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A glimpse of Goa’s layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival

In recent years, the building, built in 1800s, has evolved into a significant cultural landmark, establishing itself as one of the main venues of the annual Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF) in Goa.

3 min readNew DelhiDec 9, 2025 05:00 AM IST

10-day fest starting December 12 to showcase 250-plus events, curated by 35-plus experts from diverse disciplines | A glimpse of Goa’s layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival

Bharatanatyam dancer Geeta Chandran brings to Goa the festivities of Ramman from villages of Uttarakhand. (Image: SAF)

With its roots tracing back to Portuguese rule in Goa, the Old GMC Complex in Panjim, which once housed one of Asia’s oldest medical institutions, still carries the gravitas of the past with its long verandas and arches.

In recent years, the building, built in 1800s, has evolved into a significant cultural landmark, establishing itself as one of the main venues of the annual Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF) in Goa. The festival transforms the state into a vibrant hub that hosts exhibitions, performances and audiences from across the country and the world.

In the forthcoming edition, taking place from December 12 to 21, the rooms of the heritage site will, among other things, host an exhibition reflecting the state’s oceanic histories, colonial past and the many influences that have shaped its present. Featuring works by Goan and Goan-diaspora artists and those who have been connected to the land, the showcase titled ‘Not a Shore, Neither a Ship, But the Sea Itself’, curated by Sahil Naik, probes these layered trajectories.

Smriti Rajgarhia, director, Serendipity Arts Foundation and SAF, says, “Goa’s layered history has always been integral to how we think about the festival. Each edition invites artists and curators to respond to the region’s cultural memory — from its riverine landscape and maritime histories to its music, craft and everyday life. At the same time, we foreground contemporary Goan voices, ensuring that the present realities of the state are part of the conversation. For us, exploring Goa’s past and present is also about creating encounters where local knowledge, lived experience and artistic imagination meet.”

The project, therefore, is one among several in SAF’s tenth edition that root themselves within the state while also looking outward. For instance, the opening day will see the musical performance ‘Clay Play’, curated by Aneesh Pradhan and Shubha Mudgal, that celebrates percussion instruments made from clay, including Goan ghumat.

At Casa San Antonio, nestled in the storied neighbourhood of Fontainhas, chef Manu Chandra will curate an immersive one-hour experience evoking the atmosphere of old Goan tavernas; at Old GMC Complex, research-based exhibition “Kitem nuste asa? (What’s the fish today?)” will explore the disappearing aromas of Goan cuisine.

At The Art Park, visitors can familiarise themselves with Goan culinary traditions through tastings from five kitchens — Hindu artisans, Muslim descendants (Bijapur dynasty), Gaud Saraswat Brahmins, Indo–Luso influences and Christian descendants — in a project curated by culinary arts curator Odette Mascarenhas.

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Looking beyond Goa, the 250-plus events, curated by 35-plus experts from diverse disciplines, also includes highlights that delve deeper into other regions across India. At the Directorate of Accounts building, for instance, Sudarshan Shetty has curated ‘A Breath Held Long’, a 20-25-minute video set within the shifting landscape of Mumbai. Bharatanatyam dancer Geeta Chandran has curated a folk performance that brings to Goa the festivities of Ramman from Saloor-Dungra and Dungri-Barosi villages of Uttarakhand.

Rajgarhia says, “We bring projects together by encouraging dialogue across forms, allowing each to inform and challenge the other. Our curators are chosen for the distinct perspectives and expertise that they bring, and for their commitment to expanding the cultural field.”

Vandana Kalra

Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice. With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India. Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale. She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters. Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory. The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions. Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović). Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India: 1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival "At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors. "Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers. "At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025). "Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention. 2. M.F. Husain & Modernism "Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum. "Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025). 3. Art Market & Records "Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million. "All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025). "What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork. 4. Art Education & History "Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025). "A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art. Signature Beats Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More

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