Press Dossier

Press File
September 2013
page vide
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Théâtre
Inge De Keyser
[email protected]
PRESS
CONTACTS
T. +32 (0)2.504.91.35 – +32 (0)474.99.64.47
Diane Van Hauwaert
[email protected]
T. +32 (0)2.504.91.37
High resolution images can be downloaded from our web-
IMAGES
site www.europalia.eu – under the heading press.
No password is needed.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Europalia
SOCIAL
MEDIA
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/EuropaliaFestival
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/europalia
Europalia International aisbl
Galerie Ravenstein 4 - 1000 Brussels
Info: +32 (0)2.504.91.20 - www.europalia.eu
FESTIVAL
ORGANISATION
EUROPALIA.INDIA
Théâtre
Europalia.india, 4 months of encounters
04.10.2013 – 26.01.2014
As a reflection of the guest country, the europalia.india festival promises to be rich and colourful. About
450 events in 100 venues across Belgium and in the neighbouring countries will try to decipher the many
different aspects of Indian art, addressing its geographical and historical diversity. We aim to offer an
overview of the country’s’ evolution from ancient times to its most contemporary expressions.
Centred on meetings, dialogue and exchanges, this festival will focus on 7 themes, indicative of Indian
culture and artistic expressions: the body, indomania, India tomorrow, living traditions, water, Bollywood
& beyond, and the diaspora. These milestones will help to guide the public through the vast cultural
wealth of India.
The two main exhibitions, organised at the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels, will act as central points around
which will revolve some twenty other exhibitions and numerous musical, performing arts, literature and
cinema events.
The exhibition The Body in Indian Art will decode the different perceptions, traditions and beliefs linked
to the body in India. Through understanding the body and over 300 art works from numerous Indian
museums, the public will be able to understand the key elements that have shaped India from the third
millennium BC until today. Ranging from monumental stone sculptures located in the storerooms of
provincial smalltowns, to Chola bronzes from Tanjore, and the finest Moghul miniatures, the exhibition
provides the spectator with examples of artworks of unparalleled excellence, many of which have never
before been publicly exhibited, nor published.
Indomania, from Rembrant to the Beatles, the second large exhibition at the Centre for Fine Arts, will highlight the theme of the encounters. It will illustrate, through a captivating narrative, the fascination and
influence that Indian culture has had on European artists since the 16th century. The subheading, “From
Rembrandt to the Beatles” suggests its multimedia nature, from drawings and paintings to contemporary
installations, through architecture, cinema, music, literature and photography. Presenting work developed in residency in Mumbai and Hampi, the two Belgian contemporary artists Max Pinckers and Hans
Op de Beeck, will echoe what indomania might be seen as today.
An audioguide is available for both main exhibitions, and is included in the ticket price. For the exhibition
The Body in Indian Art, a special audioguide has been developped for children. In Indomania, from Rembrandt to the Beatles, the children will follow their own parcours, guided by an activity book with comics.
In Liège, a contemporary art tour through the city will focus on the theme of water through photography,
video and installations. The M HKA and at the MAS in Antwerp will invite Indian contemporary artists for
residencies, an installation and a symposium on contemporary art in India today.
The Cinquantenaire Museum will unveil one of the great Indian epics, the Ramayana, through a hundred
miniature paintings sent by the National Museum of Delhi. The Royal Museums of Fine Arts will showcase
a yet unseen collection of 19th century pictures by the first photographers, featuring a.o. pictures of the
Taj Mahal. Other exhibitions will cover topics as diverse as saris, architecture, Bollywood, design, Sanskrit
culture and many more.
1
FESTIVAL
ORGANISATION
EUROPALIA.INDIA
Théâtre
Inseparable from one another, and also from Indian culture, music and dance will take centre
stage during the festival. Governed by codes dating back several millennia, they still exist in their
original forms, coexisting with, inspiring and generating contemporary expressions, in India and
throughout the rest of the world.
In terms of music, some of the greatest masters will perform the traditional and sacred music of
southern and northern India to the sounds of the santoor, tabla, veena and their resonant voices.
Meanwhile, encounters will be celebrated during a Sufi night and the Centre for Fine Arts and
also at the many joint ventures which will pair up Indian masters with Belgian or international
musicians. For its part, youth will express itself in the form of fusion music and DJs.
The europalia.india dance programme will reflect the country’s variety through shimmering sacred dances, ritual theatre, festive folk dances and puppet theatre. Contemporary dance will be
illustrated through poetic choreographies or virtuoso combinations of tradition and modernity:
the performing arts programme of europalia.india will allow novices to sample and seasoned
amateurs to admire some of the greatest performers of their art. Here again, time has been
made for encounters: young European and Indian talents, some in residency in Belgium during
the festival, will join forces for dialogue-choreographies between East and West.
Needless to say, Indian cinema will have its place in this festival. The programme – still under
development – will include retrospectives, themed events, meetings with directors. Bollywood
of course, but also Tollywood, Kollywood, Mollywood and art-house cinema.
Indian literature covers all genres: prose, poetry, epics and comics. Europalia.india will honour about
twenty Indian authors through meetings, publications and lectures, as well as residencies.
A better knowledge of each other’s culture is without any doubt an asset in our multicultural
society. Europalia wants to give the opportunity to encounter different world cultures to as many
school children as possible. There fore, Europalia and its partner Bozar have decided to give access to
both the main exhibitions to pupils for only 1 €.
However encounters will not be confined to museums and auditoriums. Several universities
will cover the subject in depth through conference cycles and thematic exhibitions. Libraries will
be responsible for spreading the Indian enthusiasm of europalia.india throughout Belgium, by
organising conferences, workshops, lectures and other thematic events.
Passion or curiosity, discovery or reunion, europalia.india will allow each and everyone to find
their own vision of India in a varied programme. As for the 23 previous festival, the opening will
be attended by the Head of State of India and Belgium. From October 4th 2013 to January 26th
2014, europalia.india will be the opportunity to establish a hopefully lasting dialogue with the
extremely prolific Indian culture.
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ThéâtreORGANISATION
Organisation
The europalia.india festival is a collaboration between the Indian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the
Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and its partners, Europalia International aisbl and about
two hundred cultural organisations in Belgium and in Europe.
Two General Commissioners, Dr. Karan Singh and Baron Philippe Vlerick, support the artistic and
executive teams of europalia.india in India and in Belgium, led by Dr. Suresh Goel and Kristine De
Mulder.
Europalia.india can count on the very active support of the Indian Embassy in Brussels, the Belgian
Embassy in New Delhi and the Consulate General of Belgium in Mumbai.
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ORGANISATION
It would be impossible to mount the europalia.india festival without the support of the Federal Government, the Regions
and Communities, ans sponsors of the private sector. We warmly thank them for their essential support.
Regierung des Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft
PARTNER
PROJECT SPONSORS
SUPPORTING SPONSORS
MEDIA SPONSORS
OFFICIAL CARRIER
SPONSORS IN KIND
PROMOTIONAL SPONSORS
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MAIN
EXHIBITIONS
Exhibitions
THE BODY IN INDIAN ART
Dates 05.10.2013 › 05.01.2014
Venue Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels
Rue Ravenstein 23 – 1000 Brussels
Whoever admires Indian statuary or Moghul
miniatures, who is interested in its tradition
of physical culture, massage, the practice of
medicine, dance, who observes Indian women
dressed in their shimmering saris, or the
pantheon of Hindu gods and their extraordinary bodies, who studies the concept of purity and
impurity that is so crucial in Indian society…
cannot help but be struck by the omnipresence
of the body in Indian art and culture. Alternating between sensual, untouchable, adorned, sacred, tool or obstacle, it is because the
body touches upon so many aspects of Indian
culture that we have chosen it as the central
theme of the festival’s opening exhibition.
The Body in Indian Art has used a unique
conceptual framework to examine the ways
in which Indian art has represented/ treated
the intricacies of the vast and germane subject of the ‘body’. Through the curator’s vision
the viewer is invited to explore what inheres
within the body, and to question what drives
Indian bodies. Where do society’s archetypes
of heroism and valour rest, for example? What
motivates abstinence and asceticism? How does a civilisation view the rites of passage, death, and
birth? To what extent do Indians believe that the body’s fate is destined / predetermined, and to what
degree is fortune in the hand of those people who shape it for themselves?
