Press Mentions 2012
A compilation of current interviews, articles, blog posts and news.
1) Event: Artist-in Residence Alexander Hahn / Publication: Time Out New Delhi
Link: www.timeoutdelhi.net/art/features/alexander-hahn / see attached
2) Event: LAYOUT I / Publication: Freize
Link: www.frieze.com/issue/article/delhi/
3) Event: India Art Fair / Publication: World News
Link: article.wn.com/view/2012/02/03/A_Virtual_Tour_of_the_India_Art_Fair_2012/
4) Event: Ruth Buck / Ahmedabad International arts Festival / Publication: DNA After Hours
Link: epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx / see attached
5) Event: SKODA Prize / Mirjam Varadinis / Publication: Art Info magazine
Link: in.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/836942/qa-with-mirjam-varadinis-swiss-curator-and-skoda-prize-jury
6) Event: Experimenter Curator's Hub 2012 / Publication: Art Info magazine
Link: in.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/815894/%E2%80%9Cthe-art-and-the-art-market-can-be-quite-separate-and-at-times-unmerciful%E2%80%9D-abhay-maskara-on-the-challenges-of-curating
7) Event: Experimenter Curator's Hub 2012 / Publication: Art Radar Asia
Link: artradarjournal.com/2012/07/25/experimenters-2012-curators-hub-probes-south-asian-art-practice-event-alert/
8) Event: Experimenter Curator's Hub 2012 / Publication: vimeo
Link: vimeo.com/50200544
9) Event: Urs Widmer India tour / Publication: Jagran City Plus
Link: cityplus.jagran.com/city-news/literary-fever-on_1327126006.html
10) Event: Urs Widmer India tour / Publication: The Hindu
Link: www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article2807758.ece
11) Event: POL at Gati Dance Residency / Publication: Time Out Delhi
Link: www.timeoutdelhi.net/dance/features/turning-heat
12) Event: POL at Gati Dance Residency / Publication: Asian Age
Link: www.asianage.com/dance/why-we-dance-199
13) Event: FICA Emerging Artist Award / Publication: Matters of Art / online
Link: mattersofart.blogspot.in/2012/06/fica-emerging-artist-award-2012.html
14) Event: FICA Emerging Artist Award / Publication: Art Info magazine / online Link: in.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/830683/fica-emerging-artist-award-for-2012-awarded-to-kerala-based
Mezzo Compo - documentaries on Swiss composers
The French television station Mezzo has produced a series of documentaries portraying ten of the most important Swiss music composers.
Mezzo Compo presents 10 television documentaries about Swiss music composers
Since 1996, the French channel Mezzo has been the global frontrunner in the television broadcasting of classical music, jazz and dance.
In 2012, the French television station Mezzo, with the support of Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council produced a series of documentaries portraying ten of the most important Swiss composers.
Participants
Dieter Ammann, Oscar Bianchi, Xavier Dayer, Martin Jaggi, Daniel Ott, Michael Pelzel, Katharina Rosenberger, Annette Schmucki, Nadir Vassena & Michael Wertmüller
Links to these composer portraits, which last approximately ten minutes each, can be found on: www.swissartsselection.ch/de/1026-mezzo-compo#de/1026-mezzo-compo
For more information on the French television station Mezzo: www.mezzo.tv
Swiss List - new title on the stands
Pro Helvetia and Seagull Books London have collaborated over a publishing project entitled The Swiss List, which envisages publishing 8 - 10 books of Swiss origin into English.
With the latest addition to the Swiss List published by Seagull Books, the number of books in English by Swiss writers now on the stands is eight. 'Death in Persia' by Annemarie Schwarzenbach, translated into English by Lucy Renner Jones has just been published.
Others in the list include Urs Widmer’s My Mother's Lover and My Father's Book translated by Donal Mc Laughlin, Frisch/Dürrenmatt’s, Correspondence translated by Birgit Schreyer Duarte, Dorothee Elmiger’s Invitation to the Bold of Heart translated by Cathy Derbyshire and Annemarie Schwarzenbach’s, Lyric Novella and All the Roads are Open translated by Lucy Renner Jones and Isabel Fargo Cole respectively.
Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council supports translation. The publication of the Swiss List in partnership with Seagull Books is an effort to bring Swiss literature to readers around the world. An extension of the initiative «Moving Words», the Swiss List has had demonstrable impact. Audiences across the globe now have access to Swiss Literature and literary translators from varying nationalities have had the opportunity to network and engage with Swiss writers.
The number of translations of Swiss literature will continue to increase, with Seagull Books looking at publishing another few titles by year end.
'Death in Persia' by Annemarie Schwarzenbach
Translated by Lucy Renner Jones.
Noah by Hugo Loetscher
Translated by Samuel P. Willcocks.
Synopsis
My Mother's Lover by Urs Widmer
Translated by Donal Mc Laughlin
Synopsis
My Father's Book by Urs Widmer
Translated by Donal Mc Laughlin
Synopsis
Correspondence by Frisch/Dürrenmatt’s
Translated by Birgit Schreyer Duarte
Synopsis
Invitation to the Bold of Heart by Dorothee Elmiger
Translated by Cathy Derbyshire
Synopsis
Lyric Novella by Annemarie Schwarzenbach
Translated by Lucy Renner Jones
Synopsis
All the Roads are Open by Annemarie Schwarzenbach
Translated by Isabel Fargo Cole
Synopsis
Links www: http://www.seagullindia.com/books/defaultnew.asp?cbosearch=category&txtkeyword=swiss%20list
Indian artists in Switzerland
Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council welcomes Gitanjali Dang and Pratik Sagar who are currently in Switzerland on a studio residency at Rote Fabrik, Zürich and iaab Basel respectively.
