However, his current work is a departure from graphic design and explores drawing-based work; hand drawn and digitally generated vector forms, as well as a combination of both. Aditya investigates the quality of play in work; He likes to build up erratic complexity in his work and then subverts it by picking out patterns and developing them into recognizable elements or rational forms and narratives. He lays a lot of emphasis on working using his hands and at the same time is fascinated by the use of digital tools to develop a vocabulary of visuals that end up being fused together in his work.
Goodbye to Gandhi? Travels in the New India
Swiss anthropologist, journalist and writer Bernard Imhasly's book 'Goodbye to Gandhi? launched [dated December 2007]
Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council and Penguin Books India will jointly launch 'Goodbye to Gandhi? Travels in the New India' by Bernard Imhasly on Friday 14 December 2007 at the India International Centre. Madhu Trehan, journalist and Urvashi Butalia, publisher Zubaan Books will discuss the book with the author.
About the author:
Bernard Imhasly, a linguist and anthropologist by profession, has been the South Asia correspondent for European newspapers since 1990, notably the Neue Zuercher Zeitung. In 1972–73 he undertook anthropological fieldwork in Bangladesh, which resulted in a book, The Process of Modernisation in Bangladesh, co-authored with H.P. Müller and H. Grombach. He was subsequently appointed as lecturer in linguistics at Zurich University. In 1978, he joined the Swiss Foreign Service, with postings in London, Geneva, Berne and Delhi. Deciding to stay on in India, he then took up the assignment as a foreign correspondent.
About the book:
Bernard Imhasly, anthropologist, journalist and writer, journeys from Imphal to Cyberabad and Bangalore, and from Champaran to Porbandar, looking at a new India keeping Gandhi’s ideas and values in mind. He finds a society where Gandhi is alive but his virulence is missing, a polity which worships him but easily forgets his guiding principles, and a morality which thrives on oppression rather than on the search for truth, a principle Gandhi held paramount. While many of his interlocutors decry Gandhi, there are a surprising number of people for whom he remains a yardstick of their life and work. Goodbye to Gandhi?: Travels in the New India examines how the choices that India made as an independent nation have shaped the country’s politics, its culture and its people. While India acquires a new-found confidence and optimism in its economic future, Bernard Imhasly, in his engaging travels through current-day India, listening for echoes of Gandhi’s voice, finds a cacophony of voices—alluring, exciting and sometimes exasperating.
Exploring the relationship between ecology and art
Swiss artist Rahel Hegnauer is in New Delhi to participate in the International ECO + ART Residency at KHOJ. [dated October 2007]
Rahel Hegnauer, a visual artist from Zurich has studied at the Department of Environmental Art, Glasgow School of Art, Scotland. She then did her postgraduate studies in Art in Public Sphere (Master of Art) in Lucerne, Switzerland.
Currently, Rahel is in New Delhi to participate in the International ECO + ART Residency at KHOJ.
Open Studio Day on 19th December: Rahel Hegnauer's on-site guided tour from the studios to the Yamuna at Kalindi Kunj explores a perspective of the river through an elevated bamboo platform. Tested samples of the river water will be discussed.
KHOJ is hosting an international residency in an attempt to explore the relationship between ecology and art in public spaces from 12 November to 20 December 2007 in the city of Delhi. The city of Delhi is a bustling metropolis which has undergone a metamorphosis, changing the historical and ecological map of the city in the course of the last century. Increasingly, the environment may be perceived as much a political realm as an ecological one, from the perspective of production, consumption and of ownership rights.
KHOJ International Artists' Association is an artist led, alternative space for experimentation and international exchange based in India.
Abhishek Hazra writes on his residency at PROGR
Abhishek Hazra, a visual artist from Bangalore is in Bern on a Residency at PROGR. [dated October 2007]
Abhishek Hazra, a visual artist based in Bangalore is in Bern on a Residency at PROGR from October to December 2007. His current body of work explores the intersections between technology and culture through the narrative device of a 'visual fable'. He is also interested in the sociology of scientific practice.
Abhishek participated at a panel discussion at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (Zurich College of Applied Arts) recently together with Indian Ambassador to Switzerland H.E. Amitava Tripathi and Marianne Burki, Head Visual Arts Pro Helvetia. Abhishek showed and explained his work The Deictic Garland.