This exhibition importantly reveals the body not only as the subject of art, but also as the medium
used to convey the values, preoccupations and aspirations of the times. What emerges is a complex
plurality where no gallery presents a singular view. The multiplicity is born of the diversity in geography, chronology, patronage, religion and art material that is present in every gallery of the exhibition.
The questions posed in each gallery are universal, existential ones, but Ahuja has taken care not to
fall into the trap of simplification for the sake of communicating any singular teleology. Through art,
he has shown the body as a site for defining individual identity, negotiating power, and experimenting
with the nature of representation itself. This is a richly layered exposition that also re-examines the
classical in light of our changing views of social exclusion, gender and sexuality.
7
Exhibitions
The Body in Indian Art brings together 250 masterpieces
from approximately 50 of India’s museums, archaeological
institutes, and private collections, in an exploration of the
complex and multifaceted understandings of the ‘Body’.
The exhibition will be divided into eight chapters, in which
sculptures as well as miniatures, textiles and jewels enter
upon religious, aesthetic, philosophic, and cosmologic themes. The ensemble of objects reflects the diversity and
splendour of India’s art. Ranging from monumental stone
sculptures located in the storerooms of provincial smalltowns, to Chola bronzes from Tanjore, and manuscripts
about magic painted for the Mughal Emperor Akbar from
the fabled library of the Nawabs of Rampur, the exhibition
provides the spectator with examples of artworks of unparalleled excellence, many of which have never before been
publicly exhibited, nor published.
In some of the galleries in the exhibition juxtaposes classical
Indian art and ideas, with concerns manifest in contemporary art. The inclusion of modern and contemporary artworks
provides a counterpoint to the past.
8
Exhibitions
Structure of the exhibition The Body in Indian Art
1. The Body is But Temporary
2. The Body beyond the Limits of Form
3. [Re]Birth
3.1 Light, Sound, Desire - Creation
3.2 Mothers
> Graceful Creators and Dangerous Protectors
3.3 Miraculous Children
> Birht legends of Gods & heroes
4. The Body in the Cosmos
> Astrology and cosmology
5. The Body Ideal : Supernatural
6. The Body Ideal: Heroic
7. The Body Ideal: Asceticism
8. Rapture : the Body of Art
9
Exhibitions
Practical information
Organisation: ICCR, Europalia International, in collaboration with BOZAR Expo
Curator:
Naman P. Ahuja (JNU – School of Arts and Aesthetics)
Advisors: Richard Blurton (Curator South and South East Asia, British Museum,
London) and Jan Van Alphen (Director of Exhibitions, Collections &
Research, Rubin Museum of Art, New York).
Subject:
Art works from ancient and contemporary India illustrate the importance and the why of the so insistent presence of the body. They give an accessible
introduction to India.
Period:
From the 3rd millenium BC to today.
Objects:
About 300 objects: sculptures, jewellery, textiles, paintings, miniatures, cera-
mics, installations… from the 3rd millenium BC to today.
Main lenders:
National and regional museums in India, private collections from Europe and India...
Scenography: Sabine Theunissen
Sponsors: National Lottery – FPS Foreign Affairs - Total - KBC
Price:
14€ > 4 €; combiticket with Indomania > 23€
Audioguide:
NL | FR | EN - included in ticket, special audioguide for kids (6 to 12 years) - included in ticket
Schools: 1 € per pupil
Catalogue: Ludion - NL | FR | EN - 34,90 €
Press Vernissage : Friday 4 October 2013 at 10:30
Opening hours :
Tue to Sun 10:00 > 18:00,
Thu 10:00 > 21:00
Closed : Mondays and 25.12.2013 & 01.01.2014
Festival Information : T + 32 2 540 80 80 & www.europalia.eu
Reservations : T + 32 2 507 82 00 & www.bozar.be
10
Exhibitions
Curator
Naman P. Ahuja is Associate Professor of Ancient Indian Art and Architecture at Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi where his research and graduate teaching focus on Indian iconography, sculpture, temple architecture and Sultanate period painting. Previously he was a Fellow at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, where he authored a catalogue of the museum’s collection of Ancient Indian
antiquities. From 2001 to 2002 he was Curator of Indian sculpture in the Department of Oriental
Antiquities at the British Museum, London. He was lecturer of the MA program on the Religious Fine
and Decorative Arts of India at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies, London University) from
1998 to 2000 and Tutor of the SOAS / Christie’s and latterly the British Museum’s Diploma in Indian
Art.
Some of his publications include: Divine Presence, The Arts of India and the Himalayas (Five Continents Editions, Milan, 2003) which was translated into Catalan and Spanish; Changing Gods, Enduring Rituals: Observations on Early Indian Religion as seen through Terracotta Imagery c. 200 BC
– AD 200 (in South Asian Archaeology, Paris, 2001); and Ramkinkar Through the Eyes of Devi Prasad
(Delhi, 2007).
Advisors
Richard Blurton is head of the South Asian section in the Department of Asia at the British Museum,
London. He has curatorial charge of the late medieval, early modern and modern collections from
both South and South-East Asia. Blurton is the author of different publications on Indian art.
Jan Van Alphen is Director of Exhibitions, Collections & Research at the Rubin Museum of Art, New
York. Van Alphen is the former Asia Curator at the Ethnographic Museum of Antwerp. As the author
of several publications on Indian art, Van Alphen acted as an advisor for various exhibitions on the
subject.
Scenography
Sabine Theunissen has studied architecture in Brussels and Sevilla. After a year as a scenographer
at the Scala in Milan, she worked from 1995 to 2012 as a scenographer at the Théâtre Royal de la
Monnaie.
More recent work is the scenography of Hors Champs, a choreographist creation of Michèle Noiret
(April 2013), as well as the one for Lulu (Alban Berg) for the The Dutch Opera (Amsterdam May 2015),
Metropolitan Opera House (New York) and ENO (London). Sabine Theunissen also created the design
for the exhibition La Négation du Temps prologue by Le Laboratoire (Paris, March 2011) and for the
Vertical Thinking by Le Maxxi (Rome).
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Exhibitions
INDOMANIA
From Rembrandt to the Beatles
Dates 16.10.2013 › 26.01.2014
Venue Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels
Rue Ravenstein 23 – 1000 Brussels
In 1498, Vasco da Gama opened the sea route
to India. Jesuits and European traders flooded
the Indian coast, sending back accounts of the
splendour of the Mughal Empire and the many
strange customs and rituals. Fascination for
India was widespread. Spices, textiles, diamonds, mother of pearl, and exotic animals
returned on ships and served as inspiration for
artists on our continent.
The stories of these travellers were still strongly influenced by the fantastic accounts of
Greek and Roman travellers (the first being
Alexander the Great in 326 BC) but they slowly
began to paint a more objective picture of the
country. As yet, the European feeling of superiority, which accompanied the later colonial
period, did not heavily influence their curiosity.
This period is the starting point for Indomania, an exhibition exploring the encounters
between India and Europe – through the eyes of
Western travellers – which alternates between
fascination, superiority, fear and all too often
betrays ignorance. What are the cultural and
artistic consequences of these encounters? What is the contemporary Western perception of India,
and what aspects of the centuries-old depiction of this continent still play a role today?
This is the first time that this topic will be explored across such a wide period of time, from the 16th
century until the present day. The history of this period provides the backdrop for the exhibition and
invites the visitor to discover a fascinating and little known story, from the Mughal Empire (15261857) over colonisation to independence (1947) and the India of today.
The variety of artists, artworks, disciplines and media are an almost literal translation of the many,
for the West, impermeable layers of Indian culture: magnificent 16th and 17th century jewellery;
drawings by Rembrandt after Indian miniatures, drawings and engravings of the Indian rhinoceros
by Dürer and his followers; 17th and 18th century textiles and cashmere; Indian paintings commissioned by the British of landscapes, the cast system and rituals; photography (from the earliest
12
Exhibitions
documented, to great names such as Henri Cartier Bresson); architecture (Le Corbusier, Jeanneret…), cinema (Rosselini, Pasolini, Renoir…), literature (Forster, Moravia…), and music (Wagner, The
Beatles…) guide the public through this remarkable journey.
