FESTIVAL ROUND-UP
view to galvanise the creative community of Goa and present a common platform for Goa based artists. The focus of the initiative is on promoting new work, artistic freedom and experimentation. With all participating talent located within Goa, the long term interest is to build interactions within the community, foster collaborations, invigorate artistic productivity and further the cause of art. The first edition of the festival was held from February 13-16, 2020. An Open Call was given inviting Goa based artists to send proposals from which a wide range of established as well as emerging artists were selected to participate in the event. Visual artists, poets, chefs, musicians, designers, film makers and performers came together at one venue, on a single platform to present their work. The event was financed by raising funds and support from business as well as individual donors who gave generously, believing this was an initiative that deserved attention. The organising committee comprised the co-founders, Prashant Panjiar and Gopika Chowfla, and Diptej Verneker, Gurpreet Sidhu and Sitara Chowfla. The festival proved to be a truly open and inclusive, community oriented, artist driven event which not only showcased new talent but also brought in new audiences who may not have ordinarily visited shows such as this one.
Introduction
The GOA OPEN ARTS festival is a multi-disciplinary programme conceptualised with a
At a Glance
The first edition of the Goa Open arts festival
Aadhi Vishal
was held at Don Joao Heritage House &
Adrien Roche
Lawns, Nagoa. This beautiful venue, well
Alakananda Nag
located in the heart of Bardez, afforded the
Alvaro Pinto Furtado
perfect setting for the event with its variety
Aradhana Seth
of indoor and outdoor spaces.
Arundhati Chattopadhyay Ashish Phaldesai
The festival programme included:
Ayesha Seth Sen
Creative Workshops for Children:
Bharat Sikka
Clay, theatre and printmaking workshops
Bharath Ramamrutham
were conducted for children from
Bhisaji Gadekar
Government schools of Mapusa, Porvorim,
Bianca Ballantyne
Guirim and Verem, giving hands-on
Conrad Pinto
learning experiences. These were led by our
Cunteshwari Collective
participating artists.
Dheer Kaku Dhiraj Pednekar Diptej Verneker
The festival showcased artists working across
Edible Archives
diverse practices - from performance art, textiles, video to culinary and installation art. The exhibits were interestingly displayed across the venue in the Art Pavilion, the Garden Galleries, the Heritage House and in the outdoor spaces of the Art Lawns.
PARTICIPANTS
Visual Arts Exhibition:
Exoticdirtbag Flyin’ Munki Gaurang Naik Gopika Chowfla Govez Hawa Impana Kulkarni
Music & Dance Performances: These took place on the Main Stage every evening under the stars, showcasing original work of Goa-based artistes and featured a diversity of musical styles from fado, jazz, electronic, as well as dance.
Isa Hinojosa Kausalya Gadekar Leticia Alvares Madhavi Gore Manashri Dukle Mann Mela Meesha Holley
Live Sessions: The interactive spaces within the festival came alive with poetry readings, live art sessions and expressive art workshops.
Mustafa Khanbhai Nandita Kumar Narayan Vernekar Nikhil Chopra Nimmy Joshi
Food Waddo: Food and beverage stalls serving up a range of craft beers, artisanal gelato and cuisine from Goa and beyond created a festive atmosphere as the sun set.
Nishant Saldanha Okedo & King Prawns Orijit Sen
Pakhi Sen & Renuka Figueiredo Pragya Bhagat Prashant Nageshkar Prashant Panjiar Priyal Woodpecker Priyanka Mishra Rai Rajendra Mardolkar Rajaram Naik Rajeshree Thakker & Salil Chaturvedi Ramdas Gadekar Raviraj Naik Rochelle Dsilva Rujuta Rao Ryan Abreu Samuel Ferreira Sanayvi Naik Shido & Cordy Shilpa Mayenkar Shyamant Behal Siddharth Gosavi Sonia Shirsat Sripad Gurav Subodh Kerkar Sushila Mendonca Swapnesh Vaigankar Tanushree Das The Coffee Cats Thomas Louis Travelling Library by Bookworm Tritha Sinha Valerie D’Silva Viraj Naik Walter D’Souza
In Numbers
4 55 28 2 4 3 6 45 3 50 2500 20 5 It was a
day celebration of creativity
artists exhibited their work
musicians and
dancers took the stage
poets spoke their piece
interactive installations
engaged minds and hearts
children and
teachers from Government Schools took part in
creative workshops
donors supported the festival financially
people walked through the gates
volunteers kept the machine moving
organisers made it all happen
IN PICTURES
WHAT THEY SAID
It was a pleasure to see a festival that seemed like it naturally belonged in Goa. It served as a great platform for artists from Goa (or those who had a strong connect with Goa) coming together organically and displaying their various practices across media. Going forward, as the festival progresses it would be nice to see an evolution where a singular theme emerges that artists respond to or incorporate into their practices so that we might be able to see original works that showcase their talent in a unique manner. Isheta Salgaocar, Sunaparanta - Goa Centre for the Arts
It’s incredible to see young practitioners of various fields and established artists displaying together in the same space, it’s created an energy that I think is very warm and welcoming for the viewers! Pakhi Sen & Renuka Figueiredo, participating artists
The design and execution have been great. It feels like a serious and professional approach to art - and it’s also giving artists a space to sell their work. Madhavi Gore, participating artist
Absolutely delighted that finally we have an arts festival in Goa, which is just about
artists living in Goa, with Goan artists in the selection committee, determining what they want the festival to be!!! I cringe when I hear about festivals/biennales/ exhibitions that parachute in, with their own artists and even audiences, using Goa as a backdrop, completely disregarding local artists and or even the issues and needs of the place…Full support to you. Dayanita Singh, Artist-photographer
