In Between – within the vacuum of space, we find presence in multitudes, an exhibition showcasing the individual and collaborative works of Sunaparanta’s mentees gets underway tomorrow, June 28, 2023, at the Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts, at Altinho, in Panjim, at 6.30 pm. The exhibition -- part of edition two of Sunaparanta Art Initiator Lab (SAIL) -- will continue until July 15, 2023, from Monday to Saturday, from 10 am to 6.30 pm.
In Between... is a culmination of this programme in which Goa-based creative practitioners underwent a process of developing their skills, aesthetics and an understanding of the professional cultural world under the lead mentorship of art historian Lina Vincent and structured guidance from sessions with invited external domain experts.
The exhibition showcases work-in-progress research and art projects developed by the participants of the programme.
The narrative structure that brings the different projects together focuses on liminality and its exploration within the experience of identity and belonging, place and space, time and its absence.
The participants present stories of the self and the other; they create montages of land, urban space and human politics, and some invite viewers into contemplation of nothingness – within and without. In this amorphousness of the “in-between”, the artists together create form, through their own living, their work and expressions.
SAIL offers mentees from various creative fields a space for sharing experiences, exchanging ideas, learning, and un-learning. The programme has been influential in understanding the crux of what a creative person can do, the different tools available at their disposal, and many other practical and knowledge-based aspects of working and engaging with the community.
With numerous possibilities opened out to them and a multidisciplinary approach, this group has redefined what an exhibition display should be.
In their collaborative journeys, the practitioners create an assemblage of stories by building fresh connections with their own and others’ practices.
Their exchange of knowledge, respective backgrounds and personal experiences alongside workshops and interactions with resident artists, facilitated by Sunaparanta, have contributed to their work (in progress) and placed them at the threshold of new beginnings.
“We see it as the unfolding of our collective consciousness, through our individual disciplines as the mediums, realising infinite possibilities of interpreting what the spaces in between the lines read, gliding our steps through a fluid staircase,” said the candidates of Edition 2 SAIL.
Sunaparanta Art Initiator Lab (SAIL) is Sunaparanta’s 10-month mentorship programme for creative practitioners, launched in June 2021. Developed and led by art historian Lina Vincent, SAIL offered an innovative curriculum that addresses the multi-layered needs of contemporary cultural producers.
The second edition attracted creative professionals from various streams that include visual artists, graphic designers, educators, filmmakers, photographers and performance artists from theatre and dance backgrounds.
Twelve to fifteen professionals are annually selected to enter the programme that refines their practices through innovative learning (and un-learning) methodologies.
SAIL is directed towards building a more vibrant and collaborative community by enabling mentees to connect with diverse practical and theoretical resources within the local (and national) context, equipping them with the tools necessary to enter and thrive in a challenging and constantly evolving cultural ecosystem.
Among the presenting artists are Antara Majumdar, a contemporary dancer and choreographer with a background in philosophy and contemporary dance; Anup Anand Naik is a visual art practitioner who playfully traverses metaphors and references from semiotics, pop-culture and nostalgia, venturing through multiple disciplines and mediums; Dattaraj Naik is a multidisciplinary visual artist, muralist and an art educator based in Goa, and his art practice largely deals with finding different ways of convenient communication, using simple visual languages; Satyam Malhar belongs to a farming community of Sawantwadi and is currently visually translating his experiences on the farm.
Divesh Gadekar, Manashri Pai Dukle, Priyanka Mishra, Ramona Dias, Sanayvi Naik, Shivranjana Rathore and Utpal Chakravarty make up the rest of the mentees of Edition Two of Sunaparanta Art Initiator Lab.
DETAILS
WHAT: IN BETWEEN – within the vacuum of space, we find presence in multitudes
EXHIBITION OPENING: Wednesday, June 28, 2023|6.30 pm
WHEN: June 28 – July 15, 2023|Monday to Saturday|10 am to 6.30 pm