The second half of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century are strongly represented
by names such as Keith Sonnier, Luigi Ontani, Richard Long, Wolfgang Laib and Anne Teresa De
Keersmaeker. But Indomania will also look at how India inspires today’s artists. To understand this,
Europalia has sent two Belgian artists to visit two different places in the invited country: Max Pinckers to the busy metropolis of Mumbai and Hans Op de Beeck to Hampi (Karnataka), the site of the
hushed, unique ruins of Vijayanagara dynasty (1336-1565). There, they will both create new artworks
that will be shown for the first time in Indomania.
13
Exhibitions
Structure of the exhibition Indomania, from Rembrandt to the Beatles
1.Introduction
2.
Fascination vs repulsion
-
Monsters and luxury
-
The Mughal Empire & the trade posts
3.
Textiles : India sets the trends
4.
East India Company & The Raj
4.1
Company Paintings
4.2
Picturesque views of India : Architecture and eroticism
4.3
Decorative Arts
5.
Towards a modern India
-
Le Corbusier & Chandigarh
-
Through the lens
6.
India, land of spirituality and philosophy
-
Early 20th C
-
The Hippies
7.
Contemporary artists :
7.1
Robert Rauschenberg, Keith Sonnier, Howard Hodgkin,...
7.2
Günter Grass, Francesco Clemente, Luigi Ontani,...
7.3
Anne Theresa De Keersmaeker, John Coltrane & Philip Glass
7.4
Wolfgang Laib
7.5
Richard Long
8.
Commissionned artists :
8.1
Hans Opde Beeck
8.2
Max Pinckers
14
Exhibitions
Residencies in India, in the frame of the ‘Indomania’ exhibition
Hans Op de Beeck
(°1969) lives and works in Brussels. His multidisciplinary work consists of video works, sculptures,
installations, photography, drawings, paintings and writing. The artist not only uses a very wide variety of media, but also deliberately employs a diversity of aesthetic forms, always aiming to articulate the contents of the work as precisely as possible.
Op de Beeck’s video practice includes cinematically approached movies, analogue and digitally animated films, single and multi-screen video installations and experimental forms of moving imagery.
Hans Op de Beeck has had extensive solo shows at a.o. Kunstverein Hannover, the Hirshhorn Museum (Washington D.C.) and the Galleria Borghese (Rome). He participated at the Venice Biennale,
the Aichi Triennale and many other important collective events.
‘Before the rain’
Hans Op de Beeck 2013
(full HD video, 12 minutes)
Max Pinckers
(°1988) spent most of his childhood in Asia. At the age of 18 he returned to his native country Belgium
where he attained an MFA in photography at the School of Arts (KASK) in Ghent. Some recent exhibitions include Mamihlapinatapai at de Brakke Grond in Amsterdam, Between the Lines at Croxhapox
in Ghent and A Whitsun Wedding curated by Hans Theys in Welle. His work has been published in
Foam magazine, British Journal of Photography, De Volkskrant, De Morgen, De Standaard, Vice and
The Word, amongst others. His works, Lotus and The Fourth Wall, are some of his self-published
books. Pinckers lives and works in Brussels.
‘Will They Sing Like Raindrops or Leave Me Thirsty’, Max Pinckers, 2013
15
Exhibitions
Practical information
Organisation: Europalia International, in collaboration with BOZAR Expo
Curators:
Deepak Ananth, Dirk Vermaelen.
In collaboration with the MAS, Antwerpen.
Advisor: Jan Parmentier (the MAS), Chris De Lauwer (MAS), Idesbald Goddeeris (KULeuven)
Subject:The Western artistic view on India from Vasco de Gama until today
Period:
16th Century – present day
Objects:
Moghul miniatures, textiles (17th C until today), drawings from Rembrandt, Pieter Coecke Van Aelst… Brancusi, Company paintings, photographs (Henri
Cartier-Bresson, Danielou, Luigi Ontani), sculptures by Keith Sonnier,
Wolfgang Laib… New artworks by Max Pinckers and Hans Op de Beeck
Residencies:
Commissioned by Europalia, Hans Op de Beeck and Max Pinckers travel to India to be inspired by the country and create new works for the exhibition.
Main lenders:
British Museum, British Library, Musée Guimet, Musée Rodin, Centre Pompidou,
Fondation Custodia, MoMu Antwerp, private collections,…
Scenography: OFFICE Kersten Geers David van Severen
Catalogue: Ludion - NL | FR | EN - 29,90 €
Sponsors: Loterie Nationale - SPF Affaires Etrangères- Total - KBC-Jetairways
Price:
14 € > 4 €; Combiticket with The Body in Indian Art > 23 €
Audioguide:
NL | FR | EN included with entry ticket- Children : activity comic book
Schools: 1 € per pupil
Press Vernissage : Tuesday 15 October 2013 at 10:30
Opening hours :
Tue to Sun 10:00 > 18:00,
Thu 10:00 > 21:00
Closed : Mondays and 25.12.2013 & 01.01.2014
Festival Information : T + 32 2 540 80 80 & www.europalia.eu
Reservations : T + 32 2 507 82 00 & www.bozar.be
16
Exhibitions
Curators
Deepak Ananth is an art historian, critic and independent curator based in Paris. He studied at The
Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London and he currently teaches at the Ecole des Beaux Arts
in Caen, Normandy.
His curatorial projects include exhibitions of : Contemporary French art in Thresholds, New Delhi
(1995); 19th century French painting, Histoires Parallèles, Fukuoka, Kyoto (1995-1996); Surrealism
Surrealismo, Rio de Janeiro (2001); Contemporary Indian art, Indian Summer, Ecole des Beaux Arts
Paris (2005) - the first major presentation on the European continent; l’Inde dans tous les sens,
Espace Louis Vuitton, Paris (2006); Passages, Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels (2006); Prospects, Auditorium, Rome (2007); The Home and the World, Hermès, New York, Berlin, Paris (2008).
Ananth has written on a range of Modern and Contemporary European and Indian artists, mostly
for museum publications. These include essays on Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Pierre Bonnard,
Edouard Vuillard, Howard Hodgkin, Sarkis Zabunyan, Anish Kapoor, Amrita Sher-Gil, Vivan Sundaram, Mrinalini Mukherjee, Jitish Kallat, Dayanita Singh, Raghubir Singh and NS Harsha. He was a
selector for the Artes Mundi prize in 2006.
Art historian Dirk Vermaelen is exhibitions director at Europalia since 2007. He has collaborated in
several exhibitions, some of which he curated himself, such as Transsiberian Express (europalia.
russia).
Advisor
Jan Parmentier is an expert in maritime history, specialized in the early modern period. He works as scientific advisor to the MAS Museum, Antwerp and is curator for the box ‘World City’ (5th floor).
Chris De Lauwer has studied indology at the University of Ghent. She also teaches Indian languages (Hindi
and Sanskrit). For 10 years, she was in charge of the Etnografisch Museum Antwerpen, which has become
part of the MAS. At the MAS, she is the conservator of the Asian collection and curates the “Life and Death”
theme.
Idesbald Goddeeris is a professor at the KULeuven on international and colonial history. He is a Senior
Member of the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, where he coordinates the Leuven India Focus. His interest and research focuses on migration history, the Cold War and relations between foreign
cultures, and more specifically on Poland and India.
Scenography
OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen was founded in 2002 by Kersten Geers and David Van
Severen. In ten years of practice OFFICE has gained international recognition by making direct and
precise spatial proposals. In 2010 they won the Venice Biennale Silver Lion for most promising young
architect. Recently an overview of their work and has been published in the 2G#63 monographic
issue. Currently OFFICE Kersten Geers David van Severen is working in several projects in Europe
and abroad
17
Special rate for schools
VISIT THE 2 MAIN EUROPALIA.INDIA EXHIBITIONS FOR 1€ !