The following Indian artists were awarded Studio Residencies in 2013.
Indian artists:
Anitha Balachandran (Visual Arts) Gitanjali Dang ( Visual Arts ) Pratik Sagar ( Visual Arts )
Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council wishes Gitanjali Dang and Pratik Sagar a successful and productive residency at Rote Fabrik, Zürich and iaab Basel respectively.
For more information on these residency spaces:
Rote Fabrik, Zürich - www.rotefabrik.ch/en/home/
iaab Basel - www.iaab.ch
Residencies
Pro Helvetia’s liaison office in India supports studio and research residencies. Swiss artists and cultural practitioners (e.g. curators, event organisers, mediators) in the areas of the visual arts, music, literature, theatre and dance are eligible to apply. In return, Pro Helvetia facilitates residencies in Switzerland for artists and cultural practitioners from India.
Studio residency 2015
A studio residency (3 months) in India or, conversely in Switzerland, gives artists the chance to gain a broad insight into a different cultural environment. The aim of the residency is to find inspiration, establish networks and contemplate new projects and cooperations. In addition to a place to work and accommodation, Pro Helvetia will provide a specialist from their field to support them. Pro Helvetia covers the costs of travel, insurance and per diem expenses. A maximum of four applications can be considered per region each year. Applicants may apply three times in total for a Pro Helvetia studio residency.
1.1 Selection criteria
- convincing track record: artistic activity above and beyond regional level for at least three years
- context-related motivation
- adequate foreign language skills
1.2 Applications
Applications can be submitted until 1 March 2014 via www.myprohelvetia.ch for 2015. Applications must be written in English.
PLEASE NOTE: Applications for 2014 stand closed.
La Sirène music concert
The Embassy of Switzerland presents La Sirène, Harmonie Municipale du Grand-Saconnex, Genève in a musical dialogue with Indian musician Shri Paras Nath on the flute.
La Sirène, Harmonie Municipale du Grand-Saconnex, Genève, results from the meeting of the Fanfare Municipale du Grand-Saconnex, established in 1878, on one hand, and of the Corps de Musique La Sirène, constituted in Geneva in 1900, on the other hand.
The music band parades since the 80s in a uniform of English colonial style, lively red and blue, with a helmet decorated with a plume for special occasions. La Sirène consists of musicians who practice the contemporary and modern musical art.
The company visits India during the month of March and will travel through Delhi and Jaipur. The performance features Shri Paras Nath on the flute in a musical dialogue with 30 musicians of La Sirène.
La Sirène music concert
Date: 30 March 2013
Time: 7.00 pm
Venue: Embassy of Switzerland, Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri New Delhi 110 021
Entry: To attend please write to ndh.vertretung(at)eda.admin.ch.
Kindly present your ID proof at the entrance. A limited number of invitation cards can be collected from the main gate of the Embassy.
Swiss artist Sarah Burger's work at Sarai Reader 09
Swiss visual artist Sarah Burger presents her untitled work at Deviart Foundation in Gurgaon India as part of the Sarai Reader 09.
Swiss visual artist Sarah Burger presents her untitled work at Deviart Foundation in Gurgaon India as part of the Sarai Reader 09. Sarah Burger's visit to India was supported by Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council.
Sarai Reader 09, curated by Raqs Media Collective
Date: 3 February 2013 - 15 April 2013
Venue: Deviart Foundation, Gurgaon
Description of the work: (Untitled), 2013 / Hardened cement bags, bamboo sticks, photograph Photograph 230 x 130 cm / Overall approx. 250 x 200 x 300 cm
Cement bags. Rain.
Accidentally formed sculptures by natural forces. Erosion evokes time.
Physicality. Sculptural aspects of building sites.
Substitutes for missing parts of fragments.
Presence of what's lost or not yet there.
Dynamisation of objects and an image. Construction and transience.
---
About Sarai Reader 09: The exhibition
Curated by Raqs Media Collective, Sarai Reader 09 is a nine month exhibition that unfolded as a process generative of visions, concepts, speculations and projections which, in turn, make room for heresy, for new modalities of being, for exchanges, relays and interferences. Artists, researchers, scholars, curators, critics, filmmakers, writers, performers, activists, scientists, photographers, archivists, architects, poets, journalists, were invited to make proposals.
The exhibition was punctuated through "episodes" - points of focus and dispersal - where processes that have been undertaken by artists gathered impetus and opened out across concentrated moments of public attention.
The exhibition takes its name from the Sarai Reader book series, which have been widely recognised as a site of critical and creative thinking. The making of the book 'Sarai Reader 09 (Projections)', accompanied the exhibition.
For more information visit: www.sarai.net OR www.prohelvetia.in
Partners & Collaborators:
Devi Art Foundation, Sarai and Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council
Ruchir Joshi to present at Literaturhaus Basel
Indian writer Ruchir Joshi who is currently on a residency in Basel will present his work at Literaturhaus Basel and Gymnasium Leonhard Basel.
Indian writer Ruchir Joshi who is currently on a residency at iaab basel will present his work at Literaturhaus Basel (House of Literature) on March 21 at 7 pm.
Ruchir will present his texts as well as screen parts from his documentary movies.
When: 21 March 2013 at 7 pm
Where: Literaturhaus Basel (House of Literature)
Please visit the website of Literaturhaus Basel for further details.
Ruchir has also been invited by Gymnasium Leonhard Basel to present a talk to the students on 18 March 2013 on his first book.
