Kolkata-based CIMA Gallery, Ashoka University & IIC present a two-day international symposium on ‘Creativity And Freedom’ that will witness a stellar line up of speakers including academicians, filmmakers, museum directors and more: On Feb 5 & 6 at India International Centre, New Delhi
New Delhi: At a time when the digital sphere has pervaded almost all spheres of life, and when nearly everything ‘creative’ has been commodified, what does creative freedom and artistic autonomy really mean? A stellar line up of speakers including thinkers, academicians, filmmakers, artists and others from the creative world will address the pertinent subject of creative freedom, especially in today’s polarized climate, during a two-day international symposium being held in New Delhi in February.
Titled ‘Creativity And Freedom’, the symposium is being presented by Kolkata based CIMA gallery, Ashoka University and India International Center. The event is being presented in collaboration with IIT (Kharagpur), Agha Khan Foundation and Raza Foundation and will be held at India International Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi on February 5 and February 6, 2019, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Entry is open to public.
A major highlight of the symposium is that it will witness the curtain raiser programme for the launch of ‘The Academy of Classical and Folk Arts’ at IIT Kharagpur, seen through a living aperture of world’s oldest and sustainable habitat, called Varanasi, identified as UNESCO City of Music.
Participating speakers will address concerns in art history, fine arts practice, music, theatre, design, literature and cultural studies, including popular culture, architecture, film and the increasing concern with ‘wellness’, both physical and mental.
Some of the prominent speakers are Nicholas Coleridge (Chairman of Condé Nast Britain & Chairman, Victoria And Albert Museum, London), Gopalkrishna Gandhi (civil servant and author), Sabyasachi Mukherjee (Fashion designer), Catherine David (Deputy Director, Musee d'Art Moderne at The Centre Pompidou, Paris), Patrizia Asproni (President, Marino Marini Foundation, Florence), Deborah Swallow (Director, The Courtauld Institute of Art, London), Sergio Scapagnini (Italian filmmaker), Aparna Sen, Meeta Pandit among others.
Says Rakhi Sarkar, Director CIMA, “Creativity and Freedom form the bedrock of every modern civilisation. CIMA as an art centre has always cherished creative freedom and promoted free thought and liberal values. This symposium, therefore, is extremely important for everything CIMA stands for; freedom of the mind and a holistic vision of life and arts.”
Says Dr Alka Pande, Symposium director, art historian and curator: “Artists, thinkers, academics, designers and innovators need to regroup and work as incubators for fashioning and reimagining a world order of inclusiveness. It is time again for dialogue and discussions, for debates and discourses to sow seeds of a new knowledge for peace, stability and a new system of sustainability. The two-day symposium is not just limited to Fine Arts but spanning across Visual Arts, Cinema, Literature, Design and Popular Culture.”
This seminar on Creativity and Freedom aspires to initiate dialogues and ideas to create new systems of knowledge which enrich a civil society, and examine issues of governance and polity. The idea is to sensitise students, professionals - both artists and technocrats - to look at different ways of thinking and join hands to bring fresh initiatives of expression.
Chancellor of Asoka University Prof, Rudrangshu Mukherjee says: “Freedom and Creativity are essential and integral elements for the blossoming of culture and intellectual life. This symposium focuses on various facets of the interaction of these two key ideas. Ashoka University, an institution committed to fostering liberal education and liberal values, is proud to be associated with this symposium which promises to be an exciting intellectual occasion.”
Prof Joy Sen, Department of Architecture and Regional Planning and Principal Investigator, SandHI, IIT Kharagpur shares about the launch of ‘The Academy of Classical and Folk Arts’: “The Academy has been planned as an extended part of The Science and Heritage initiative (SandHI), IIT Kharagpur and initiated by major Alumni funding of the institute. The program will highlight participation and events around Project Varanasi and the making of the Academy as a living platform of Indian traditions.”
The conference, thus, hopes to identify some vital keys to unlock the closed door we face today. The title is deliberately wide and encompassing. The conference has eight segments, each with a specific focus, but all segments can be strung into a comprehensive garland of ideas, which can further be organically strung together to create a sustainable coherent environment of détente, harmony and balance.
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SCHEDULE
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON CREATIVITY & FREEDOM
5TH& 6TH FEBRUARY 2019 AT IIC, NEW DELHI
DAY 1: 5th of February 2019
Session 1: 10.00 a.m. to 11:30 am
CREATIVE FREEDOM
Moderator: Rudrangshu Mukherjee
1. Pratap Bhanu Mehta: Vice Chancellor, Ashoka University
2. Nicholas Coleridge: Chairman, Conde Naste & Victoria & Albert Museum, London
3. Gopal Krishna Gandhi: Noted civil servant and author
4. T. N. Ninan- Delhi: Journalist and author
5. Suman Mukhopadhyay: Filmmaker and theatrician
6. Kunal Basu - author
Tea Break from 11:30 am to 12.00 pm
Session 2: 12.00 pm to 1:30 pm
REIMAGING MUSEUMS IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT: CREATION OF A TRANSNATIONAL CONNECTION
Moderator: Dr. Alka Pande
Lunch Break from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Session 3: 2:30 pm to 4.00 pm
ART, ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Moderator: Prof. Rudrangshu Mukherjee
5. Kunal Basu
Coffee Break from 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Session 4: 4:30 pm to 6.00 pm
IS THE BIG SCREEN DEAD?
Moderator: Kunal Basu
DAY 2: 6th of February 2019
Session 1: 10:00 am to 1:30 pm
ARCHITECTURE: By Deptt of Architecture and Regional Planning, IIT Kharagpur
EVENT OUTLINE: Feb 06, 2019 (First Half)
a) Inauguration of Outdoor Exhibition on PROJECT VARANASI at 9 AM, Gandhi Plaza at India International Center, Delhi
- Tea break 1 –
b) Inauguration of seminar at 10 AM at C. S. DeshMukh Auditorium, at India International Center, Delhi
c) Plenary session at 10.30 AM
d) Round Table discussion by experts at 11 AM from MHRD, Ministry of Culture (GoI); IGNCA; NGMI; NMI; CIMA, IHC, SPA-Delhi, Varanasi Nigam, IIT (BHU) and IIT Kharagpur and others (Organization and key CBOs, NGOs)
- Tea break 2 –
e) Curtain Raiser program on the proposed Academy of Classical and Folk Arts at 12 Noon on THEME: CREATIVITY & FREEDOM - Varanasi UNESCO CITY OF MUSIC
f) Vote of thanks (short film) at 1.15 PM
Session 2: 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm,
CULTURAL COMMERCE, POLICIES AND INCENTIVES:
STREAMLINING SYSTEMS
Moderator: Rakhi Sarkar
Role of Government in streamlining systems.
Coffee Break from 4.00 pm to 4:30 pm
Session 3: 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm
PERFORMING ARTS: IDENTITY POLITICS
Moderator: Dr. Arshiya Sethi- Delhi
7 p.m. to 8 p.m- Closing Event: Qawwali performance organized by Agha Khan Foundation