FOR THE SCHOOLS
A better knowledge of each other’s culture is without any doubt an asset in
our multicultural society. Europalia wants to give to as many school children
as possible the opportunity to encounter different world cultures. For some
years now, the attendance of school groups in exhibitions has unfortunately
been dropping. In order to tackle this problem, we have thoroughly changed
our approach. An enquiry learned that the biggest problem, together with
mobility, is the financial threshold.
That is why the entry price for the two main exhibitions of the festival, The
Body in Indian Art and Indomania, from Rembrandt to the Beatles, will be only
1 euro for children visiting these events with their schools.
We hope that this new rate allows a maximum number of children and youngsters to discover India’s
treasures.
1€
FOR TEACHERS :
For those who want to dedicate some classes to India and its culture, we organise :
•
Special teacher days in the exhibitions
•
Pedagogic info sessions
•
Pedagogic files
•
Guided tours and workshops
•…
EXTRA-CURRICULAR EVENTS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNGSTERS :
•
Special audio guides for children in The Body in Indian Art
•
Special discovery tour for children in Indomania
•
Guided tours
•
Discovery journeys
•
Family activities
•Workshops
•
Events around fairy tales
•Animations
•Contests
•…
Sponsor: National Bank of Belgium & National Lotery
You can discover other activities in the youth program on our website: www.europalia.eu
18
OTHER
EUROPALIA.INDIA
EXHIBITIONS
The full programme of the europalia.india festival is available
in our programme book or on our web site www.europalia.eu
Do not hesitate to contact us for additionnal information
Exhibitions
ART WALK: WATER
Dates 12.10.2013 › 05.01.2014
Venue Different places in Liège: Musée Grand Curtius, Aquarium,
Musée d’Ansembourg, Galerie Les Drapiers, Place du Marché and La Passerelle.
Since ancient times, water has played a significant role in India. As illustration of this, the
river goddess Sarasvati has been revered and
worshipped since the Vedic period (2000 B.C.500 B.C.). Just like their veneration of Sarasvati, Indians have honoured their rivers and
linked them with important rituals. With seven
sacred rivers crossing the country that are
central to the lives of many Indians, water at
holy sites is considered sacred and a life force.
Unlike in any previous period, water in today’s
India is also a contentious issue, afflicted by
urban pollution and issues around its distribution. In the last decade, water has also become
an important theme in contemporary art. The
art walk in Liège brings together photography,
video and installations made in that decade,
supplemented by new works. It is noticeable
that the artists draw inspiration from India’s
mythology and rich symbolism to create very
poetic works. These often refer to the populations living alongside rivers and the way they
deal with water scarcity and pollution. In the
ever-expanding cities along India’s rivers, you
sense the urgent search for a new urban identity and answers to future needs.
The artists explore this theme in the European context of a city on a river. The walk takes place in and
around the Grand Curtius, the starting point, on the banks of the Meuse River. The exhibiting artists
include: Subodh Gupta, Atul Bhalla, Dayanita Singh, and Ravi Agarwal, among others.
New works will be created by, amongst others, three artists in residence in Liège: Srinivasa Prasad,
Asim Waqif and Navin Thomas.
22
Exhibitions
Artists in residence
Srinivasa Prasad
(°1974) is an installation artist from Bangalore. For his creative work, Prasad uses natural materials
such as mud, hay, water, grains, and cow dung, sith a deep root in the tradition and culture of his
native land. He also takes in the essence of performing arts to his works and emphasizes the interaction between the audiences and the work.
Navin Thomas
(°1974) is a multimedial artist from Bangalore. His installations are characterized by a focus on ecology and technology. In 2011 he was awarded the Skoda Prize for Contemporary Art.
Sheela Gowda
(°1957) est une artiste-peintre qui s’intéresse depuis les années 1990 aux installations et sculptures. Son
travail est caractérisé par l’utilisation de matériaux non conventionnels, issus d’objets du quotidien.
Curators
Gayatri Sinha is a curator, art historian and author, who lives and works in New Delhi. She curated amongst other things Window in the Wall: India and China (2011, Pearl Lam, Shanghai); Bapu
– On Gandhi in Contemporary India (2009, Saffronart, Mumbai) and Public Places, Private Spaces:
Contemporary Photography and Video Art in India (2008, Minneapolis Insitute of Arts, USA). She was
rewarded with de Best Curator Award by India Habitat Centre in 2003.
Denise Biernaux is a curator at the gallery Les Drapiers, Liège.
Jean-Marc Gay is the Director of the Musée Grand Curtius, Liège.
Artists
• Navjot Altaf (°1949), Mumbai
• Zarina Bhimji (°1963), London
• Navin Thomas (°1974), Bangalore
• Rajorshi Ghosh (°1980), Calcutta/Los Angeles
• Subodh Gupta (°1964), New Delhi
• Atul Bhalla (°1964), New Delhi
• Dayanita Singh (°1961), New Delhi
• Sheba Chhachhi (°1958), New Delhi
• Prashant Panjiar (°1957), New Delhi
• Saravanam Parasuraman (°1982), Chennai
• Ravi Agarwal (°1958), New Delhi
• Sudarshan Shetty (°1961), Mumbai
• Sheela Gowda (°1957), Bangalore
• Srinivasa Prasad (°1974), Bangalore
• Sreshta Rit Premnath (°1979), Bangalore/New York
• Sheela Gowda (°1957), Bangalore
23
Exhibitions
Practical information
Organisation: ICCR, Europalia International, City of Liège
Curators:
Gayatri Sinha, Denise Biernaux and Jean-Marc Gay
Content:
In an Arts Route stretching across different locations along the Meuse River, the City of Liège will host contemporary artworks – mainly installations,
photos and videos – by established and emerging artists exploring the
importance of water in Indian civilization.
Catalogue: City of Liège - NL | FR | EN | DE
Price:
8 € > 1,25 €
Press Vernissage:
Thursday Oct 10th at 10.30 at the Grand Curtius
Participating Museums: Grand Curtius
Féronstrée 136
4000 Liège
Musée D’ansembourg
Féronstrée 114
4000 Liège
Galerie Les Drapiers
Rue Hors Château 68
4000 Liège
Informations festival : T + 32 2 540 80 80 & www.europalia.eu
Informations Parcours : T + 32 4 222 37 53 & www.lesmuseesdeliege.be
24
Exhibitions
UNVEILING INDIA
The Early Lensmen
(1850-1910)
Dates 06.12.2013 > 09.03.2014
Venue Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Rue de la Régence 3 - 1000 Brussels
Drawn exclusively from the Alkazi Collection of Photography in New Delhi
(ACP), this vintage photographic exhibition showcases early Wax Paper Negatives, Albumen prints and postcards from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Looking primarily at distinct aspects of architecture, landscape and people, the
exhibition brings forth the syncretic culture of India through its earliest surviving images of the Taj Mahal taken by Dr. John Murray (a Scottish-born doctor); of Mr. Alexander Greenlaw, the first photographer to the Hindu kingdom of
Vijayanagara in the south, as well as exclusive street views and portraits that
highlight the life of the people in their socio-cultural settings.
In its entirety, the exhibition will primarily approach these topics in relation to
the social and cultural contexts and histories from which they emerged, but
they raise important questions about the global paradigm of photography.
There will be a collaborative exhibition catalogue available.
Curator: Rahaab Allana, Alkazi Foundation for the Arts (New Delhi),
CO-ordination and assistance : Davy Depelchin
Organisation: Alkazi Collection of Photography, ICCR, RMFAB, Europalia International
SARI
The magic of Indian
Weaves
Dates 13.10.2013 > 20.11.2013
Venue C-Mine
Evence Coppéelaan 91- 3600 Genk
The deep involvement and complete sense of identity of the Indian woman with the
sari, has made her resist the pressure to change her style of dress, inadvertently providing continuity in weaving traditions of every part of the country. The sari represents a culture in which the woven and textured-with-pattern garment, unpierced
or intruded upon by the stitching needle; was considered not only more appropriate
in terms of aesthetic and climate, but was also an act of greater purity and simplicity. The sari allows us to go back at least a thousand years in terms of design. It is
conceived on the loom as a three-dimensional garment with variables in pattern,
weave and structure between its inner and outer end-pieces and its two borders,
which provide drape, strength and weight, while the body enhances its drape. All
these elements help maintain the form of the sari when it is worn.The personal pleasure of draping the unstitched, fluid garment over and around the body, adjusting
it with little tucks and pulls to suit one’s own particular form, is sensuous. It creates a
picture of flowing grace that conceals as much as it reveals.