The writer is currently a writer in residence, at iaab, Basel
Writer in Residence is a pilot project of a writer’s exchange programme between Pro Helvetia New Delhi and IAAB, Christoph Merian Stiftung. As per the programme, both Pro Helvetia New Delhi and IAAB will send a writer each for a period of 3 months to live and work in India and Switzerland. Pro Helvetia New Delhi has collaborated with Sangam House to place the Swiss writer there for 3 months from November 2013 to January 2014.
The Indian writer, Ruchir Joshi will be at IAAB Basel for 3 months as part of this pilot project. Ruchir Joshi is a writer and filmmaker. He is the author of Poriborton and The Last Jet-Engine Laugh, and is currently working on another novel, set in Calcutta during the Second World War.
In exchange, PHND will receive a Swiss writer from IAAB for a studio residency at Sangam House later this year.
For more information on iaab Basel visit www.iaab.ch
Soirée Littéraire 2013
A literary evening of contemporary writing in French , Soirée Littéraire 2013 will include readings from the original texts by French, Belgian and Swiss authors.
Soirée Littéraire, an evening of francophone literary encounters, is jointly presented by Pro Helvetia- Swiss Arts Council, Embassy of France/Institut Français en Inde, Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium, Embassy of Switzerland, Alliance Française de Chandigarh and Alliance Française de Pondicherry.
With the aim to build audiences for contemporary writing in French, the event will take place in three cities and will include readings from the original texts by French, Belgian and Swiss authors followed by con...versations in English by local experts.
When: Wednesday, 20 March 2013, 6:30 pm
Venue: Embassy of Switzerland, New Delhi 110021
Entry by registration only
The Authors
Nicolas Ancion, Belgium
Nicolas Ancion was born in Liège (Belgium). He writes fiction for adults, young adults and children and is the author of several theatre plays and poetry collections. His books have been awarded many literary prizes. Humour is an essential ingredient in his works. The literary supplement of Le Monde, France's flagship daily newspaper, dubbed him "Lewis Carroll's true heir". He loves literary challenges and performances: he wrote a novel in public in 24 hours during the Brussels Book Fair (March 2010). He regularly uses web tools to share live writing. His novel, The 35-billion Euro Man, has been awarded the Prix Rossel des Jeunes in 2009 and is now touring as a theater play. This novel describes the abduction of one of the richest men in the world, Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of ArcelorMittal. The book is currently being adapted for a movie.
David Collin, Switzerland
David Collin was born in 1968 and lives in Fribourg (Switzerland). Les Cercles Mémoriaux (Memorial Circles, L'Escampette, 2012) is his second novel. His first was Train Fantôme (Phantom Train, Le Seuil, 2007). He has published some books with artists, and many short stories and essays in literary journals. He organizes literary events and is on the editorial board of the literary journal La Revue de Belles-Lettres. Since 2011 he has been series editor of Imprescriptible (Genocide Studies) for the Geneva publishing house Éditions Metispresses. David Collin is also involved in performing arts projects. And he produces cultural programmes for Espace 2, channel 2 of Switzerland's French-language public radio
Chowra Makaremi, France
Chowra Makaremi was born in 1980 in Shiraz (Iran). She is an anthropologist and tenured research scholar at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris. She graduated from Sciences-Po Paris, France and the University of Montreal, Canada and has been a visiting scholar at Princeton, McGill and Columbia University. She has carried out ethnographic field work and published on issues of migration, asylum, racism and youth delinquency. Since 2010 she has been working on memoirs of violence and the post-revolution era in Iran. She has published Le Cahier d'Aziz. Au cœur de la révolution iranienne (Gallimard, Paris, in 2011) based on the memoirs of her grand-father. It will be published, in English translation by the Indian publisher Yoda Press in March 2013 under the title Aziz's Notebook: At the Heart of the Iranian Revolution.
Come back to earth - The March
A video presentation by Swiss artist Ruth Buck at the FOCUS Photography Festival in Mumbai.
Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council and Focus Photography Festival
in collaboration with Design Temple presents
Come back to earth - The March
a video presentation by Swiss artist Ruth Buck.
“The March” will be on view till 17 March 2013 at Design Temple, Mumbai.
Come Back to Earth is an expedition and approach, that aims to discover India through an unusual point of view. The focus of the work is directed towards the ground where we stand with both our feet, our basis of life. From this basic idea the artist developed two works - Come Back to Earth “The March” and Come Back to Earth “The Pairs”.
The image used is from “The Pairs”
Malcolm Braff Trio to tour India
Swiss jazz pianist, Malcolm Braff along with bassist Reggie Washington and percussionist Stéphane Galland will perform in Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore and Delhi.
Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council in collaboration with Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Gatecrash presents
MALCOLM BRAFF TRIO
March 13th, blueFROG, Mumbai
March 14th, Heritage Jazz, Goa
March 15th and 16th, Windmills Craftworks, Bangalore
March 17th, Delhi - 6.30 pm at Nehru Park, New Delhi, as part of the 3rd Delhi International Jazz Festival
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Malcolm Braff born in Rio de Janeiro, he grew up on the Cape Verdean Isles and Senegal before settling in Switzerland. The pianist, composer and aesthetic maverick has worked on his reputation as an inspiring artist who fires up the European scene with spectacular activities, especially with spectacular art. In the early Nineties projects acquainted him with fellow artists like Bänz Oester, Mathieu Michel, Samuel Blaser and also Eric Truffaz. Braff is a regular at the Cully Jazz Festival and one of the most prolific jazz pianists in Switzerland today.
