Make your Way at the Serendipity Arts Festival

Glitch in the Myth: Written, performed and directed by Anoushka Zaveri, the act reinterprets the Ramayana from the perspective of a young woman. It offers fresh insights into the epic and reflects on our present realities.

Do You Know This Song?: An exploration of memory and identity, the 90-minute interactive performance by Mallika Taneja invites audiences to participate in shaping the narrative.

Written, performed and directed by Anoushka Zaveri, the act reinterprets the Ramayana from the perspective of a young woman. (Express Photo)

Mattiah 22:39: The production reflects on the dynamics of human relationships in crisis through the tale of two friends whose bond is tested during a terrible drought.

Step Wise: Dance

Curated by Geeta Chandran and Jayachandran Palazhy

Sutra: Featuring Sharmila Biswas, the Odissi dance performance delves into the evolution of the classical dance form, combining traditional choreography with projections and an interactive set design.

Aqeedat, Love’s Union in the Divine: Merging kathak, Hindustani classical music and folk arts, the performance depicts the love story of Sohni and Mahiwal.

Special project: The dance film “Around the Corner, Goa”, curated by Preethi Athreya, is shot across Goa and captures the dance movements of two protagonists as they interact with the city’s architecture and its people. The project uses split-screen techniques and blends the abstract narrative with the real urban dynamics.

Hue Does It: Visual arts

Curated by Veerangana Solanki, Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra

Multiplay: Featuring works of multiple artists, including LN Tallur, Sarnath Banerjee and Shailesh BR, the exhibition encourages audiences to interact with artworks that address diverse themes, from fragility to social and political urgencies.

The exhibition “Bhupen In Goa”, is curated by fellow artist and friend Gulammohammed Sheikh. (Express Photo)

A Haptic Score: The exhibition engages audiences with art through touch and sound. Designed for accessibility, particularly for the visually-impaired, the participating artists include Raqs Media Collective, Surabhi Saraf and Tarun Balani.

Special project: The exhibition “Bhupen In Goa”, curated by fellow artist and friend Gulammohammed Sheikh showcases more than 150 works of Khakhar from the Swaraj Art Archive Collection. Spanning various phases, the show includes works in several mediums as well as archival material such as posters and photographs, offering an insight into Khakhar’s life and art.

Note Worthy: Music

Curated by Zubin Balaporia and Bickram Ghosh

One World: Musician Lou Majaw and members of the popular rock band Indus Creed, along with Warren Mendonsa (Blackstratblues) and Pratika Gopinath (Easy Wanderlings), come together in a concert, curated by Balaporia, that emphasises unity and peace.

The Three Divas: Curated by Ghosh, the finale performance brings together stalwarts Usha Uthup, Aruna Sairam and Shubha Mudgal, each of whom is known for their distinct style.

Shaam-e-Ghazal: The concert pays tribute to ghazal writers and legends such as Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hasan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Jagjit Singh.

River Raag: The programme curated by Ghosh sees classical performances on a cruise on the scenic Mandovi river every evening. Departing from Santa Monica Jetty, the musicians on board change every day, from Soham Gorane on the tabla to Abhishek Bhuruk on the keyboard and Padma Shankar on the violin.

Eating Right: Culinary Arts

Curated by Edible Issues

Come Eat With Me: The interdisciplinary theatre performance centred around Dalit cuisine delves into the complex relationship between caste and food through shared stories over a communal meal.

Bring-Your-Own-Pickle: Celebrating cultural diversity and pickling traditions through the sharing of achaar (pickles), this invites participants to bring their own pickles to taste and exchange.

Hand Skill: Craft

Curated by Sandeep Sangaru and Kristine Michael

Abundance in Scarcity: Exploring Ladakh’s Sustainable Ingenuity: The project features stories and installations that capture the essence of Ladakh’s resilient landscape. It includes crafts of the region created by its artisans from the limited resources available.

The exhibits depicts how ancient crafts can be adapted to address modern challenges. (Express Photo)

Past Forward: Remix and Collaborations in Glass and Ceramics: Emphasising sustainability and upcycling, memories and stories, the exhibition curated by Kristine Michael comprises works in the two mediums. The exhibits also depict how ancient crafts can be adapted to address modern challenges.

Playing with Tech: AI Driven

As the old meets the new, the festival also acknowledges AI and how it’s changing our lives. Here are some projects that centre on AI or use it as a means.

The Game of Whispers: Parag K Mital’s interactive video game juxtaposes the political intrigue of the Mughal empire during Shah Jahan’s reign with modern AI-driven disinformation. Set in the confines of Delhi’s Red Fort, it explores how rumours and power dynamics from the past mirror the narrative manipulation of today’s technology. The game features AI-driven non-playable characters (NPCs) designed from the figures that appear in Mughal miniature paintings in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

AI MiniLab: Engage directly with AI and create animated visuals and sounds through microphones and interactive AI algorithms in this interactive segment.

Art x Machine: Exploring interactions between art and technology, the showcase features AI-generated artworks by five artists.

Mock Wild Picnic: AI will act as an aid to create hybrid cuisines by bringing together farming typologies. The aim will be to minimise the use of animal-derived products and maximise the use of ingredients from regenerative agroecosystems. The Center for Genomic Gastronomy will serve diners food that combines forest ingredients with non-animal products that are high in protein and/or fat.