The exhibition focuses on the refinement and vivaciousness of this tradition and
gives the public an opportunity to explore the incredible diversity of Saris, their history, wearing techniques, to touch
them and even to try them on.
25
Exhibitions
THE SPLENDOR OF INDIAN
ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE
Dates 18.10.2013 > 05.01.2014
Venue Kapel Romaanse Poort
Brusselsestraat 63 - 3000 Leuven
The exhibition presents the rich architectural tradition of the Indian subcontinent through several emblematic examples. After a broad introduction to the
original Hindu architectural tradition, the focus lies on three historic “encounters” with a strong external traditions: the Mughals (16th-17th centuries) – the
British (19th century) – Modernism (20th century). In each case, these external
influences were assimilated and further developed in the original tradition.
Central to the exhibition is the recreation of a traditional Indian Char Bagh.
Curators: Dr. Saryu Doshi and Geert Robberechts
Organisation: ICCR, INTACH, City of Leuven, Europalia International
SANSKRIT
and Indian Culture : Voyages
Dates 19.10.2013 > 20.12.2013
Venue Congrescentrum Het Pand
Onderbergen 1 - 9000 Gent
Sanskrit is sometimes called the Latin of India. This comparison goes beyond
the fact that both are classical languages: just like Latin did in Europe, the
Middle East and North Africa, Sanskrit also spread – along with many aspects
of classical Indian culture – far beyond the borders of today’s India, and in particular towards the East. Unlike Latin, the spread of Sanskrit was not accompanied by the military conquest of those regions.
The cultural influence of India in East and South East Asia began around
the beginning of our calendar era and lasted for approximately one millennium. The spread of Buddhism into China, Korea, Japan and Mongolia played a decisive role here. In South East Asia, (Cambodia, Thailand,
Indonesia...) this process went further and deeper than just religion: political leaders modelled themselves on the legendary kings of classical Indian epics, including the use of Sanskrit, and the copying and reinterpretation of typical features
of Indian aesthetics (architecture, literature, performing arts...). This exhibition offers an overview of the
multi-facetted presence of classical Indian culture in the rest of Asia, from antiquity to the present day.
Curators: Prof. Dr. Shashibala, Prof. Dr. Eva De Clercq, Dr. Pauline van der Zee
Organisation: ICCR, Etnografisch Museum UGent, UGent, Europalia International
26
Exhibitions
LIVING OBJECTS
Made for India
Dates 13.10.2013 – 16.02.2014
Venue Grand Hornu Images
Rue Sainte-Louise 82 - 7301 Hornu
Considering the plurality and diversity of Indian culture and material environment, the exhibition will not be a factual documentary but instead an invitation to explore and enjoy the duality and seeming contradiction inherent in all
aspects of everyday Indian life and material culture. The objects selected will
be a vehicle to discuss Indian culture, Indian values and Indian way of life. They
will be replaced in a surprising setting by Doshi Levien.
Curators: Doshi Levien and Marie Pok
Organisation: Grand Hornu Images in collaboration with Europalia
International
RAMAYANA
Indian Miniature Art from the National
Museum of New Delhi
Dates 22.11.2013 > 18.05.2014
Venue Cinquantenaire Museum
Cinquantenaire 10 - 1000 Brussels
Apart from the Mahabharata, the Ramayana is one of the two most important classic
hindu epics in India. It is one of the apogees of the world literature. The original
version of the story was composed over two thousand years ago, by the legendary
poet Valmiki. The Ramayana tells about the fortunes of hero Rama and his wife Sita.
It is a story about courage, loyalty, friendship, love and justice and has a deeply religious inspiration. In India, Rama is considered as a god and is still worshipped as one
of the ten incarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu. Throughout the centuries, the Ramayana has been a great source of inspiration for many artists, not only in India but
also in its neighboring countries Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia. The exhibition comprises about one hundred miniatures from the collection of the National
Museum of New Delhi. These treasures illustrate the progression of the Ramayana
story and give an overview of the most important miniature schools which treated
the Ramayana between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Curators: Miriam Lambrecht & National Museum New Delhi
Organisation: National Museum New Delhi, Cinquantenaire Museum in collaboration with
Europalia International
27
Exhibitions
INDIAN STUDIO
/ Johan Muyle
Dates 07.11.2013 > 09.02.2014
Venue CENTRALE for contemporary art
Place Sainte-Catherine 44 - 1000 Brussels
In 1995, JOHAN MUYLE finds himself in India for the first time. There he discovers
the art of ‘movie poster painting.’ Inspired by these large-format paintings, he accomplishes several monumental installations between 1995 and 2006. They are shown to
the public in Sao Paulo, Venice, Marseille, Havana, Brighton… From 2005 onwards his
workload increases with a series of motorized sculptures made out of objects brought
back from numerous workshops in Chennai. This monographic exhibition INDIAN
STUDIO will reveal twenty pictorial and sculptural artworks, half of them having been
recently created in workshops in Belgium and India.
Curators:Johan Muyle and Carine Fol
Organisation: CENTRALE for contemporary art, in collaboration with Europalia International
THE FOUR WORLDS OF A MAHARAJA
Indian miniature paintings and drawings
Dates 19.10.2013 > 19.01.2014
Venue Fondation Folon
Drève de la Ramée 6A - 1310 La Hulpe
About 40 miniatures and 20 sketches (17th to 19th Century), reflect the daily life of the
maharaja, centered around 4 main components: the worshiping of gods, love, leisure
activities and war.
Curators: Joachim K. Bautze and Stéphanie Angelroth
Organisation: Fondation Folon, in collaboration with Europalia International
28
Exhibitions
Images of a Forgotten Meeting
1850 - 1950
Dates 09.11.2013 > 25.01.2014
Venue KADOC Documentatie- en Onderzoekscentrum voor Religie, Cultuur en Samenleving
Vlamingenstraat 39 - 3000 Leuven
KADOC presents its archive of 150 years of Belgian presence in India. This collection not only
includes traditional archive materials (letters, notes...), but also photographs and films. Together, they form a fascinating chronicle of a forgotten history and provide insights into the
Belgian vision of Indian culture.
Curator: Luc Vints
Organisation: KADOC, in collaboration with Europalia International
HELLO! BRUSSELS?
This is Gaipajama calling!
Dates 26.10.2013 > 26.01.2014
Venue Musée Hergé
Rue Labrador 26 - 1348 Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve
After he became the editor of Le Petit Vingtième, in 1928, it was not long before Hergé sent his
young hero Tintin on adventures around the World.
Tintin stopped in India several times. On the first occasion he was hot on the heels of drug
smugglers, and accidentally crashed an aeroplane in the state of Gaipajama (Cigars of the
Pharaoh, 1932). It was not long before Tintin met the maharaja of this kingdom.
In the 1941 theatre play Tintin in India – the Mystery of the Blue Diamond (written in collaboration with Jacques Melkebeke and put on at the Théâtre des Galeries in Brussels), the Belgian
sleuth solves a mystery in the fictional state of Padakhore.
In Tintin au Tibet (1959), while travelling to the Roof of the World Tintin and Captain Haddock
stop off in Delhi; they take the time to admire the Red Fort and the Qutab Minar.
A map of the East, adventure stories, maharajas, fakirs, sacred cows and cobras... all these ingredients come together at the Hergé
Museum as visitors are invited on a journey to colourful India.