In India Braff joins together for the first time with bassist Reggie Washington and drummer Stephane Galland. Reggie Washington is among the best known bassists of the modern jazz scene. Brought up in a musical family, his parents were avid jazz and soul fans. His sister Yvette an excellent violinist/voilist , his brother Kenny a famed drummer & jazz historian. The many weekends listening & learning sessions with brother Kenny and Marcus Miller paved his way into improvisational music. Aside from holding down the groove for Steve Coleman's Five Elements, Washington has played with such notables as Roy Hargrove's RH Factor, Branford Marsalis' Buckshot LeFonque, Cassandra Wilson, Uri Caine, Don Byron, Meshell N'degeocello, Oliver Lake Steel Quartet and many others. Since 2005, Reggie has stepped out as a leader touring with his bands through Europe, the U.K. & U.S.A. to very receptive and appreciative audiences. His music represents the cutting edge of jazz & other musical genres today.
Stéphane Galland was born into a musical family and received his first drum set at the age of three. He decided to take lessons in classical percussion when he reached the age of nine, at the conservatory at Huy (Belgium) and started playing jazz with his fellow pianist Eric Legnini two years later. At the age of 13, having had the opportunity to play with the best jazz musicians in Belgium, he developed a growing interest in this musical field. Always in search of new musical experiences, he met Pierre Vandormael, Fabrizio Cassol and Michel Hatzigeorgiou, and later with the last two, formed the band called AKA MOON. The band, which recorded 16 CDs and performed worldwide (Europe, Africa, Asia, the United States, Canada, South America, the Caribbean Islands, India...), has been a unique and invaluable field of development and experimentation with different musical traditions.
Artist-in-Lab Indo-Swiss Residency Exchange 2012/13
Announcing the names of the recipients of the Artist-in-Lab Indo-Swiss Residency which is supported by swissnex India and Pro Helvetia New Delhi.
Supported by swissnex India and Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council
the artists-in-labs programme
is a collaboration between the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and the National Center for Biological Sciences, NCBS, in Bangalore, India.
This residency exchange programme will be conducted under the direction of the Artists in Labs research group at ZHdK.
Awardees for 2012/ 2013:
Neha Thakar, an artist from India, will be a resident at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Zurich from 1 November 2012 - 31 January 2013 and
Dominique Lämmli, an artist from Switzerland, will reside at the National Center for Biological Sciences, NCBS, in Bangalore, India from 4 December 2012- 28 February 2013.
Introduction
Art and science constitute two cultures, which have really grown apart. The Swiss Artistsinlabs program is a cultural program devoted to current debates and discourses that can help art and science to gain a closer understanding of each other. The intention of the ail program is to share common goals, to broaden the dialogue, generate ideas and raise awareness of the contributions both artists and scientists can make to the larger challenges of our time. Providing a research environment where these experiments can take place makes all the difference.
The ail co-operation with Swiss Science laboratories is a conscious attempt to encourage the development of the primary creative forces shared by both disciplines: the quest for interpretations of nature, matter and human desire as well as the interest to comprehend, explore, reveal, sustain, create and build.
Aims
The aims of the residency programme are:
to give artists the opportunity to be immersed inside the culture of scientific research in order to develop their interpretations and inspire their content.
to allow the artists to have an actual “hands on” access to the solid raw materials, pertinent debates and scientific tools to encourage unique potentials and allow them to attend relevant lectures and conferences held by the scientists themselves.
to help scientists gain some insight into the world of contemporary art, aesthetic development and the semiotics of communication that are used by artists in order to reach the general public.
to encourage further collaboration between both parties including an extension of discourse and an exchange of research practices and methodologies.
Focus
Science Disciplines: life sciences, physics, cognition, engineering and computing
Art Disciplines: art researchers-film, video, new media, sound art, sculpture, architecture, theatre and dance.
More: http://artistsinlabs.ch/lang/en/
Swiss musician Don Li to perform in New Delhi
‘Sound Art and Technology : An International Festival on Music, Art and Technology’.
Swiss composer and musician Don Li is going to be in India for ‘Sound Art and Technology : An International Festival on Music, Art and Technology’ which is scheduled to take place in Delhi this February.
Date: 20 & 21 February 2013
Venue: Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi
Programme
Synopsis: S.A.T is a project dedicated to creativity, culture and technology. It is a collaborative international artistic project to be launched in India. At a time in the history of the arts where digital technology has revolutionized distribution, democratized access, and re-imagined the scope and scale with which an artist can create a vision and reach an audience, S.A.T is a new kind of arts and culture channel for a new kind of world.
The series will begin with a collection of specially choreographed music performances, curated artworks, panel discussions and live performances from artists/ academics/ curators from across the world. The Festival will work on integrating lesser-known musical traditions into the project. SAT is viewed as an important intervention in this direction. SAT will evolve an interdisciplinary framework for the creative interaction of artists with professionals from various fields.
Swiss musician Don Li
Don Li is undoubtedly one of the visionary heads of the contemporary scene in music composition in Switzerland. His minimalism makes Li’s work fascinating, a trend that has been inspiring for numerous other musicians.
The phenomenon Orbital Garden is a synthesis of the arts. In business one talks of Corporate Identity, a brand name and a uniform product line. Here it simply has to do with a synthesis of the arts. At the centre of which stands Orbital Garden, initiated and developed by alto-saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, bandleader and organizer Don Li, a concept of musical reduction that correlates its impact to the sophisticated, exhaustive dialect between repetition and variation. In this synthesis of the arts, it reaches beyond the pure musical dimension and encompasses social, organizational and, not least, aesthetic facets.
