Serendipity Arts Festival 2023 Unveils Video Campaign

Serendipity Arts Festival 2023 has unveiled a video that captures the spirit of the multidisciplinary festival scheduled between the 15th to the 23rd of December in Panjim, Goa. The video montage sets the tone for the sixth edition as it takes viewers on a visual journey of the coming together of people, craft, and creativity. In addition, the festival has also initiated a multi-city campaign #BeyondSerendipity.

This year, the programmes will unfold in 16 venues across the city, including important cultural spaces such as Nagalli Hills Ground, the PWD Complex, Old GMC, and the Art Park, among others.

The craft section will be curated by Sandeep Kumar Sangaru and Anjana Somany. Quasar Thakore Padamsee, who curated last year’s theatre section, is back to helm theatrical performances. Chef Thomas Zacharias and The Locavore Team will take visitors through a gastronomical journey.

“Over the years, Serendipity Arts Festival has consistently pushed the boundaries of creativity, imagination, and skill. It has fostered collaborations between and across art forms, and many of these go well beyond conventional templates. The Festival has emerged as a dynamic forum for ideas and cross-collaborative work in South Asia and other parts of the world, thriving in an atmosphere of inclusivity, acceptance, and togetherness,” says Sunil Kant Munjal, the Founder and Patron of the Serendipity Arts Foundation.

The Music section will be curated by Bickram Ghosh and Ricky Kej, offering an array of concerts spanning diverse genres. Geeta Chandran and Mayuri Upadhya will be curating a blend of classical, experimental, and contemporary dance performances, complemented by engaging workshops. Veeranganakumari Solanki and Vidya Shivadas, are the curators for the Visual Arts section of this edition.

The 6th edition of the festival will also feature a set of special curators including Zubin Balaporia (Music), Vikram Iyengar (Dance), Elizabeth Yorke & Anusha Murthy with Edible Issues, will be the special curators for culinary arts, while Bhagyashree Patwardhan will return to curate a project around a sustainable Goan market. 

The #BeyondSerendipity initiative will kickstart in Pondicherry with a musical performance by Mir Mukhtiyar Ali on September 2, 2023, at the Ratan Tata Koothu Kovil, Adishakti Theatre. 

“With the Beyond Serendipity campaign, we are expanding our horizons and bringing the festival closer to new audiences. Each city becomes a chapter in our story, where people from all walks of life can gather, engage, and connect through the universal language of art,” says Ms. Smriti Rajgarhia, Director, Serendipity Arts Foundation & Festival.

The SAF’s annual three-month artist residency in New Delhi seeks to provide its residents with space and resources to develop their practice, work on a new project, and interact with the broader art community in the capital. The curtains to the ongoing residency will come down in September end and the residency will conclude with a showcase of these new works in an open studio format on 6th October 2023.

Registrations for the festival are open to the public on the website on August 26. The nine-day festival will feature a few ticketed performances, owing to the projects/performance spaces having limited seating. Art enthusiasts can register for the festival to gain access to all events, workshops, and performances. The registrations for the ticketed performances will open in October.