Curator: Organisation:
Musée Hergé with the sensibility of Alok Nandi
Le Musée Hergé, in partnership with the Louvain-la-Neuve Museum and the nonprofit organisation Mala India (asbl Mala, sponsorship of Indian children in Waterloo)
and with the help and advice of Didier Sandman in “On the roads of India”,
in collaboration with Europalia International.
29
Exhibitions
NALINI MALANI
Beyond print.
History, transference, montage.
Dates 28.09.2013 > 05.01.2014
Venue Centre de la Gravure et de l’Image imprimée
Rue des Amours 10 – 7100 La Louvière
The exhibition will for the first time exhibit Nalini Malani’s work in Belgium. It
consists of two parts, the first being a selection of art works that illustrate the
evolution of her work, from her first artist books to big digital prints and video
projections. The second part is a yet unseen part of the collection of the Centre
de la Gravure curated by Nalini Malani herself, including a collaboration with
students.
Curator: Nalini Malani
Organisation: Centre de la Gravure et de l’Image imprimée,
in collaboration with Europalia International
JEAN ROBIE, painter, writer
and his journeys in India
Dates 09.10.2013 > 03.01.2014
Venue Charlier Museum
Avenue des Arts 16 – 1210 Brussels
This exhibition showcases the work of the Brussels-born painter Jean-Baptiste Robie (1821-1910). Best know for his still life work rather than for his oriental landscapes, the painter who was nicknamed “the lover of roses” went on two adventurous
journeys to India in 1881 and 1884-1885.
Paintings, sketches, travel stories, photographs and artefacts brought back from
India by the painter himself, illustrate the enthusiastic vision of a Belgian globe-trotter of the end of the 19th century regarding this fascinating and diverse country. His
memories recount the beliefs, customs and colourful festivities as well as the smaller details of everyday life.
The museum design is also opening up to new technologies. A virtual lectern and a
multimedia projection will allow the visitors to travel interactively within Jean Robie’s
pictorial and literary work.
Curators: Charlier Museum
Organisation: Charlier Museum , in collaboration with the Fondation Jean
Robie & Europalia International
30
Exhibitions
INDIA MEETS MAS
Dates 05.10.2013 > 12.01.2014
Venue MAS | Museum aan de Stroom - Hanzestedenplaats 1 - 2000 Antwerpen
The MAS Museum organises a vertical tour through the museum and puts the
spotlights on its Indian collection, focusing on the theme of ‘encounters’.
The MAS Museum also frees the stage for the younger generation of Indian artists: the RAQS Media Collective will showcase the video installation “Transformations of the urban landscape in New Delhi” on the 5th floor of the Museum.
Curator:Chris De Lauwer
Organisation: MAS | Museum aan de Stroom, in collaboration with
Europalia International
Sponsor: Haven van Antwerpen
Art et Savoir de l’Inde
Dates 07.11.2013 > 15.02.2014
Venue Bibliothèque des sciences humaines de l’ULB
Avenue F. Roosevelt 50 - CP 181.
Campus du Solbosch: Bâtiment NB - 1050 Brussels
Since its very beginning in the Indus valley, the Indian civilization has contributed to science in an original and generally unheralded way. Some of its contributions are the decimal system that spread through Europe and then to the
whole world through the Middle East, the geometry of ancient Vedic rituals from which problems such as for instance
the squaring of the circle and square roots are derived, great innovations in astronomy and optical instruments or
traditional ayurvedic medicine. Its wide variety of subjects will attract many a visitor, from schools and teachers to the
man in the street.
Curator: Jean-Michel Delire
Organisation: J.-M.Delire, Archives des Bibliothèques, Altaïr ULB
31
Exhibitions
The Fourth Wall
Dates 08.10.2013 > 30.10.2013
Venue Flagey, Brussels
Max Pinckers (1988, Brussel) traveled in 2012 to India, where he submerged himself in the film industry.
The photographic series The Fourth Wall is the result: almost surrealist images, on
the verge of fiction and reality.
Curator: Max Pinckers
Organisation: Europalia International, in collaboration with Flagey
LARGE MOUNTAIN
Anish Kapoor
Dates05.01.2013
Venue Horta Hall, Bozar - Rue Ravenstein 23 - 1000 Brussels
Created in 1994 and exhibited for the very first time, Large Mountain by Anish
Kapoor is a sculpture that impresses through its size, unique shape and the
mystery that surrounds it. Through the use of several layers of composite
wood, the artist manages to evoke strata built up over eons. The sculpture
expresses the artist’s fascination with the notion of time.
Organisation: Lhoist Collection, in collaboration with Europalia International
32
Exhibitions in the frame of europalia.india
Sur la route des Indes
Exhibition on the collection of the French engineer Pierre-Eugène Lamairesse, who traveled in India
in the 19th Century.
Dates
21.09.2013 > 28.02.2014
Venue Musée des Beaux-arts et d’archéologie
Place Alexandre Godart - 51022 Châlons-en-Champagne, France
www.chalons-en-champagne.net/culture/les-musees
T + 33 (0)3.26.69.38.53
Organisation
Ville de Châlons-en-Champagne
Indi-GO
Photographies by Vincent Giot
Dates
08.10 > 25.10.2013
Venue Bibliothèque locale du Centre, Médiathèque & Foyer de l’Auditorium du W:Halll
Avenue Charles Thielemans 93 - 1150 Brussels
www.vincentgiot.com
Organisation
W:Halll
Corner Street Magic
Photographies by Thomas Vanden Driessche
Dates
Venue Organisation
13.11.2013 > 08.12.2013
Maison du Peuple, Parvis de St Gilles 37A - 1060 Brussels
Échevinat et service de la culture de Saint-Gilles
Mineralenrijkdom
uit het land van de Maharadja’s
Small exhibition on the Indian minerals of the Mineralogical Museum in Antwerp.
Dates
31.08.2013 > 21.12.2013
Venue Mineralogisch museum
Frans de l’Arbrelaan 12 - 2170 Merksem (Antwerp)
www.acam.be - T +32 (0)3.658.62.83
Organisation
Academie voor Mineralogie
33
Exhibitions in the frame of europalia.india
Durga Puja
Photographies by Geraldine Langlois
Dates
Venue 13.11 > 02.12.2013
Centre Culturel de la Chapelle de Boendael
Avenue d’Italie – 1150 Brussels
T + 32 (0)2.515.64.63
Diamonds of Art Brut, inspired by Nek Chand
an artistic and social project
Charity project during which sculptures of psychiatric patients inspired by Nek Chand will be briefly presented and will then be auctioned.
Dates
TBC
Venue TBC
T+32 (0)476 39 54 65
www.gentprinsenhof.be/index.php/moneymakers
Organisation
Rotary Club Gent-Prinsenhof
India...
«Beyond the Colors»
Photographies by Dominique Pirnay
Dates
Venue Organisation
TBC
Théâtre Marni
Rue de Vergnies, 25 – 1050 Brussels
T +32 (0)2 639 09 80
Théâtre Marni
And also ...
- Bert Danckaert No Exit, the Extra’s , Palais des Beaux-Arts, Bruxelles, 17.09.2013 > 03.11.2013
- Chandigarh : maakbaarheid van steden herbekeken, Budafabriek Kortijk, 12.10.2013> xx.11.2013
- Fragments d’Inde, Photographies de Bénédicte Meekers, ULB, Campus du Solbosch, Bruxelles, 07.11.2013> 28.02.2014
34
PERFORMING
ARTS
The full programme of the europalia.india festival is available
in our programme book or on our web site www.europalia.eu
Do not hesitate to contact us for additionnal information
Performing Arts
Indian dance is complimentary to Indian music. Just like Indian music, it reflects the country’s
variety, its past, everything it holds sacred as well as its charm. As diverse as the shimmering costume colours, the Bharata natyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Manipuri, Kuchipudi, Odissi,
Mohiniattam and Sattriya sacred dances are governed by very ancient and complex codes.
All movements, expressions, positions of the hands, fingers or feet, establish the vocabulary and grammar which tell the life of the gods. The extremely long and rigorous training
followed by the pupils requires devotion and spiritual commitment. Alarmel Valli, Vidha &
Abhimanyu Lal, Kapila Venu and the Kerala Kalamandalam troupe – each one a celebrity in
their respective dance – will be present to illustrate this chapter dedicated to sacred dances.