Ensemble: Orbital Garden, 3001 - Bern, Switzerland
President/ Artistic Director: Don Li, 3001 - Bern, Switzerland
Indian partners to attend Swiss Dance Days
Pro Helvetia is delighted to invite Anusha Lall & Abantee Dutta from Gati Dance Forum and Shiva Pathak & Raabiya Jayaram from Attakkalari to attend the Swiss Dance Days.
Pro Helvetia is delighted to invite Anusha Lall & Abantee Dutta from Gati Dance Forum, New Delhi and Shiva Pathak & Raabiya Jayaram from Attakkalari, Bangalore to attend the Swiss Dance Days scheduled to be held in Basel, Switzerland.
Writer in residence, Ruchir Joshi at iaab, Basel
Indian writer, Ruchir Joshi will be going for a writing residency to IAAB Basel as part of the Writer in Residence exchange programme.
Indian writer, Ruchir Joshi will go for a writing residency to IAAB Basel for 3 months as part of the pilot project of the Writer in Residence exchange programme between Pro Helvetia New Delhi and IAAB, Christoph Merian Stiftung.
Swiss Film at Fanatika International Documentary Festival
I love me - Actress with Down’s Syndrom by Andrea Pfalzgraf will be screened in Ahmedabad and Vadodara as part of the Fanatika International Theatre Documentary Festival.
I love me - Actress with Down’s Syndrom by Andrea Pfalzgraf will be screened in Ahmedabad and Vadodara as part of the Fanatika International Theatre Documentary Festival.
I Love Me – Actress with Down’s Syndrom by Andrea Pfalzgraf
Country: Switzerland
Language: Swiss German
Training a woman with Down’s syndrome to be an actress? To be honest, I did not think it would really be possible. However, I grew curious when Zurich’s HORA Theatre (established by the Züriwerk Foundation) offered precisely this kind of course. It opened up a whole new world to me, thanks to then 18-year-old Julia Häusermann. She had just enrolled in this course in the summer of 2010.
One might think that shooting a film with a mentally handicapped protagonist is risky. It isn’t, though. It is, very simply, a gift. Julia taught me to live more in the present instead of always thinking about yesterday or tomorrow and, as a result, maybe forgetting about the now. This is the way Julia lives.
It took me while, however, to realize this. When we had our first interview I felt that our conversation was fun and going well. Suddenly she burst into bitter tears. I was at a loss, and the cameraman and I looked at each other in confusion. Concerned, I asked her what was wrong. “I was just remembering that Michael Jackson’s died,” the young woman sobbed in despair, tears spurting almost horizontally from her usually cheerful eyes.
When I pointed out that we were talking about her and that she was basically in good spirits, she suddenly smiled, and her misery was forgotten. That is typical of people with Down’s syndrome. It’s the moment that counts and the moment is always real, for better or worse. That’s something we experienced time and again over the past two years.
by Andrea Pfalzgraf
Hans Koch performs at Sound Reasons
An evening of live electronic music by Swiss musician Hans Koch and Ish S. The evening will feature collaborations and solo performances (edGeCut | diFfuSed beats).
An evening of live electronic music by Swiss musician Hans Koch and Ish S. The evening will feature collaborations and solo performances (edGeCut | diFfuSed beats).
Sound Reasons Festival (Live)
An evening of live electronic music by Hans Koch and Ish S as a part of the 'Sound Reasons Festival'. The evening will feature collaborations and solo performances by Hans Koch and Ish S(edGeCut | diFfuSed beats). They will be improvising live in a solo/ duo and also re-interpreting works by difFuSed beats and edGeCut.
| Hans Koch| diFfuSed Beats | edGeCut | Ish S |
3 February I 7 pm onwards I Devi Art Foundation, Sirpur House Gurgaon
'Sound Reasons' via this festival and various other productions will be trying to promote the contemporary transcultural strain of international electronic music and sound art in India by expanding awareness among the audience. As a part of a multidisciplinary domain for sound art and experimental electronic music - our objective at 'Sound Reasons' is to create Installations, Concerts/ Live performances along with workshops. There are various other Sound-installations and performances happening all over the City in the month of November. Please check soundreasons.in for more details and Dates plus info on other Performances
HANS KOCH
Hailing from Biel, reeds player Hans Koch has been a constant presence among improvised music’s global cream of the crop for over thirty years. Dropping a successful career as a classical clarinetist in mid-1970s Switzerland, he went ever further ahead on the path of improvisation, first exploring jazz-based idioms before venturing into more abstract forms of musical expression.
He has been working with everyone from Cecil Taylor to Fred Frith since the eighties. As a composer he has shaped the sound of Koch-Schütz-Studer since the beginning as well as working for radio-plays and film. Since the nineties he has been working with electronics as an extension of the saxes/clarinets as well as with sampling/sequencing. As a reed-player he is always working on his very own vocabulary and sound, which makes him a very unique voice on the actual scene. As we reach the end of the 2000s, Hans Koch stands as one of the foremost proponents of European improvisation, while still churning out some of the most explosive tunes around within the revered flagship of on-edge Swiss music, the Koch-Schuetz-Studer Trio. Instead of releases on prestigious labels like Intakt and ECM Koch has also been a pioneer in integrating electronic tools into his live performances, often using his laptop and software such as Max MSP to add unexpected twists and turns to his flights on the saxophone and the clarinet.