Abhishek Hazra writes to us from Bern:
"I have had quite an interesting time in Bern and Switzerland so far. My residency is based in PROGR, which is an exciting cultural space – it's quite stimulating to have various artists with very different practices working around you. People have been helpful in helping me orient myself here – particularly Katrien Reist and Diana Dodson. I have begun some of my archival work here at the Patent Office, which has some of the earliest records of European patent applications. I am still in the process of conceptualising a new work here, but most probably it will be in the area that I have been exploring currently – mainly history of science. I have been also visiting some of the other Swiss cities – Basel and Zurich. Yesterday there was a discussion on contemporary Indian art at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (Zurich University of the Arts ) and I gave a talk on some of my recent work."
Hugo Loetscher lectures on language in a democracy
Eminent Swiss writer-philosopher Hugo Loetscher to lecture at Delhi, Madras, Chennai and Pune. [dated October 2007]
The Embassy of Switzerland and Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council along with their partners in Delhi, Chennai and Pune have invited Hugo Loetscher, the eminent Swiss writer-philosopher to lecture on “Democratisation of Democracy – Language in a Multicultural Nation.”
Loetscher is the recipient of numerous literary awards, among them the prestigious Schiller Prize of the Swiss Schiller Foundation and the Charles Veillon Prize. Hugo Loetscher’s first novel, Abwässer (1963), introduced him as a critical and independent author to the world of literature. He is one of Europe’s premier experts on Latin American literature. Loetscher’s literary output is considerable and among others include: Die Kranzflechterin (1964), Noah (1967), Der Immune (1975), Die Fliege und die Suppe (1989), Saison (1998), and Der Buckel (2002).
Chennai - Saturday 13 October at 1700 hrs
Venue: Hall No. 3, IC n SR, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai
Partners: Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras and Goethe Society of India
New Delhi - Wednesday 17 October at 1100 hrs
Venue: Committee Room I (2nd Floor), School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, JNU Partners: Centre of German Studies, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, JNU
Pune - Thursday 18 October at 1800 hrs
Venue: Seminar Hall, Department of Journalism, Ranade Institute Partners: Department of Foreign Languages and the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Pune and Max Mueller Bhavan, Pune
The Duo Crastan
Swiss sisters Silvia Crastan (violin) and Eva Crastan (piano) will perform in New Delhi, Pune and Mumbai. [dated October 2007]
Swiss sisters Silvia Crastan (violin) and Eva Crastan (piano) will present Works by Dvorak, Kelterborn, Debussy, Brahms and Kreisler in New Delhi, Pune and Mumbai. The performance will bring together Silvia and Eva Crastan who have been working as a duo for many years under the directorship of the Israeli pianist Daniel Höxter and the late violinist Ifrah Neaman. The duo will also present a work titled ‘5 Essays’ by the contemporary Swiss composer Rudolf Kelterborn.
Silvia and Eva have given recitals in Switzerland (Societe Philharmonique de Bienne, Laudinella St. Moritz), Italy (Societa dei Concerti Milano, A.Gi.Mus Padova, Teatro di Saronno), England (Milton Keynes City Church Series, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Lotherton Hall Leeds) and Amsterdam (Boekmanzaal of the Stopera). They have also performed at Highgate United Reformed Church (London) for the Mathieson Foundation Kolkata, a school for deprived children, founded by the London based cellist Anup Kumar Biswas.
Programme:
New Delhi - Wed 10 Oct. 2007 at 6:30pm at the India International Centre
Performance open to public.
Pune - Sunday 14 Oct. 2007 at 6:30pm at the Mazda Hall
Performance open to public.
Mumbai - Friday 19 Oct. 2007 at 7pm at the Ruia House, Napean Road
The performance in Mumbai is by invitation only.
Bollywood and Beyond - Indian Alternative Cinema
Indian films showcased at Kunstmuseum Bern aptly underscore the theme ‘Narratives in Recent Indian Art’. [dated September 2007]
Contemporary Indian cinematic storytelling is on the cusp of change. This is illustrated by the fact that while Bollywood retains its basic strengths of colourful song and dance spectacle, it is slowly treading paths anew while Indian art-house cinema continues to plough its innovative furrow globally. The hugely entertaining yet thought provoking film selection this year aptly underscores the theme ‘Narratives in Recent Indian Art’ with every title illustrating a unique way of storytelling. The film selection then, proves the fact that while there might be myriad ways to tell a story, the story itself necessarily remains paramount.
