Gratis Diaries...
A theatre director, a multi-media artist and an artist-in-residence at Rote Fabrik, Amitesh Grover captures the different moods of his residency. [dated October 2008]
A theatre director, a multi-media artist and an artist-in-residence at Rote Fabrik, Amitesh Grover captures the different moods of his residency. Bridging the yawning gap between an overbearing traditional performance past and a nascent urban performing sensibility, Amitesh represents the new generation of Indian theatre artists in the best possible way.
Describing the residency as a truly international experience, Amitesh recounts engaging in inter-cultural discourses with art practitioners from around the globe. Collaborations, exchanges, dialogues are what the future holds for Amitesh as he is scheduled to be in Zurich until December 2008.
" I was greeted by a nippy Zurich summer on a lazy morning of 12th July. Making my way into the city before it had woken up, I was struck by how crisp it was. Welcome to Europe, I chuckled. I was escorted to my studio the same day, which nests within a stark, bold red brick building abandoned by a textile factory early last century. Titled Rote Fabrik (Red Factory), it is spattered by graffiti that, at first impression seems to be slovenly but playful - a respite from city’s exacting landscape – only to reveal to a careful eye how each animated corner carries a nifty anecdote about authority, religion, sex and just about everything else. A capacious double-pillared hall with two majestic windows opening onto Zurich lake, the first floor studio bearing my name on its door was divine for artistic indulgence.
I conducted two Open-Days soon after. Over 50 Artists – visual, sound and performing – and curators attended the evenings in which I showcased my past work. Intriguing interactions followed the presentation; one artist couldn’t help being beguiled by the ‘theatricality’ of contemporary Performance Art in India. Its what helps us young artists bridge the yawning gap between an overbearing traditional performance past and a nascent urban performing sensibility, I explained. She smiled.
Theatrespektakel began mid-august amidst great fervour. An over-arching festival embracing all performing arts (and not just theatre) boasted of stunning shows from Brazil, Indonesia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Germany, India and Switzerland. Being part of jury (and consequently, having free entry to all shows; half the article’s title should begin to make sense by now!) was less daunting than I imagined. We were a quadruple-nation cultural quintette – South Africa, Egypt, India, Switzerland (Swiss and French part; a miracle we emerged from our award discussions smiling!). It was heart-warming to discover how, despite our apparent differences, anxieties soon melted away as we candidly confessed what we loved and hated, often to my surprise, the same things in the same order! Perhaps goes to show how the language of art can render distances futile.
I also attended a Residents’ Meet at Villa Strauli, Winterthur. It proved to be a fabulous opportunity to meet other artists-in-residence in Switzerland from around the world. Rainer Duvell, sculptor and architect from Berlin, conducted a workshop on perception after which we visited the studios in the lovely villa, once home to Winterthur’s soap-manufacture giant!
Over the past weeks, I have met many talented artists for the work I wish to develop here. Laura Klaus (a dancer from Argentina), Cornelia Luethi (a dancer from Switzerland), Martin Wigger (sound artist from Switzerland), Stephan Komitsch (video artist from Germany) and Sophia Stepf (Dramaturg working in inter-cultural discourse from Germany) are few among others with whom I will be striking a collaboration in the coming weeks. We have ‘Present - Episode I’ planned for a show mid-October and ‘Absent – Episode II’ planned for a show late November in my studio." Amitesh Grover Lettenholzstrasse#2 Zurich Switzerland 8038
Artist: Amitesh Grover
Art Form: Theatre
Theatre director and a multi-media artist, Amitesh is a visiting faculty member at the National School of Drama. A Charles Wallace scholar, he completed his postgraduation in Visual Language of Performance from the Wimbledon College of Art, University of Arts London.
Residency partner organisation: Rote Fabrik
Residency duration: 12 July - 12 Dec 2008
Alice Boner Gallery, Benaras Hindu University
Showcasing the works and life of Alice Boner, a Swiss artist and scholar, the Alice Boner Gallery, Varanasi reopens to public. [dated September 2008]
Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council cordially invites you to view the new Alice Boner Gallery, Kala Bhavan, Benaras Hindu University on Friday 26 September 2008 at 10:00am.
Alice Boner
Dr Alice Boner (1889-1981) a Swiss artist and scholar gravitated towards this great cultural and religious centre, and in 1935, she chose to settle here in a modest house on Assi Ghat, on the banks of the river Ganges. Her experiences of the city and its life, recorded in her diaries, reflect her journey in search of the ‘beyond’, a realm of artistic freedom, deeper experience and consciousness. Once in India, she turned to art studies and studied principles of Indian art and architecture. She came to be known as one of the outstanding scholars and interpreters of Indian sculpture and temple architecture. Her research led her - to not only the significant discovery of the principles of composition in Indian sculpture, but also to a search for the meaning of its content.