MORE: KOCH-SCHUETZ-STUDER INTAKT RECORDS
|edGeCut | diFfuSed beats | Ish S
edGeCt is a electro Acoustic project by Ish S (Sound Reasons). The music can be described as a mixture of acoustic compositions arranged with synthetic electronic sounds that build crystalline shimmering layered music and sonic spaces. These live sets have their share of acoustic instrumentation ranging from Guitar and vocals to flute and percussions. Ish has studied Western Classical guitar and then moved into Latin American and Jazz music. These Influences and those of electronic music can be heard in the edGeCut ‘live sets’He has performed at the elecktron @ Fete De la Musiqe’ in Geneva, Art Basel and at F+F Schule fur Kunst und Medien Design in Zurich. Ish has installed sound as a solo Artist and in collaboration in the Action field Kodra, Greece / London College of Communication, London / Sarai-CSDS / Project 88, Mumbai etc Ish Shehrawat is a Composer,Guitar Player, sound artist and Producer from Delhi. He currently produces and composes music under 3 different projects, that are edGeCut, 4th World Orchestra and diFfuSeD beats (diF).
Swiss presence at India Art Fair 2013
Pro Helvetia presents Swiss video artists at the Video Lounge of the India Art Fair. The screening has been put together by Indian curators who were mentored by the Swiss curator, Mirjam Varadinis.
Pro Helvetia presents Swiss video artists at the Video Lounge of the India Art Fair. The screening has been put together by Avijna Bhattacharya and Rikimi Madhukaillya from India who have been mentored by the Swiss curator, Mirjam Varadinis.
Like the previous Edition, the 5th Edition of India Art Fair will host an exclusive Video Lounge where the visitors will have the opportunity to view video art by established and emerging artists from India and around the world.
CURATED WALKS AT INDIA ART FAIR
India Art Fair 2013 has organised a range of curated walks for visitors. Individuals or groups will have the opportunity to explore the diverse art on display with students of art history. Swiss Curator, Mirjam Varadinis will be mentoring the students, and leading the Curated Walks Programme, supported by Pro Helvetia New Delhi.
Dates : 1st, 2nd and 3rd February 2013
Timings : 2:30, 4:00 and 5:30 pm Meeting Point : Information Desk
Mirjam Varadinis
Mirjam Varadinis is an art historian, curator and writer based in Zürich, Switzerland. She has been a curator at Kunsthaus Zürich for the past ten years. Responsible for contemporary art at the Kunsthaus, Mirjam has curated many exhibitions including Aleksandra Mir: Switzerland and Other Islands (2006), Shifting Identities (2008), and Motion Picture(s) (2010). Mirjam has also co-curated the exhibition Broken Lines as a part of the annual art festival ‘Printemps de Septembre’ (2006) in Toulouse, France. She has edited ‘Parkett: 20 Years of Artists’ Collaborations’. As a curator she has many solo exhibitions to her credit, such as those of Rosa Barba, Adrian Paci, Mircea Cantor, Runa Islam, Tino Sehgal, Erik van Lieshout, Aleksandra Mir, Nedko Solakov, Urs Fischer, David Shrigley to name a few. In 2012, she co-curated ‘TRACK’ in Ghent (Belgium), together with Philippe Van Cauteren. In 2005 she launched the internet-platform www.azple.com in collaboration with Annie Wu.
Mirjam Varadinis is in India as the international jury member of the SKODA PRIZE 2012.
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Rikimi Madhukaillya is an independent curator and art writer. She has been researching on Modern and contemporary indian art with a focus of North eastern states. Worked with National Gallery of Modern Art and Osians- Connoisseur of Arts apart from the other activities. She has been teaching in various art institutes for the last couple of years. Currently she is an Asst. Professor at the Dept of Fine Arts, Kurukshetra University.
Avijna Bhattacharya is a freelance art writer, curator and observer currently working from Kolkata. Her involution with contemporary art began with her art schooling in Kala,bhavana , Santiniketan and Faculty of Fine Arts Baroda between the years 1998-2005, her observations and studies has been evolving ever since. Along with imagining curations, Avijna enjoys writing on art the most amid the miscellany of activities within and around the art world she has been involved in. She has been contributing articles, reviews and essays in exhibition catalogues and art magazines based in New Delhi and Kolkata since 2007.
Swiss writer, Dorothee Elmiger ’s India visit
Swiss author, Dorothee Elmiger to participate in the Hyderabad Literary Festival, Hyderabad; Long Night of Literature, New Delhi; Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2013 and for a reading at the Pune University, Pune.
Pro Helvetia New Delhi has invited Swiss author, Dorothee Elmiger to participate in the Hyderabad Literary Festival, Hyderabad; Long Night of Literature, New Delhi; Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2013 and for a reading at the Pune University, Pune.
Accompanying Dorothee Elmiger are German writers Inka Parei, Katy Derbyshire and Theresa Hahl
Programme: Hyderabad Literary Festival, Hyderabad Date: Sunday 20 January 2013 Venue: Taramati Baradari, Hyderabad Event Details: Panel discussion and reading
Swiss writer Dorothee Elmiger has been invited by the Hyderabad Literary Festival to participate in a panel discussion and read from her works. Hyderabad plays host for the third time to writers from across the world, and the festival offers a unique opportunity for lovers of literature to listen to and interact with some of the best writers, established and upcoming. During the festival talks and discussion readings with Indian and German speaking authors will take place. Entry: Festival rules apply
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Dorothee Elmiger Dorothee Elmiger, born 1985 in Switzerland, studied at the Swiss Institute of Literature in Biel (Switzerland) as well as in Leipzig and Berlin. Her debut novel "Einladung an die Waghalsigen" (Invitation to the Bold of Heart) won several prizes, including the Aspekte Literature Prize 2010 for the best German debut prose. Dorothee Elmiger has published in several literary magazines and newspapers and was a resident fellow at the Villa Aurora, Los Angeles in 2012. Dorothee Elmiger lives and works in Switzerland.