- Naman Ramachandran
Ramachandran writes on South Asian cinema for Sight Sound and Total Film, is the UK/Ireland Correspondent for Cineuropa and the author of Lights Camera Masala: Making Movies in Mumbai
Screening schedule:
Shoonya
Saturday 22th September 6.00 pm Monday 24th September 6.00 pm Tuesday 25th September 8.30 pm
Unni
Monday 24th September 8.30 pm
Guru
Saturday 22th September 8.30 pm Sunday 23rd September 2.30 pm Tuesday 25th September 6.00 pm
Lagaan
Saturday 29th September 6.30 pm Monday 1st October 6.30 pm Sunday 7th October 5.30 pm
Veer-Zaara
Saturday 6th October 6.30 pm Sunday 7th October 1.30 pm Monday 8th October 6.30 pm
Nizhalkkuthu
Saturday 13th October 6.30 pm Sunday 14th October 2.00 pm Monday 15th October 6.30 pm
Omkara
Saturday 13th October 8.30 pm Sunday 14th October 4.00 pm Tuesday 16th October 8.30 pm
Dombivli Fast
Monday 15th October 8.30 pm Monday 22nd October 8.30 pm Tuesday 23rd October 8.30 pm
Black Friday
Saturday 20th October 5.00 pm Sunday 21st October 2.30 pm
Rang de Basanti
Saturday 20th October 8.30 pm Sunday 21st October 6.00 pm Saturday 27th October 9.00 pm
Vanaja
Monday 22nd October 6.00 pm Monday 29th October 6.00 pm Tuesday 30th October 6.00 pm
Naayi Neralu
Sunday 28th October 2.30 pm Tuesday 30th October 8.30 pm
Dosar
Saturday 27th October 6.30 pm Sunday 28th October 5.30 pm Monday 29th October 8.30 pm
Horn Please! Narratives from Contemporary Indian Art
‘Horn Please!’ an exhibition of contemporary Indian art at the Kunstmuseum Bern showcases works of Indian artists. [dated September 2007]
Horn Please!’ an exhibition of contemporary Indian art at the Kunstmuseum Bern showcases the works of 32 Indian artists. The exhibition has been curated by Bernhard Fibicher, a curator of contemporary art from Bern and Suman Gopinath, an independent curator from Bangalore. A special programme with films, literature and performances will accompany the exhibition, which will open to the public from September 20' 2007 to January 6' 2008
Horn Please! spans three decades from the 1980s to the present and is loosely constructed around four sections – Narrating Collisions, Re-imagining Places for People, Re-telling Stories/Telling Metaphor and Living in Alice-time. The stories weave back and forth across shifts in media and temporalities without tracing a history or lineage. The exhibition with its breaks in style, its digressions and diversions, its diversity in points of view and ‘narrators’, has a structure, which allows the viewer to reconstruct a different story with each reading.
Names of artists being showcased: Ayisha Abraham, Ravi Agarwal, Sarnat Banerjee, Jyothi Basu, Atul Dodiya, Anita Dube, Sunil Gupta, Sheela Gowda, Archana Hande, N S Harsha, Abhishek Hazra, Ranbir Kaleka, Jitish Kallat, Bhupen Khakhar, Sonia Khurana, Nalini Malani, Prabhavathi Meppayil, Surendran Nair, Sudhir Patwardhan, Justin Ponmany, Pushpamala N., Raqs Media Collective, K P Reji, Gigi Scaria, Mithu Sen, Gulammohammed Sheikh, Nilima Sheikh, Arpita Singh, Dayanita Singh, Vivan Sundaram, Surekha and Vasudha Thozhur
About rhythms, beats and forging friendships...
Indian percussionist Karthik S awarded studio residency with Swiss percussionist Lucas Niggli. [dated September 2007]
When Karthik S, a young and established percussionist from Bangalore, India met the immensely talented and eminent Swiss percussionist Lucas Niggli in Zurich this September, the bonding was instant and the atmosphere reverberated with the sounds of percussion instruments that hailed from across continents.
