The South Asian Literature and Arts Festival shall be held at the Montalvo Arts Canter, Saratoga from the Oct 6 – 13, 2019. The event is curated by Montalvo Arts Canter and Art Forum SF, a non-profit organization which objectively promotes various forms of creative expressions from the South Asian countries and has had a decade long presence in achieving the same. The SALA Festival aims at bringing together stalwarts with a pioneering presence in their respective fields of work, reflecting their affiliations with the South Asian region. There shall be talks, presentations and interactive sessions allowing the audience to have an immersive experience.
During a discussion with Ambika Sahay, Director Art ForumSF, she stated the following with respect to the festival, “The South Asian Literature and Art Festival is a wonderful platform to showcase the rich and diverse ‘contemporary’ work coming from the South Asian diaspora. There is a plethora of award-winning work in both literature and art, which usually goes unnoticed but a festival like this raises the profile of such work. We would really encourage you to come and experience this array of contemporary work at Montalvo Arts Canter.”
The process of selecting these practitioners has been crucial, as one had to keep in mind the need of portraying and justifiably presenting the contemporary practices and the constantly evolving culture, over slipping into mere tokenism.
To name a few writers and poets, Vikram Chandra, Vikramaditya Motwane, Varun Grover, Shanthi Sekaran, Minal Hazratwala, Athena Kashyap, Tanu Wakefield, Siddharth Dube, Raghu Karnad, Nayomi Munaweera, Mitali Perkin, Naheed Hasant Senzai and Moazzam Sheikh, director Anurag Kashyap, actor and artist Deepti Naval, individuals from the field of contemporary art – artist, Rekha Rodwittiya, and Dipti Mathur and Priyanka Mathew, from the contemporary players in the art market infrastructure, would provide their insights on their field of expertise.
The panel discussions shall present a gamut of their individual works; giving an understanding of the osmotic relation shared by the migrant communities through their own practices and individual histories. At the same time, one has to take cognisance of the fact, that this event is not a mere one-time portrayal of the current scenario and practices, but presents the process of generational progress and transformations that have come about in the cultural practices and expressions from the South Asian region.
Moving from the conventional understanding of the diaspora culture, usually expressed through stereotypical tropes like – nostalgia, roots, homeland / soil, memory, etcetera, the participants exemplify the assimilation and absorption of various – local and global sources that have drip irrigated their works, to help break the conventional and to explore further. The talks have been designed in a manner that they shall be moderated by experts from the respective fields and shall provide the audience an opportunity to interact with the speakers.
“The soft powers of the world, Art, Literature, Music and Dance allows people to express themselves and how they view the world. SALA embodies these powers,” said Kiran Malhotra with conviction, founding BOD – Art Forum SF, Arts Curator – SALA 2019.
The festival shall offer a unique experience not just for established professionals but also for the emerging professionals and the young minds. Therefore, along with the presentations and discussions there shall be – children’s hands-on craft activities, writing programs, South Asian food stalls, and art-related exhibitors, dance performances, all to suit individuals of varying tastes, interests and ages.
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