PARALLEL FOCUS – the Shopping Mall
PARALLEL CITIES DELHI 2013 and TIME OUT DELHI present PARALLEL FOCUS – the Shopping Mall, a Parallel Cities - Time Out Delhi Photo Exhibition.
PARALLEL CITIES DELHI 2013 and TIME OUT DELHI
in collaboration with Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan and Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council present PARALLEL FOCUS
– the Shopping Mall a Parallel Cities - Time Out Delhi Photo Exhibition
11 January 2013 - 15 January 2013 10 am to 7 pm daily at Siddhartha Hall, Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, 3, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi
An extension of PARALLEL CITIES DELHI 2013, the exhibition showcases photographs of a mall submitted by professional and amateur photographers & selected by Devika Daulet-Singh, Director PHOTOINK.
Featured photographers: Alexander Hahn, Amit Bhatia, Anil Cherukupalli, Anurag Sharma & Anush Singh, Imran Ahmed, Javier Marquerie Thomas, Julia Gutge, Kameshwar Tangirala, Karolina Gembara, Kishore Sali, Mahfuzul Hasan, Riddhi Narayan Nandy, Rohan Shah, Sachin Bharti, Sandeep Biswas, Shaheen Ahmed, Shamsher Ali, Soumita Bhattacharya, Sunanda Khajuria, Tania Sen, Tania Talwar and Udit Kulshrestha.
PARALLEL FOCUS INFORMATION FLYER
Gilles Aubry at Carnival of e-Creativity (CeC 2013)
Swiss artist-in-residence Gilles Aubry will particpate at the 8th annual Carnival of e-Creativity (CeC 2013).
Swiss artist-in-residence Gilles Aubry will particpate at the 8th annual Carnival of e-Creativity (CeC 2013) scheduled to take place in Bhimtal in the Himalayan Indian state of Uttarakhand.
Gilles Aubry, a Berlin based sound artist is currently on a studio residency in Mumbai, India.
Dates: 7 January- 27 March 2013
Studios:
Cona Studio, Mumbai: 7 January- 16 February
New Delhi residency: 16 February- 27 March
Gilles will work and research related to movie soundtracks (Bollywood and independent), do field recordings to get familiar with the (mostly urban) Indian context and in particular its musical and auditory culture, listening and recording in the city's public space, as well as networking with local artists.
Gilles will be making a presentation at the 8th annual Carnival of e-Creativity (CeC 2013).
Long Night of Literature 2013
A literary evening of contemporary writing in German, Long Night of Literature is jointly hosted by the German Book Office, Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan and Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council.
A literary evening of contemporary writing in German, Long Night of Literature is jointly hosted by the German Book Office, Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan and Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council. Moderated by the author Veena Venugopal, this event of prose and poetry includes conversations and readings from books by German and Swiss authors.
Friday 18 January 2013, 6 pm Siddhartha Hall, Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, 3, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110001
SCHEDULE
6:30 pm Welcome by Veena Venugopal
6:45 pm Live performance - Theresa Hahl
7:00 pm Dorothee Elmiger with Dr Rekha Kamath
7:45 pm Inka Parei with Dr Jyoti Sabharwal
8:30 pm Break
9:00 pm Katy Derbyshire with Akshay Pathak
9:30 pm Live performance - Theresa Hahl
The programme will be in German and English and is open to all.
THE AUTHORS
Dorothee Elmiger
Dorothee Elmiger, born 1985 in Switzerland, studied at the Swiss Institute of Literature in Biel (Switzerland) as well as in Leipzig and Berlin. Her debut novel "Einladung an die Waghalsigen" (Invitation to the Bold of Heart) won several prizes, including the Aspekte Literature Prize 2010 for the best German debut prose. Dorothee Elmiger has published in several literary magazines and newspapers and was a resident fellow at the Villa Aurora, Los Angeles in 2012. Dorothee Elmiger lives and works in Switzerland. Moderated by Dr Rekha Kamath,Professor, Centre for German Studies, School of Language, Literature & Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
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Katy Derbyshire
Katy Derbyshire is a London-born literary translator who has been in Berlin since 1996. She translates various contemporary German and Swiss writers, including Inka Parei and Dorothee Elmiger, Clemens Meyer, Simon Urban, Helene Hegemann, Sibylle Lewitscharoff and Tilman Rammstedt. Katy writes a blog about German- language literature by the name of love german books. Moderated by Akshay Pathak, reader, writer, translator and theatre enthusiast
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MODERATOR FOR THE EVENING Veena Venugopal is an MBA from S P Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, who gave up a promising career in mergers and acquisitions to be a poorly paid journalist. She is the author of Would You Like Some Bread With that Book? a collection of 14 essays on books and reading published by Yoda Press in May 2012. Her next book will be published by Penguin in 2014. She lives in Delhi.
Cindy Van Acker presents LANX AND OBTUS
Pro Helvetia New Delhi presents LANX and OBTUS by Swiss dancer and choreographer, Cindy Van Acker in Mumbai in partnership with Indian Council for Cultural Relations and in Bangalore as part of the Attakkalari Biennial.
Cindy Van Acker presents LANX AND OBTUS Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council in partnership with Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Mumbai & Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, Bangalore presents LANX AND OBTUS by Cindy Van Acker
Schedule:
Mumbai: Tuesday 29 & Wednesday 30 January 2013 at 7 pm
Venue: St Andrews Auditoruim, Bandra
Bangalore: Saturday 2 & Sunday 3 February 2013 at 7 pm Venue: ADA Ranga Mandira Auditorium as part of the Attakkalari Biennial
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LANX
In Lanx, a continuous current circulates between the body and the geometrical motifs that encircle it. Balancing on the lines, unfolding its sides, its ridges, its angles, playing with perspectives that continually renew themselves, the body sounds out its capacity to inscribe forms in a predetermined space. Transforming itself as if it were under the effect of an optical illusion, the décor starts to vibrate, to transform itself.