In addition, the Charishnu show, choreographed by Leela Samson, will offer an anthology of
all Indian classical dance forms.
Folk and tribal dances will also have their place in the programme. These are as many as
there are regions, cultures, traditions and ethnic groups in India, which means numerous.
These dances are a physical response and a popular outlet linked to the celebration of the
dramas and joys of everyday life; as such, they do not require such vigorous training as
sacred dancing does, but they are nevertheless the legacy of a long tradition handed down
from generation to generation. During europalia.india, Panghat Performing Arts Group will
present an overview of the variety of these dances performed in their native Gujarat.
Finally, in contemporary dance, India’s past and present meet, interact and coexist. Often trained
in one of the classical dances or in kalaripyatt (Indian martial art), Indian contemporary dancers
are influenced by the codes, movements and expressions that belonged to their early training.
Europalia.india is delighted to welcome the Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, an excellent
illustration of the contemporary movement in India.
The programme will also showcase young dancers and choreographers, born in India or from the
Indian diaspora, who will illustrate the result of mixing tradition and modernity: Revanta Sarabhai
& Kalpana Raghuraman, to name but a few.
And in order to illustrate the theme of Encounters, many Indian musicians et Belgian dancers/
choreographers will be creating and performing together in joint ventures. To name but a few
: Ionah Trio et the Belgian choreographer Yentl De Werdt, the dancers Johanne Saunier and Ine
Claes with musicians B.C. Manjunath and Joachim Lacrosse.
In turn gracious, virtuosic, dynamic, sensual, mesmerizing, impressive, fast and narrative or all of
these at once, the more than 30 performing art events presented as part of europalia.india will
succeed, we hope, in delighting the fans and seducing the curious.
The full programme is available in our programme book or on www.europalia.eu.
38
MUSIC
The full programme of the europalia.india festival is available
in our programme book or on our web site www.europalia.eu
Do not hesitate to contact us for additionnal information
Music
Music is most certainly the artistic field that best reflects India. Since ancient times, music has
told Indian stories and myths and it is thought to be of divine inspiration. Music has nourished
India and it has nourished it in return from time immemorial.
Sacred music accompanies dances and rituals in the temples following codes set in the Vedic
times. Traditional folk music is the reflection of different regions, cultures, religions and ages.
Both these musical styles celebrate the Gods and accompany life and death. Inseparable from
dance, they vary in form, rhythm, colour and instruments and are perpetuated by generations of
Gurus and pupils whose synergy is compelling.
The biggest strength of Indian music no doubt lies in the fact that the original forms coexist with
the variations, fusions and evolutions to which they act as source of inspiration. The intermixed
and bold music that results from this fusion, strengthens but does not replace the original and
only confirms the attraction for this art form that, in India, is not limited to acquiring a technique
but takes you on a spiritual initiation.
The europalia.india musical programme, although it will be presenting more than 50 concerts, can of
course only put forward a sample, almost like a random sounding into the enormous musical wealth
of this sub-continent. It will showcase sacred music, by Hans Raj Hans for the Sufi Night, sung by Vidya
Shah or danced by the exceptional Sidi Goma, the black Sufis from Gujarat amongst others. It will also
offer a geographical journey, in between the Carnatic music of the South, represented notably by
the singer Sudha Raghunathan or the violin of L. Subramaniam and the countless voices and musicians representing the northern Hindustani music, such as the Gundecha Brothers, Amjad Ali Khan or
Sandeep Das.
True to the festival theme, the europalia.india programme will grant a special place to encounters and
reunions. At the forefront of these will be the Remember Shakti concert, summarising everything that
“indomania” has embodied over the last 40 years, and also the reunion of Roland Van Campenhout and
Chitraveena N. Ravikiran, the “Ensemble Gilles Binchois” and Aruna Sairam, Daniel Schell versus Harsh
Wardhan or Aka Moon and the percussionist U.K. Sivaraman.
And finally, time for youth! Whether it be in the form of jazz, world music, fusion, experimental or
electronic music, the europalia.india festival offers enough to feed many passions and interests.
From Charanjit Singh, regarded by some as the “father” of acid house, to DJ Andy Votel, from
the re-issuing and goldmine label Finders Keepers, to DJ Dom Thomas, from Tuur Forizoone’s
accordion teamed up with the legendary percussionist Trilok Gurtu, from the enchanting voice of
Suheela Raman to the percussions of Talvin Singh and to the audio and video journeys of Christophe Chassol...
Madness or reverence, passion or curiosity, discovery or reunion, europalia.india hopes to rise
to the ambitious challenge of offering a varied and balanced musical programme: in between
tradition, modernity, fusion and encounters, providing everyone with the opportunity to find their
own desire of India.
The full programme is available in our programme book or on www.europalia.eu.
42
Literature
India First-Hand
India@campus
Conferences
Lectures
The full programme of the europalia.india festival is available
in our programme book or on our web site www.europalia.eu
Do not hesitate to contact us for additionnal information
Literature
Indian literature is thought to be one of the oldest in the world. This comes as no surprise when you
consider the Hindu scriptures - the Vedas and the great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, - which, although they were written in Sanskrit thousands of years ago, still influence a large
part of India’s artistic production. Indeed, countless dances, drawings, miniatures, music, movies
and contemporary works draw their inspiration from these ancient writings, and have thus ensured
their transmission through the centuries. In addition, hundreds of languages are spoken in India with more than twenty being officially recognised - and the country is an unparalleled patchwork of
different cultures and traditions, each of which has generated an extremely varied production over
the centuries. There is also a rich young contemporary scene which, far from the classical “Indian
themes”, is outward-looking and explores all artistic genres from poetry to comics.
Prose, poetry, workshops, residencies... Over 20 Indian writers will be coming to Belgium during the 4
months of the festival. François Emmanuel, one of Belgium’s great authors who is fascinated by India, will
meet Dhruba Gosh, an Indian sarangi player, for a reading of the short story “Amour déesse triste” from
François Emmanuel’s latest book (“Les Murmurantes” Three Short Stories, published by Editions du Seuil in
2013).
List of the expected Indian authors
• Manu Joseph > in residency at Passa Porta from 18.11.2013 to 02.12.2013
• Abha Dawesar
• Tarun Tejpal
• Jeet Thayil
• Sudeep Sen
• Vikas Swarup
• Khartika Nair
• Shumona Sinha
• Pavan K. Varma
• George Kunnath
• Saryu Doshi
• Randhir Kare
• Harish Trivedi
• Paul Zacharia
• K. Satchidanandan
• Uday Prakash
• C.S. Lakshmi
• Sanjukta Dasgupta
The full programme is available in our programme book or on www.europalia.eu.
46
Libraries, India@campus, conferences and publications
LIBRARIES : INDIA FIRST-HAND
It has become a tradition on the occasion of the Europalia festivals: libraries participate in the project and
organise events themed around the hosted country. This year again, several library networks will take part
in the celebration by offering workshops, conferences, themed weeks, screenings of films related to India.
Some will also seize this opportunity to enlarge their collections of Indian books and films. Europalia.india
will be celebrated all over Belgium through the network of participating libraries.
INDIA@CAMPUS
Europalia festivals are the occasion to renew the collaboration with Belgian universities. Conferences, exhibitions, meetings, guests... KULeuven, UGent, ULB and UCL join the Indian festivites with various events.
PUBLICATIONS
Indications and Marginales both publish a dedicates edition of their magazine to europalia.india’s guest
country.
CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS
Europalia.india also offers workshops, conferences, meetings, lectures... over 40 events, from yoga days at
Bozar to conferences on Indian philosophy, Tintin or hindousm or meetings on contemporary art, dance
workshops, pecha-kucha nights, Indian cuisine,...
The full programme is available in our programme book or on www.europalia.eu.
