Serendipity art fest switches to digital

In line with cultural festivals shifting base to the virtual format, Delhi-based Serendipity Arts Foundation too has launched a new digital experience called SA Virtual.

Spread across two weeks, SA Virtual is free for anyone who registers, and will feature curated projects, performances, workshops, talks, initiatives and art discourses.

About the project, Smriti Rajgarhia, Director Serendipity Arts Foundation, said, “The pandemic has given us the opportunity to find new avenues and formats for the arts, and an effective way to create greater impact through the power of the Internet, reaching out to new audiences. We have attempted to use the Internet as our ‘site’ for artistic journeys, taking it beyond its everyday use.”

One highlight from the performances is My Story | Your Story | Our Story, curated by Anmol Vellani centering on two performances — in live and recorded medium, and an unfinished story.

Another, The Last Poet, is being curated by Delhi-based artist and curator Amitesh Grover, as a multi-layered art form with theatre, film, sound art, creative coding, digital scenography, and live performance — to be navigated by visitors as rooms and doors leading to experiences. 

Inclusivity also takes centrestage with artisan workshops for Phad, Madhubani and Gond paintings, illuminating the tribal offerings from regional art stages in India. Scroll painting, sanjhi paper cutting, DIY sensory engagement activities, kite making, and so on are planned alongside other activities.

“The pandemic has caused major shifts in our outlook of life and its engagement with the arts,” said Shefali Munjal, Patron, Serendipity Arts Foundation.

“So, this year, we have reimagined our initiatives, to explore arts outreach options that could go beyond the physical formats.”