Creation 2008 /
Length : 26 minutes
Choreography and dance : Cindy Van Acker
Sound composition: Mika Vainio and Denis Rollet
Scenography : Line Fontana, Cindy Van Acker Light : Luc Gendroz Realisation scenography and technical direction : Victor Roy Costume : Aline Courvoisier Administration and promotion : Tutu Production Production : Cie Greffe
Intermission for stage change : 20 minutes
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OBTUS
It all begins with a hand. Two arms follow that speak of flying, head down. Tamara Bacci has taken off into Obtus, a solo that carries its name well as the dancer begins a persistent exploration of a ray of light. Meditative gestures, slow, continuous movements, a body in peril which finds its most beautiful expressions when equilibrium is pushed to its limits. The dancer moves with exquisite precision and sensitivity, playing with a ramp of neon lights making parts or all of her body disappear. The lighting designer Luc Gendroz has created a work of volume and substance, which unsettles our perception of depth producing floating effects and playing with disappearance into the dark. Transported by light and sound, the choreographic material refuses to be pinned down in order to float, thereby toppling the perceptions of the spectator who, as if under a spell, links the consciousness of his own body to the body of the dancer.
Creation 2009
Length : 35 minutes
Choreography : Cindy Van Acker Interpretation : Tamara Bacci Sound composition: Mika Vainio and Denis Rollet Light and scenography : Luc Gendroz, Victor Roy, Cindy Van Acker Costume : Aline Courvoisier Technical direction: Victor Roy Administration and promotion : Tutu Production Production : Cie Greffe Coproduction: La Bâtie – Festival de Genève ------------
Compagnie Greffe benefits from a joint funding agreement from the Ville de Genève, Canton de Genève and Pro Helvetia. Supported by Loterie Romande.
For information on Compagnie Greffe: www.ciegreffe.org
Cindy Van Acker, choreographer and dancer Trained in classical ballet, Cindy Van Acker first worked in the Flanders Royal Ballet, Belgium. After joining Geneva’s Grand Theatre, she decided to settle in the city. Interested in the opportunity that modern dance offers for experimentation, she began creating her own pieces in 1994, and launched an international career with Corps 00:00 at the Geneva ADC in 2002. In 2003, Cindy Van Acker created two other solos, Fractie and Balk 00:49. In 2005, Italian director Romeo Castellucci chose Van Acker to represent Switzerland at the Venice Biennial. This first meeting then developed into an artistic collaboration with Castellucci, who suggested that she create the choreographic part of his production of Dante’s Inferno for the 2008 edition of the Avignon Festival, and for Parsifal, which he presented at La Monnaie in January 2011. In 2007, Kernel provided an opportunity for an unusual and stimulating collaboration with Finnish composer Mika Vainio of the Pan Sonic group which created and played the performance’s musical score. This experience continued with the creation of the sound effects for three solos produced between 2008 and 2009, Lanx, Nixe and Obtus. Obvie, Antre and Nodal completed this series of six solos and the same number of films directed by Orsola Valenti. Cindy Van Acker also ran courses in movement for student actors at Manufacture, Lausanne’s Theatre School, from 2006 to 2009. After the six solos, she created a group piece for 6 dancers called Diffraction in 2011. Her choreographic scripting, which allies aesthetic gravity, minimalist movement, precise composition and electronic music, allows Cindy Van Acker to examine the connections between body and spirit, sound and rhythm with almost scientific precision, and to create works that cross the barriers between dance, performance and the plastic arts.
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Tamara Bacci, dancer (Obtus)
Tamara Bacci studied classical ballet and contemporary dance at the Ecole de Danse de Genève and was part of the Junior Ballet directed by Beatriz Consuelo. She began her professional career at the age of 17 and a half at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, then at the Bejart Ballet Lausanne and continued in the neo-classical register within the Linga Company in Lausanne. In 2003, she crossed the path of Foofwa d'Immobilité, then Ken Ossola, Cindy Van Acker, Thomas Lebrun, Gilles Jobin, Cie Quivala and Estelle Héritier. In 2008, Claude Ratzé, director of the ADC Theatre in Geneva, gave her carte blanche to choose three choreographers. She then performed choreographies by Juan Dominguez, Ken Ossola and Cindy Van Acker. Since 2005, a particular artistic affinity built up between Tamara Bacci and the Flemish choreographer Cindy Van Acker. The choreographer allowed Tamara Bacci to assist her, notably, for the choreographical creation she realised for Inferno, invited by Romeo Castellucci and also Parsifal, created by the Italian director for the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels in 2011. In this latter piece, she also performed as a dancer. In 2010, Pascal Rambert, author, stage director and head of the Théâtre de Gennevilliers, asked her to be the performer of a solo that he wanted to create for her: Knocking on heaven's door. She collaborated on Déproduction, in 2011, a piece created by the Franco/Swiss choreographer, Perrine Valli. In May 2012, she began a first research work with the stage director Guillaume Béguin in Lausanne. She conceived a project in collaboration with Marthe Krummenacher and Perrine Valli, Laissez moi danser, that will be shown in April 2013 at the ADC in Geneva. As a pedagogue, Tamara Bacci teaches regularly at the Junior Ballet in Geneva, occasionally in Lausanne and at the Conservatory of Geneva.
For more information please visit: www.ciegreffe.org
Organiser/ Partner in India: Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Mumbai Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, Bangalore Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council
Press Mention:
Asian Age