Her creative exploration of the “language of form” in Indian sculpture and temple architecture led Alice Boner to move from live practice to the interpretation of Indian art. Seeking confirmation of her own theoretical discoveries in the Sastras and comparing them with the extant monuments in all their dimensions, she combined the interpretive, visual method with the textual and traditional approach. Her understanding and research is reflected in the ‘Principles of Composition in Hindu sculpture’, which is her unique contribution to the study of Indian art. Alice Boner’s pioneering research on Indian art has been widely acclaimed throughout the world.
For her unique contribution to the understanding of Indian art, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan, an Indian civilian award that is awarded to recognise distinguished service of a high order to the nation, in any field, by the President of India in 1974. She was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Zürich.
Alice Boner Foundation, Varanasi
The house of Alice Boner in Varanasi is supported by Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council. Writers, scholars, artists, dancers and musicians from India and abroad are invited for a creative stay and are provided a residency with basic, but comfortable facilities. This old and atmospheric house on the bank of the Ganga accommodates also the Alice Boner Institute with its library for research on Indian arts. Through its academic activities and exhibitions, the Institute furthers Alice Boner’s own research and also perpetuates her memory.
Centenaire - Alain Daniélou (1907 - 1994)
'Indian art and music: a critical survey of Alain Danielou's Contribution' [dated September 2008]
Alain Danielou India Committee and The Indian Music Society along with Pro Helvetia and a host of other partners present 'Indian art and music: a critical survey of Alain Danielou's Contribution'
24 - 26 September: Varanasi - Alice Boner Institute
27 September: Delhi – India International Centre
Programme: An international seminar A Photo Exhibition Music Concerts Inauguration of the new Alice Boner Gallery Film Screenings
For programme details click here
Photo credit: Jacques Cloarec Copyrights Alain Danièlou Centre
Alain Daniélou (1907-1994): scholar of Indian languages and religions, painter, dancer, musician, and photographer, linguist and musicologist, is the author of over forty books on Indian religion, music and culture translated in a dozen of languages. Daniélou lived in Santiniketan and participated in the educational programmes of Rabindranath Tagore, where he orchestrated the Indian national anthem and the national song. Daniélou studied Sanskrit and Hinduism with pandits in Varanasi and Indian classical music with Shivendranath Basu, he learnt to play the rudraveena. With Omkarnath Thakur he set up the Department of Musicology at Benares Hindu University.
From l954-56 he headed the Library at Adyar and from there moved to the Institut Français d’Indologie at Pondicherry. In the 1950s he recorded music all over the world which was published by UNESCO in their Atlas of World Music. Danielou was an honorary member of the International Music Council and founded the Institutes of Comparative Music in Berlin in 1963 and Venice in 1970. In 991 he was elected fellow of the Sangeet Natak Akademy and Emeritus Professor by the Senate of Berlin. Daniélou was an Officer of the Légion d'Honneur, Officer of the Ordre National du Mérite, and Commander of Arts and Letters. In 1981, he received the Unesco/CIM prize for music, in 1987 the "Kathmandu" medal from Unesco.
Laurent Aubert to lecture at Jawaharlal Nehru University
Laurent Aubert, curator of the Geneva Ethnographic Museum to lecture at Jawaharlal Nehru University on his book. [dated September 2008]
Pro Helvetia New Delhi presents a lecture by Laurent Aubert on his book 'The Music of the Other - New Challenges for Ethnomusicology in a Global Age'
Venue: Commitee Room. Centre for the Study of Social Systems Jawaharlal Nehru University
Date: Monday 22nd September at 3 pm
Lecture heading: 'The Music of the other - New challenges for Ethnomusicology in a Global Age'
The lecture is open to public
Laurent Aubert, doctor in anthropology, is curator at the Geneva Ethnographic Museum and director of the Ateliers d’ethnomusicologie (Ethnomusicology Workshops), an institute dedicated to the dissemination of world music, founded in 1983.
Besides field research, particularly in India, he also works on questions related to music and migration. He is the Secretary General of Archives internationales de musique populaire (Int. Archives of Folk Music, AIMP) and editor of its CD collection, founder of Cahiers d’ethnomusicologie (formerly Cahiers de musiques traditionnelles, since 1988), and author of many articles and CDs, as well as several books, including Les feux de la déesse (2004) et Musiques migrantes (2005) and The Music of the Other (2007).
Lecture presentations in India by Freitag brothers
Lecture/presentations by Markus and Daniel Freitag on 'some waste, a sewing machine and one idea’ - how FREITAG became a worldwide known brand. [dated September 2008]
Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council presents lecture/presentations by Markus and Daniel Freitag on ‘some waste, a sewing machine and one idea’ - how FREITAG became a worldwide known brand.