The two have a lot in similar. Karthik, like Lucas had an affinity to music, especially to percussion instruments, at a very young age. With a background in (Carnatic) South Indian classical music, Karthik has performed in various prestigious festivals in India, China, Spain, USA, Canada, and Australia.
Lucas Niggli, a Swiss music legend has toured through all of Europe with different musicians and played on stages in Russia and America, Egypt and Canada, China and South Africa and Taiwan. He performed on major Jazz festivals in Vancouver, Berlin, Moers, Saalfelden, Willisau, Rome, Nürnberg, Capetown, Le Mans, Münster and Zurich and at New Music Festivals like Huddersfield (UK), Donaueschingen ( D) , Ultima (N), MaerzMusik (D).
Keen to take his music to new and unexplored spaces, Karthik is very excited about his residency with Lucas Niggli.
Varun Narain and his puppets travel to Berne
Varun Narain, a contemporary Indian puppeteer was awarded a three-month residency at Schlachthaus Theater. [dated August 2007]
Varun Narain and his puppets travel to Berne A storyteller with a difference, Varun Narain has created a special niche for himself in the world of object theatre in India. Known for establishing and popularising puppetry as an art form for an adult audience, Varun’s exotic puppets are for urban audiences and bring to life the dialectic between fantasy and reality.
A contemporary puppeteer, Varun’s work has been much appreciated and has drawn praise both nationally and internationally. Varun’s characters are bold and highly emotive and sensual. One of his best-known productions, 1001 Indian Nights followed by his recent performance The Dusk Bride Melodrama showcased his skill and talent and attracted rave reviews.
Schlachthaus Theater in Berne has invited Varun on a short residency where he will get the opportunity to introduce his work to Swiss audiences.
Curators transcend borders
Pro Helvetia sends Himanshu Verma to attend a residency specially organised for curators, by the Kronika Gallery at Bytom. [dated May 2007]
In an effort to work across borders and encourage cross-cultural amalgam, the offices of Pro Helvetia Warsaw and New Delhi selected Himanshu Verma to represent India, at the residency specially organised for curators, by the Kronika Gallery at Bytom.
Participating at the Residency along with Himanshu Verma were, Fanni Fetzer from Kunstmuseum Langenthal, Switzerland, Hristina Ivanoska and Yane Calovsky from Skopje, Macedonia and Barbara Piwowarska from Warsaw, Poland. Kronika Gallery in Bytom, Poland conducts this residential programme within which curators interact with local society. The curators are required to take part in the ongoing process of searching for new, effective models for the functioning of a gallery. Himanshu described his residency as a great way of getting to know Polish art, and the work of some very exciting curators.
The subject of this year’s Residential Programme was “Live, Survive and Create” and it concentrated on strategies of surviving, camouflage and conflicts in art. The programme included a panel discussion open for the public on “Orphans of culture, legends and heroes”. The visiting curators visited post-industrial terrains of Upper Silesia with Marcin Doś and attended lectures and film shows. Workshops were organised in the Park of Culture and Recreation in Chorzów, the biggest Europe recreation and propaganda resort built in 1960. Visits to ateliers of Silesian artists was an enriching experience and enabled the curators to interact with local artists.
Swiss multi-lingualism and literature(s)
Visit of Swiss authors and literary critics on the occasion of a seminar on “Multilingual literature(s) of Switzerland”. [dated February 2007]
The Embassy of Switzerland, New Delhi and Pro Helvetia, Swiss Arts Council, New Delhi hosted the visit of three authors and two literary critics from Switzerland on the occasion of a seminar on “Multilingual literature(s) of Switzerland”.
The seminar was the first event being jointly organized by the new liaison office of Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council in India and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs through the Embassy of Switzerland in New Delhi. The event was also jointly hosted by the Centre of German Studies and the Centre for French and Francophone Studies, School of Language Literature and Culture Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
The inaugural session on Monday, 19 February 2007, 11.00 am, at the Committee Room of the School building was addressed by H.E. Dr. Dominique Dreyer, the Ambassador of Switzerland, New Delhi and Prof. Ernest Hess-Lüttich, Switzerland.
