Festival Director
Speaks
 Delhi
International Arts Festival is positioned as India’s ‘Signature
Festival’ and efforts are on to place it on the international
cultural map so that it attracts artistes, writers, connoisseurs
and tourists from all over the world and serves as a significant
platform for cultural diplomacy. Cutting across geographical
barriers and looking beyond cultural stereotypes, DELHI
INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL (DIAF) is a rare bouquet of all
forms of art including literature that unifies the globe into
one aesthetic. The festival is not just the capital’s but the
entire nation’s first such arts initiative.
Our mission is to be the most exciting, innovative and
accessible Festival of the arts this part of the world, and thus
promote the cultural, economic and social projection of India as
a global soft power. The high visibility of India as a diverse,
dynamic, peaceful, multicultural, refined and tolerant nation
will also serve to attract potential investors from around the
world.
Through bilateral and multilateral activity primarily in art and
culture, India is projected as a meeting place of ideas. We, at
DIAF, believe that aesthetics are never compartmentalized by
forms or controlled by countries. Creativity is a notion
constantly in search of new contents and forms. DIAF looks
forward to inviting art projects from other parts of the world
and opening new avenues for explorations of different approaches
to the development and creation of artistic works. It also
believes in reviving and re-projecting many ancient traditional
art forms of India and the sub-continent thereby creating newer
audiences and opportunities for continuation of intangible
heritage.
In this sense the festival committee has taken the first step
towards offering a new and unique model that is non-judgmental
of the art forms presented and non-bourgeois.
I am particularly happy to inform you that we have a rich
artistic offering from various cultures at DIAF 2010. The
international segment has 18 Artistic groups from as many
countries participating in this years’ Festival.
Some are cutting edge performances that are at the forward tip
of the curve of creativity. I mention Alvin Sputnik’s Adventures
from Australia, playing multiple shows, Tales Of the Body from
Spain, a Butoh performance, Edgelogue-a festival of
e-creativity, Ether – a much acclaimed contemporary dance group
from Korea, a live literature, multi-media performance from
Denmark, a one –man play from New York to mention a few.
Of special interest are collaborative music performances with
Indian artistes by many international groups from Countries such
as the U.K (performing with Mandolin U.Srinivas), Mexico
(performing with Rajendra Prasanna and others), Brazil (
performing with Shubendra Rao and others),Austria ( performing
with Ranajit SenGupta and others),Shivanova (collaborating with
the Prasiddha Repertory in dance), Tetrafide percussion from
Australia, Voices , Flutes and Percussion from India with
artistes from Europe and Ukraine .
DIAF 2010 has stars of Indian Music and dance like Pt. Bhajan
Sopori, Gundecha brothers, Pt. Madhup Mudgal, Kamal Sabri ,Priya
sisters, Swapna Sundari, Madhavi Mudgal, Bijayoni Satpathy,
Prathibha Prahlad’s Prasiddha Repertory, Kathak Kendra
Repertory,Nartaki Natraj and several others. In addition are
well-known musicians Suma Sudhindra, Sudha Raghuraman and Mita
Pandit, Kumud Dewan and others.
Extraordinary young artistes like Pushkar Lele, Pravin Ghokindi,
Rajat Prasanna and others as well as talented and creatively
different productions from well-known young choreographers like
Santosh Nair, Madhu Natraj, Vikram Iyengar, Sudarshan
Chakraborty, Satanarayana Raju, Parul Shah, Sangeeta Sharma will
be showcased in the Choreography segment.
The biggest draws of the Festival – star sufi artistes like
Jaspinder Narula, Mohammed Ahmed Warsi Qawwals, Nizami brothers,
Bharkat Sidhu, dervish dancers from Egypt are all there to
excite the audience.
For those wanting music for healing, there is Bhakti Sangeet by
Nandini Bhattacharya and Suman Devgan. The youngsters can look
forward to gigs and rock and fusion bands like Parikrama,
Advaita, Jasleen Royal, Groove Adda amongst others.
The Film Festival segment has an extraordinary array of films
from kids films –made by children (ages 4 -12), films for
children, films on extraordinary artistes from various
Countries, award-winning Panaroma Films , sports Films and
country-specific acclaimed films from Taiwan.
The visual arts is equally engaging with many collaborative
exhibitions showcasing Indian and foreign artists.
All this at no cost – for we want you to come and enjoy and
understand and contemplate. Art is the only equalising element
in society- it engages, it inspires, it helps sensitize, and
forms better individuals and thereby a better Nation.
- Prathibha Prahlad
Download Brochure DIAF
2010
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