It’s been a great experience working with the team they have a lot of respect for each artist! Rujuta Rao, participating artist The festival has been very nice - beautifully organised! It’s nice to see the mix of Goan people and the people like me who choose to live in Goa. Shido, participating video artist
As far as I’m concerned, we’re very excited about trying to make Goa a cultural hub... It feels like the last really liberal corner left in the subcontinent. Nikhil Chopra, participating performance artist
IN THE MEDIA Audiences were in for a treat.... During the festival days the place was abuzz with workshops, performances, exhibitions amd interactive installations. With the Goa Open arts festival being the leatest entrant in Goa’s creative scene, one definitely looks forward to subsequent editions of this celebration of the arts. Analie Gracias, Goa Today
Almost every participating artist was present to talk about their work. Thus, instead of being guided by curatorial preoccupations, visitors experienced a constellation of conversations. The discursive element was perfectly suited to Goa, where pleasant social intercourse is a bedrock cultural value. You wandered, took long pauses to absorb appreciatively, then connected directly with the creative soul whose work was on display. The cumulative effect was utterly delightful. Vivek Menezes, LiveMint
As the Goa Open Arts Festival closes after 4 days of a splurge of colours and creativity there are cravings. For more. For an encore. Deepa George, Café Herald
Goa has certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ which has long beckoned artists from an assortment of genres... Goa has been described as a hub for creative work or the arts. It is casually said that one may find at least one artist or one musician in every second house in Goa. Taking a cue from here is the Goa Open Arts festival a festival of creativity made in Goa. Christine Machado, GT Weekender
The festival is an addition to Goa’s cultural calendar and will contribute towards establishing Goa an artistic hub of India NT Buzz, Navhind Times
IMPACT
The Goa Open Arts festival in its first edition was able to create a convergence of several artists from different backgrounds, practices and levels of experience on one platform. The festival opened a dialogue between Goa based artists, fostered a sense of belonging and generated great enthusiasm within the creative as well as the larger community. The format of a single venue with interactive spaces and multiple activities taking place simultaneously was very well received by the visitors. It also proved to be a great way to bring in a diverse audience to engage with and appreciate art. By including programmes for children from government schools as well as differently abled children led by Access For All, the festival further extended its reach in making the event more meaningful.
SUSTAINABILITY Every effort was made to keep the festival as eco-responsible as possible by using
environmentally sustainable materials and minimising waste. A lot of the material used for the exhibition structure was recycled, all signages were printed on sun fabric with ecosolvent inks making them 100% recyclable. Moreover, these will be converted into bags by one of the festival participants. Maximum publicity was in the digital format, reducing printing and the use of paper. All the food and beverage vendors were guided to employ a zero-plastic policy and use only natural materials for serving. Our sustainability effort was supported by Vianaar.
ARTWORK SALES In addition to galvanising the creative community in Goa, one of the important aims of
the Goa Open Arts festival was to be promote sale of artwork. The festival was successful in interfacing with buyers and a notable number of artworks were sold. This was an encouraging trend and we hope to be able to reach out to a larger buying audience in future editions of the festival.
EMPLOYMENT
The festival also succeeded in generating employment and revenue for non-stakeholders. A number of youth for whom a cultural event like this was an inspiring and instructional experience came on board as paid volunteers. Besides engaging a large number of skilled production workers and technicians, the event created business for local restaurateurs and vendors.
THANK YOU
The Goa Open Arts festival could not have been possible without the generous and
unquestioning support of our donors and partners. We thank you all, including all the art loving supporters around the world who gave generously through our crowd funding effort.
Donors:
Partners:
positive feedback we have received, the Open Arts Initiative is enthused about venturing towards the second edition of the festival in 2021. Going forward, from our learnings we will incorporate the elements that made this festival work and modify what needs to be changed and improved upon. We hope to expand the footprint of the festival by attracting more of the creative talent in Goa. We will also reach out to art institutions and foundations within and beyond the state to create a larger platform, however in doing so we will remain true to building on the spirit of inclusiveness that we set out to achieve with the Goa Open Arts festival. We look forward to the same enthusiasm and support from the arts community, donors, partners and volunteers that made this festival special.
EDITION 2
With the resounding success of the first edition of the Goa Open Arts festival and reviewing the
Organised by:
Email info@goaopenarts.com Website www.goaopenarts.com Instagram www.instagram.com/goaopenarts Facebook www.facebook.com/goaopenarts Registered Address Open Arts Initiative 782/2 Sataporio, Moira Bardez 403 507, Goa