The Serendipity Arts Festival, first held in 2016, has been an integral part of the foundation’s work by consistently pushing the boundaries of art and emerging as one of the largest multidisciplinary art endeavours in South Asia.
Ahead of the sixth physical edition of the festival scheduled from December 15 to 23, the foundation, started by Sunil Kant Munjal, has launched Beyond Serendipity to showcase productions staged in earlier editions of the festival in various cities of India.
The first phase of the initiative took place in Puducherry and featured a performance by Mir Mukhtiyar Ali. The second phase involves the staging of Photo-Copy in Kolkata — at Rangakarmee Studio Theatre on September 16 and at the Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC) amphitheatre on September 17. The play revolves around how a family of four reconciles with grief and loss after the demise of the head of the family.
The final chapter will take place in New Delhi, showcasing Amitesh Grover's immersive theatre production, The Money Opera.
Ahead of the Kolkata leg of the initiative, My Kolkata caught up with Smriti Rajgarhia, director of Serendipity Arts Foundation & Festival, and Richa Agarwal, chairperson of the Kolkata Centre for Creativity.
Art as a way of life
Usha Uthup performs at DB Ground, Goa, for Serendipity Arts Festival 2018
For Richa Agarwal, art is a “way of life”. The more she knew about art, the more she became aware of the limitations of her knowledge. This awareness about the bottomlessness of art, coupled with passion, pushed her to bring to the fore varied and diverse art through the Kolkata Centre for Creativity. Established by R.S. Agarwal and R.S. Goenka (founders of the Emami Group), the Kolkata Centre of Creativity, stands as a unique integrated arts centre in India.
“Art transcends politics and economics, encompassing all. Art is not just what we see on walls; it includes vocal, performing, culinary, and vernacular art. We seek to organise, collaborate, and present art better, fostering community growth and a ripple effect. Emami Group, after 50 years, feels a responsibility to give back to the city that supported its growth. KCC’s physical structure is a family effort, but it’s the audience that breathes life into it. Our philosophy: taking the first step is crucial, like walking through a kinetic sculpture by Greek artist Nassia Inglessis in our centre. We emphasise that art should be an emotional experience rather than an obligation. KCC collaborates with various international entities and government bodies to host diverse events. At KCC, we believe in popular and intellectual support for each other, fostering inclusivity,” said Richa.
This is also the ethos that drives Smriti Rajgarhia to keep reinventing the Serendipity Arts Festival and this year is no different. “For us, every year is different. We try to find innovative models in which the audience and the artwork interact. This year, Vikram Iyengar of the Pickle Factory Dance Foundation is doing a project in a parking lot. We also have theatre projects, projects where the visitors are led through the city with prompts, and a very interesting colouring programme. We have realised that a lot of the projects are looking at climate change, sustainability, and what it means to live well for the betterment of society,” said Smriti.
Beyond Serendipity
A culinary arts workshop from Serendipity Arts Festival 2019
So what led to the launching of the Beyond Serendipity initiative?
“Our outward-facing endeavours were consistently centred around Goa. Gradually, we realised that we were receiving invitations from various festivals, institutions and states. After the Covid pandemic, we recognised the brevity of life and the need to expand our reach and build connections both nationally and globally. While we have engaged in projects internationally, these were relatively small-scale initiatives. We realised the need to collaborate among the nation's institutions, all working towards a common goal. An excellent example of this is the Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC). Richa Agarwal possesses a remarkable vision, and it's safe to say that there is strength in numbers and the potential to harness it. Therefore, with Beyond Serendipity, our intention was to explore the various facets of art across the entire country. We have already collaborated with R.D. Shakti, resulting in a fantastic performance, and now we are in partnership with KCC in Kolkata. We hope that this journey will continue to evolve and thrive in the coming years,” elaborated Smriti.
A seamless collaboration
Speaking of how KCC has grown over the years, Richa discussed how they focused on growing organically without investing in aggressive marketing. One of the ways of growing organically has been to partner with organisations and groups that share a similar vision about art.
‘I think we have been rather conservative and we have grown organically. We haven’t been pushing our marketing the way we should have done because we were trying to understand what we expected the centre to do. It has been an ongoing, organic journey and we have managed to find direction in it. The best way to grow is to collaborate. We have collaborated with various consulates, institutions and galleries over the last five years. Our collaboration with Serendipity is one that we are looking forward to because they have been doing phenomenal work over the years. The journey with Serendipity Arts Foundation has been a smooth one,” said Richa.
“It is wonderful to know that Serendipity Arts has commissioned the play Photo-Copy and also partnered with the Kolkata Centre for Creativity to bring this to Kolkata. I am curating Music Projects for this year's edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival as well as I did them last year. The festival is one of the most incredible festivals in Asia and is at par with any international festival. I'm very proud to be a curator for this festival. Amongst all the other avant-garde work that Serendipity Arts does, which includes commissioning arts, Photo-Copy is an example of the widespread work that Serendipity is doing. Congratulations to them, and I look forward to seeing a brilliant production,” said musician Bickram Ghosh who is one of the curators of the MUSIC segment for the 2023 edition of the Festival.