At Max Mueller Bhavan/ Goethe-Institut, Bangalore Date: Saturday, 6 September 2008 Time: 4: 00 pm Open to public
At Srishti School of Art Design & Technology, Bangalore Date: 8, 9 & 10 September 2008 Time: 10:00 am For Design students only
At National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi Date: Friday, 12 September 2008 Time: 10:30 am For Design students only
Freitag – the international brand
It was 1993 when Markus and Daniel Freitag, both brothers and graphic designers, were in need of a bag. Zurich locals ride bicycles and they get rained on a lot. So the Freitag Brothers wanted a functional, tough, and water-resistant bag to carry their designs. Inspired by the colourful traffic on the highway extension in front of their apartment, they sewed together a messenger bag from an old truck tarp, took seat belts for straps and used a spare bicycle inner tube to keep the edges from fraying. Quite unintentionally, the brothers landed a hit. Today FREITAG products are sold and copied all around the globe. Since the original messenger, Markus and Daniel have put out more than 40 different products, with more in the pipeline and even more up their sleeves. Nevertheless, FREITAG products are still produced in Switzerland, next to that same highway extension.
In the presentation Markus and Daniel Freitag will present the company history and point out the success-factors, how they managed to grow a "student-project" into a "known" Brand.
Facts & figures about FREITAG
Headquarter: FREITAG lab. ag / Maag works, Zurich, Switzerland
Founding year: 1993
Founders & Owners: Markus and Daniel Freitag
Workforce: about 60 employees in Zurich, Davos, and Hamburg
No. of shops: 3 own flagship-stores (Hamburg, Davos, Zurich), over 350 point of sales worldwide Material use: 200 tons of truck tarps = line of trucks 50 km long; 75,000 bicycle inner tubes; 25,000 seatbelts No. of models: over 40 items For more information on Freitag visit: www.freitag.ch
The presentation is being held within the context of the ongoing exhibition CRISS + CROSS design from Switzerland 1860 – 2007 Curated by Ariana Pradal, Köbi Gantenbein & Roland Eberle Exhibition on view from 6 - 20 September 2008 10:30 am - 6:30 pm (Mon - Sat) 10:30 am - 5:00 pm (Sun)
Venue: Goethe-Institut Bangalore /Max Mueller Bhavan The CRISS + CROSS exhibition and the Freitag lectures in Bangalore and Delhi are supported by: Pro Helvetia – the Swiss Arts Council Goethe-Institut Bangalore, Max Mueller Bhavan, BangaloreSrishti School of Art, Design and Technology Bangalore National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi
Tree trunks and fly-overs
A photographic intervention by Swiss artist Rahel Hegnauer who was in Bangalore on a residency programme. [dated September 2008]
Rahel Hegnauer, a visual artist from Zurich was in Bangalore on the artist-in-residence programme. As a culmination of her residency, Rahel put together an exhibition titled 'tree trunks and fly-overs - a photographic intervention.'
Rahel has studied at the Department of Environmental Art, Glasgow School of Art, Scotland. Following which, Rahel did her postgraduate studies in Art in Public Sphere (Master of Art) in Lucerne, Switzerland.
Extract from the report:
The trees are victims of the ever fast growing, developing town. It is as if they have been taken over by the attributes of a busy city. They lie as dead bodies along the construction sites of the fly-overs with their roots exposed to the air. The fate of the trees is one visual example among many others to prove how an alien element - the fly-over, can disconnect or interrupt a homogenous system (the daily life in a communal area).
The photographic exhibition was followed by talks by: A N Yelappa Reddy, conservationist and environmentalist Sursh Jayaram, art critic and art historian H S Sudhira, Directorate of Urban Land Transport, Government of Karnataka
Important links:
Bangaluru Artist Residency One (bar1)
Rahel Hegnauer
Alice Boner and the Arts of India Trust – Residency
The Alice Boner and the Arts of India Trust offers Swiss literary scholars and practising artists a place to reside and work in Varanasi, India. [dated August 2008]
Pro Helvetia New Delhi in collaboration with The Alice Boner and the Arts of India Trust offers Swiss literary scholars and practising artists a place to reside and work in Varanasi, India.
Dr Alice Boner (1889-1981) a Swiss artist and scholar settled in Varanasi, India in 1936 and came to be known as one of the outstanding scholars and interpreters of Indian sculpture and temple architecture. Inspired by the surroundings, Alice Boner chose to live in an old house on Assi Ghat, on the banks of the river Ganges in Varanasi. Once in India, she turned to art studies and studied principles of Indian art and architecture. Her research led her - to not only the significant discovery of the principles of composition in Indian sculpture, but also to a search for the meaning of its content.
For her unique contribution to the understanding of Indian art, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan, an Indian civilian award that is awarded to recognise distinguished service of a high order to the nation, in any field, by the President of India in 1974. She was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Zürich.
