Body Basics

The second edition of the Morni Hills Performance Art Biennale will showcase performances and interactive workshops by over 50 artists from around the world.

FOR an entire month, Healing Hill Art Space, an art residency in the idyllic Morni Hills near Chandigarh, will pulsate with varied sounds and sights, as 50 performance artists from across India and around the world will come together for the second edition of the Morni Hills Performance Art Biennale (MHPAB).

The effort and enterprise of painter and performance artist Harpreet Singh, the larger premise of the second MHPAB is to bring alternative arts from the world closer to students and audiences.

“Performance art is spontaneous and deep conceptual form of expression, of which the audience is an integral part. The idea of the Biennale is to blur boundaries, think differently and get the audience from various walks of life to weave stories and be part of the creative process. Our effort is to involve art students in various aspects of the Biennale,” explains Harpreet, who is one of the five curators.

Apart from performances and exhibits, the Biennale will have panel discussions, video screenings, and informal interactions, as well as sessions on poetry and dance, with no one theme guiding the Biennale. “We didn’t want to tie anyone down. So the artists have the freedom of devise and showcase their art in the residency, as well as different venues in Chandigarh,” adds Harpreet, who is inviting students to volunteer and in the process gaining valuable insights from
the artists.

In the days running up to the MHPAB, this week onwards, the residency will host three workshops by Delhi-based performance artist Inder Salim, Hungarian artist Rokko Juhazs and German performance artist Dagmar I Glausnitzer-Smith.

Open to the public and students, the artists, as part of the workshops will talk about performance art as a medium of expression, its various dimensions, their own work, philosophy, style and subjects and also curate performances.

Born in Kashmir and now based in Delhi, Salim is a performance artist and poet, who also uses photography and filmmaking to initiate dialogues.

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Art, believes Salim, is a life force and nothing is outside any force, be it inner or outer. According to him, an artist’s leap of faith enables the being to traverse like cosmic neutrinos, through all transcendental layers, with a given empirical trace always. Like a true lover, says Salim, an artist invests ‘time’ in a concept, which is the present, and the movement in time itself. The body, he adds, must be an echo in which all languages collapse and refresh for a meaning and abstraction at the same time.

Rokko Juhász, who lives and works in Hungary, is an intermediary oriented performer, poet, and organizer. He has realized hundreds of performances and published six books of experimental poetry. With 33 years of practice as a performance artist, poet, and organizer, Juhasz has participated in most of the important performance art events worldwide since 1988 and focuses on performance art in public spaces.

‘Flying Chair-Bodies on the Hill’, is a performance art workshop facilitated by Dagmar I Glausnitzer-Smith, and the idea is to understand performance art in a practical, critical and observational context. One of the objectives of the workshop is to understand the fragility of the body, initially exploring and extending limitations with intuitive and observational skills. The workshop, with practical exercises, observations, and group discussions, strives to be a platform of exchange and cross-fertilization, and collaborations between people and artists from all creative fields.

Parul

Parul is a Principal Correspondent at The Indian Express in Chandigarh. She is a seasoned journalist with over 25 years of experience specializing in public health, higher education, and the architectural heritage of Northern India. Professional Profile Education: Graduate in Humanities with a specialized focus on Journalism and Mass Communication from Panjab University, Chandigarh. Career Path: She began her career covering local city beats and human interest stories before joining The Indian Express in 2009. Over the last decade and a half, she has risen to the rank of Principal Correspondent, becoming the publication’s primary voice on Chandigarh’s premier medical and academic institutions. Expertise: Her reporting is deeply rooted in the institutional dynamics of PGIMER (Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research) and Panjab University. She is highly regarded for her ability to navigate complex administrative bureaucracies to deliver student-centric and patient-centric news. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2024 - 2025) Her recent work highlights critical reporting on healthcare infrastructure, academic governance, and urban culture: 1. Public Health & PGIMER "PGIMER expands digital registry: Centralized patient records to reduce wait times by 40%" (Nov 20, 2025): A detailed look at the digital transformation of one of India's busiest medical institutes to tackle patient influx. "Robotic Surgery at PGI: Why the new urology wing is a game-changer for North India" (Oct 12, 2025): Reporting on the acquisition of state-of-the-art medical technology and its impact on affordable healthcare. "Shortage of life-saving drugs: Inside the supply chain crisis at government pharmacies" (Dec 5, 2025): An investigative piece on the logistical hurdles affecting chronic patients in the tri-city area. 2. Education & Institutional Governance "Panjab University Senate Election: The battle for institutional autonomy" (Dec 18, 2025): In-depth coverage of the high-stakes internal elections and the friction between traditional governance and central reforms. "Research funding dip: How PU’s science departments are navigating the 2025 budget cuts" (Nov 5, 2025): An analysis of the fiscal challenges facing researchers and the impact on India's global academic ranking. 3. Art, Culture & Heritage "Le Corbusier’s legacy in peril: The struggle to preserve Chandigarh’s Capitol Complex" (Dec 22, 2025): A feature on the conservation efforts and the tension between urban modernization and UNESCO heritage status. "Chandigarh Art District: How street murals are reclaiming the city’s grey walls" (Oct 30, 2025): A cultural profile of the local artists transforming the aesthetic of the "City Beautiful." Signature Style Parul is known for her empathetic lens, often centering her stories on the individuals affected by policy—whether it is a student navigating university red tape or a patient seeking care. She possesses a unique ability to translate dense administrative notifications into actionable information for the public. Her long-standing beat experience makes her a trusted source for "inside-track" developments within Chandigarh’s most guarded institutions. X (Twitter): @parul_express ... Read More

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