The Goa Open Arts (GOA) Festival debuted in February 2020 and offers a platform for the creative artists of Goa. A collective of artists, curators and designers who believe that the arts play a catalytic role in the vitalisation of society and artists, through public events, grants, workshops, school interactions, residencies and more. In continuing efforts to make a positive impact and contribute to the growing art community in Goa, it announces its first Fundraiser Exhibition, organised in collaboration with Villa 259 Taproom & Eatery, Assagao.
The exhibition, from October 7 - 9, displays artwork by the older and younger genre of upcoming artists.
The artists – Aadhi Vishal, Afrah Shafiq, Aradhana Seth, Asavari Gurav, Ashish Phaldesai, Chaitali Morajkar, Conrad Pinto, Dayanita Singh, Deepak Shirodkar, Dheer Kaku, Dhiraj Pednekar, Diptej Vernekar, Francis De Sousa, Gaurang Naik, Gopika Chowfla, Gopika Nath, Ipshita Maitra, Kausalya Gadekar, Madhavi Gore, Mansi Trivedi, Minam Apang, Natalie Lycops, Nimmy Joshi, Pakhi Sen, Pradeep Naik, Prashant Panjiar, Ragini Deshpande, Ramdas Gadekar, Shailee Mehta, Shripad Gurav, Siddhesh Chari, Subodh Kerkar, Swapnesh Vaigankar, Tarini Sethi, Thomas Louis, Urna Sinha, Verodina Ferrao De Sousa, Vinita Barretto, Walter D’Souza – display two works each.
Checking out the works, you will notice the absence of portraiture, still life and landscapes.
Two young artists, Urna Sinha and Natalie Lycops, have minimistic abstracts, while Asavari Gurav and Shripad Gurav, semi-abstract portraiture. The artists of the older genre remain comfortable in their use of mediums and themes.
ARTISTS SPEAK
Explaining her concept, Urna says, “I’m interested in understanding the ethereality of our presence, tracing absence, collecting skeletal infographics dealing with day-to-day ephemeral gestures, seeking and understanding psychological boundaries.” Her work is focused between tracing the past and future, where images merge with mechanical production floating towards fantasy, gestures, events and incidents.
Asavari, an inter-disciplinary artist and performer, animates the space around, drawing inspiration from storytelling, Goan jazz and theater. Her work dwells within dream-like spaces, images and text, and embodies symbols and motifs in narratives of socio-political scenarios in an ever-changing world.
Natalie, a contemporary abstract painter and graphic designer, explores deep inner life and the complexity of relationships. Soft undertones surface through the darkness and reveal her aspiration to bring compassion into the coarseness of life.
Gurang creates art on weathered terracotta roof tiles. “I have scraped off dry algae from the tiles, deposited from years of monsoons. The catastrophic imagery brought to the surface by the frantic scratching process is not to ‘add’ to the tile, but to subtract. I endevour to evoke a sense of loss, and the catastrophe of large structures. The dichotomy between human and nature echoes in the form of elements, and speaks of time and climate change,” he elaborates.
Shripad portrays a cluster of old Portuguese and Hindu houses, fast disappearing to the growing urbanisation, as well as the dichotomies of Western attire, influenced by the Portuguese that impacted Hindu culture. His work depicts the symbolism and alignment of urbanites, which holds a nostalgic dialogue of his journey.
WHAT’S IN STORE
Paintings in mixmedia, oil, watercolour, acrylic, charcoal, pen and ink, pencil, woodcut prints, lithographs, metal, stone and ceramic sculptures will be available at an affordable price ranging from ₹ 10,000 to ₹ 4 lakh.
The weekend celebrates the best of creative talents in art, performance, music and culinary distinction, and features live music performances and special offers on food and drink.
The schedule is as follows:
Oct 7, 2022:
Private viewing by invitation only. The opening night features a private sit-down dinner from 7 pm - 12 midnight, created by Goan Master, Chef Avinash Martins, (priced at ₹ 5,000 per head), and a performance by award winner Bhisaji Gadekar.
Oct 8, 2022:
7 pm - 12 midnight: Opening Party. Live music performance by rock group Aviv Projekt.
Oct 9, 2022:
12 noon - 4 pm: Bottomless Brunch. Open to the public, priced at ₹ 3,000 per head.
The unique sounds of Sambucada, the Brazilian Samba music group will keep people entertained through the weekend. The funds raised will support the Goa Open Arts festival 2023 and future programming.
CONTACT: +91 9209069030
The Fundraiser Exhibition will be on view at Villa 259, Assagao, Bardez, from October 7 – 9 (11 am to 11pm)