The Alice Boner and the Arts of India Trust was set up with a view to support the study of fundamental principles in Indian art and establish fellowships for writers, artists and scholars who wish to live and work in Varanasi for a length of time. The Trust has maintained the house, as it was when Alice Boner lived there. Her own living quarters from where she could watch the sunrise and the river Ganges remain untouched. Residents staying at the house can also see Alice Boner’s paintings, which to this day adorn the walls of the house.
The Residency
Each residency will be for a period of four to eight weeks and will cover the costs of international flights, visa and insurance and also a per diem for the duration of stay. The Alice Boner and the Arts of India Trust will provide accommodation and also take care of the hospitality costs for the duration of the residency. Swiss writers and artists who are looking to work in India are encouraged to apply for this residency at least 3 months before they wish to take up residency to Pro Helvetia New Delhi.
Alice Boner House B1/ 159 Assi Ghat Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India Tel: +91 542 2311360
CRISS + CROSS design from Switzerland 1860 – 2007
Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council invites you to a Swiss design exhibition in Ahmedabad and Bangalore. [ dated August 2008]
CRISS + CROSS has been curated by Ariana Pradal, Köbi Gantenbein & Roland Eberle
Ahmedabad
Partner: National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
Venue: National Institute of Design, Paldi, Ahmedabad 380 007 Opening on Tuesday, 5 August 2008 at 5 pm Date: 6 - 14, August 2008 Time: 10am to 7pm (daily)
Bangalore
Partners: Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology & Goethe-Institut Bangalore
Venue: Goethe-Institut Bangalore, Max Mueller Bhavan Opening on Friday, 5 September 2008 at 6:30 pm Exhibition on view from 6 - 20 September 2008 10:30 am - 6:30 pm (Mon - Sat) 10:30 am - 5:00 pm (Sun)
The exhibition is made up of seven parts:
small + beautiful
Switzerland is a small country and its engineers are masters of miniaturisation. The focus of miniature design has shifted hugely to now include apparatus such as hearing aids, pacemakers, digital cameras and computer mice etc. The objects are small, even tiny, and technically and aesthetically outstanding. A range of these tiny objects owe their distinctive appearance to Swiss designers.
the tiny helpers
Our arms, hands, legs and eyes are useful, but limited. The designer has constructed a range of implements and tools that enable us to clip and cut, dig and plough, scrape and stir. For use in homes, offices, kitchens and gardens.
up to the mountains
Featuring the tourist industry’s mountain railways, cable-cars, tunnels, chalets, hotels, posters, sports equipment, hats and gloves, all of which naturally has to be given an appealing design.
the longsellers
Swiss design goes back a long way: Toblerone, the Swiss army knife, the Swiss map, furniture by Willy Guhl, Le Corbusier or USM Haller.
hip + young
There is hard and fast competition among designers to create imaginative variations for apparatus, jewellery, clothes, books, food products, machines and everyday equipment. Many small studios design and produce goods and brands specifically for small, but dynamic sections, giving rise to a delightful range of colours and shapes.
a visual statement
In 1958, the designers Richard Paul Lohse, Josef Müller-Brockmann, Hans Neuburg and Carlo Vivarelli founded the magazine New Graphic Design, which quickly became internationally famous. These authors regarded graphic art as communication and no longer as applied painting. Thus they laid the foundation for corporate design, which quickly spread internationally. What began as New Graphics mutated into Swiss Style and later into International Style. A slide show presents about 300 recent works of graphic designers from various fields.
library
Switzerland has a long tradition as a book-printing nation. Books that boast not only about stimulating and intelligent content, but also so beautifully designed and are in demand across nations.
CRISS + CROSS is supported by:
Pro Helvetia – the Swiss Arts Council
National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology , Bangalore
Goethe-Institut Bangalore, Max Mueller Bhavan, Bangalore
The exhibitions in India are part of the jubilee celebrations commemorating 60 years of Indo- Swiss friendship. For more information click here.
Translation House Looren
Translation House Looren offers translators from all over the world a place to reside and work for a number of weeks. [dated July 2008]
Translation House Looren in Wernetshausen, Switzerland offers translators the opportunity to carry out projects in a picturesque, rural setting. The offer is open to translators from all over the world.
Translation House sees itself primarily as a location for concentrated work. In addition, a program of events is intended to advance the profession of literary translation. At Looren, translators can fully devote themselves to their task and at the same time have professional exchanges with other translators.
Pro Helvetia New Delhi invites translators from South Asia to apply for a residency at the Translation House Looren. In order to be considered for a residency you must be a literary translator with at least one substantial published work.
For more information on the Artist-in-Residence programme and the application form click here.
For more information: Translation House Looren
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.