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ORGANISATION
ORGANISATION
europalia.india
in India
ICCR - Indian Council for Cultural Relations
General commissioner
Dr. Karan Singh, President ICCR
Director general
Mrs. Anita Nayar, MEA & Director General, ICCR
Vinay Vohra, Exhibitions
Sunil Mehdiretta, Director literature & conferences
ICCR thanks
- Ministry of External Affairs
- Ministry of Culture
- Ministry of Tourism
- Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
- Ministry of Health (Department of AYUSH)
- Ministry of Commerce
- Ministry of Textiles
- Governments of Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar,
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra
- Embassy of India, Brussels
- National Museum, New Delhi
- Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi
- Directorate of Film Festivals, New Delhi
- Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC)
- Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)
- Confederation of Indian Industries (CII)
- ALKAZI Foundation
- All participating curators, artists, writers & other contributors
49
ORGANISATION
ICCR
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was founded on 9th April 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam
Azad, the first Education Minister of independent India.
The objectives of the Council are to participate in the formulation and implementation of policies and
programmes relating to India’s external cultural relations; to foster and strengthen cultural relations
and mutual understanding between India and other countries; to promote cultural exchanges with other
countries and people; to establish and develop relations with national and international organisations in
the field of culture; and to take such measures as may be required to further these objectives.
The ICCR is about a communion of cultures, a creative dialogue with other nations. To facilitate this interaction with world cultures, the Council strives to articulate and demonstrate the diversity and richness of
the cultures of India, both in and with other countries of the world.
The Council prides itself on being a pre-eminent institution engaged in cultural diplomacy and the sponsor of intellectual exchanges between India and partner countries. It is the Council’s resolve to continue to
symbolize India’s great cultural and educational efflorescence in the years to come.
ICCR organises about 10 festivals every year both within India and abroad, invites more than 100 groups
from abroad into India and sends about 150 groups to other countries, has about 100 Chairs in universities
abroad, does about 7 or 8 international conferences on civilizational and cultural subjects, provides scholarships to more than 3000 students from abroad every year for studies in Indian universities, promotes
research collaboration by providing appropriate fellowships, apart from other activities such as Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, inviting distinguished visitors to India and Academic
Visitors Programme. ICCR has gained considerable reputation in the previous few years as a dynamic
organisation engaging in cultural collaboration and cultural diplomacy with other societies and its partnerships with Europalia is a natural outcome of its own dynamics.
50
ORGANISATION
europalia.india
in Belgium
Europalia International
General Commissioner europalia.india
Baron Philippe Vlerick
General Manager
Kristine De Mulder
Exhibitions
Dirk Vermaelen
Céline Jacquet
Anne Doumbadzé
Isabelle Vanhoutte
Elisabeth Van Eyck
Eva Bialek
Executive assistant
Marie-Ève Tesch
Communication
Colette Delmotte
Aurore Detournay-Kaas
Alice d’Ursel
Nathalie Boelens
Finance, Human Resources and Organisatie
Stefana Ciubotariu
Maria Marzetti
Julie Erler
Ly Nguyen Van
Music, Theatre, Dance, Literature,
Film & Conferences
Bloeme van Roemburg
Bozena Coignet
Marleen De Baets
Christoph Hammes
Press & Sponsoring
Inge De Keyser
Diane Van Hauwaert
Monique Famey
Interns
Magali Mundi
Barbara De Vleminck
Amélie Lobbestael
Michaela Defever
Francesca Vanschoonbeek
Board of Europalia International
Chairman
Count Jacobs de Hagen
Vice-chairman
Baron Van Waeyenberge
Administrators
Baron De Keersmaeker, Honorary Chairman
Viscount Davignon
Mr. Philippe Delaunois
Baron Stephenne
Mr. Rudi Thomaes
Baron Snoy
Baron Buysse
Mr. Regnier Haegelsteen
Mevrouw Véronique Paulus de Châtelet
Mr. Dirk Renard
Mr. Herman Daems
Mr. Freddy Neyts
Mr. Pierre-Olivier Beckers
Mr. Luc Bertrand
Mr. Pierre Alain De Smedt
BNP Paribas Fortis
Belfius Bank
National Lottery
FPS Foreign Affairs and development
Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles
Belgian Scientific Policy
Vlaamse Gemeenschap
Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft
Brussels-Capital Region
European Parliament
European Council
National Bank of Belgium
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Europalia International
Europalia International is an international non-profit organisation which has organised 23 cultural
festivals since 1969. Europalia festivals are organised every second year (2011, 2013, 2015…) and they
run from October until January or February of the following year (three or four months duration).
Each festival is inaugurated by the Belgian Royal family and the Head of State of the guest country
and of Europe and numerous representatives of the economical and political world.
Europalia festivals are among the most prestigious and prominent cultural festivals in Europe. Each
Europalia festival attracts between one million and one million and a half visitors including a large
percentage from beyond the Belgian borders.
Europalia festivals bring culture to a wider audience and provide a platform for exchange and discovery of world cultures, in the heart of Europe.
europalia.china
europalia.russia
europalia.brasil
52
Europalia International
WHAT DISTINGUISHES A EUROPALIA FESTIVAL FROM OTHER CULTURAL FESTIVALS ?
Europalia festivals are developed according to a unique concept. They differ from other cultural festivals as they stem from an intense collaboration (for two to three years) between Europalia International, experts from around the world, over 200 cultural institutions in Belgium and neighbouring
countries, and a large team in the guest country.
Every Europalia festival aims to present the most comprehensive, objective and interesting picture
of the guest country’s culture as possible and to create the momentum for long-term professional
exchanges by setting up workshops, residences and specific collaborations.
All disciplines and artistic media are dealt with: archaeology, ethnography, history, contemporary
visual arts, music, literature, theatre, dance, and cinema but also, gastronomy, fashion, design, architecture, photography, science…
Most exhibitions are especially created for the festival by a team of curators, specialists and art
historians from Europe or the guest country and subsequently travel to other venues and festivals.
Programmers in charge of other disciplines are inspired by the traditional scene as well as prestigious world-renowned artists and young artists from the experimental scene.
Each Europalia festival showcases unique works of art, which have often never been previously
shown in Europe.
Major festivals such as europalia.russia, europalia.china and europalia.brasil respectively brought
1639, 1459 and 1033 artists and experts to Belgium and attracted each about 1 million visitors.
A EUROPEAN DIMENSION
Europalia is a festival that takes place at a European level. Events are held in over 200 locations in
Belgium and neighbouring countries (The Netherlands, France, Germany, and Luxembourg) or even
further.
53
CURRICULA VITAE
General Commissioners
The Indian General Commissioner is Dr. Karan Singh, President of the ICCR since 2005. In 1964, Dr. Karan
Singh was Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, and in 1967 became a Central Cabinet Minister in the government
of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In the following years he was also Minister for Health and Family planning,
Minister for Education & Culture; became President of the Auroville Foundation, of the India International
Centre, and is Co-Chairman of the Indo-French Forum. He is also founder of the India Forum and of Peoples
Commission on Environment & Development.
For Belgium the Board of Europalia International nominated Baron Philippe Vlerick. He is Chairman and CEO of UCO
and also manages several family owned companies. Since 1996 he is active in India. In 2006, he was Manager of the
Year in Belgium. He is also Chairman of the Belgo-Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BICC&I) and is seated or
chairs many Boards of directors.
Directors General
Anita Nayar joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1983. In her career so far, she has served in Indian diplomatic missions
in Hong Kong, Beijing, Tel Aviv, Budapest, Singapore (as Deputy High Commissioner), Mandalay (as Consul General)
and Melbourne (also as Consul General). She was assigned to the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi in
2011 as Deputy Director General, and is currently officiating as Acting Director General.
Kristine De Mulder is Director-General of Europalia International since March 2003. In this role, she has taken the
business and artistic leadership of a series of major art festivals dedicated to Italy, Russia, Europe, China and Brazil.
As an art historian, archaeologist and interior designer, De Mulder has built a career rich in cultural as well as communications experience in the academic, media and financial worlds. Kristine De Mulder is member of the Boards of
Directors of some of the major cultural events in Belgium, such as the Festival van Vlaanderen, the Queen Elisabeth
International Music Competition…
54
Creating chances together
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