Tag: exhibitions

Events in Goa

Museum of Goa to Host Landmark Exhibition on Tibetan Exile and Cultural Survival

Tanisha Cardozo

The Museum of Goa (MOG) is set to open a landmark exhibition titled Refuge, Resilience, and Rights: The Tibetan Story, bringing to Goa a deeply moving exploration of exile, identity and cultural survival. The eight-day exhibition will run from March 1 to March 8, 2026, at the museum’s Pilerne campus.

Co-curated with the Tibet Museum, the exhibition forms part of The Infinite Ripple – 90 Years of Compassion, a larger commemorative programme reflecting on compassion, memory and shared humanity.

Through historical objects, archival photographs, personal testimonies and community narratives, the exhibition traces the journey of Tibetans from their displacement in the mid-20th century to the lived realities of Tibetan communities in India and across the world today. It examines how culture can be preserved without territory — sustained through lived practice, education, institutions and collective memory.

Sharada Kerkar, Director of the Museum of Goa, said the exhibition was chosen to foreground exile as a deeply human experience. She noted that Tibet’s story raises universal questions about identity, belonging and the preservation of culture across generations, especially when communities are separated from their homeland.

The exhibition is supported by the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness The Dalai Lama and the Vimson Shivanand Salgaocar Group. It also anchors a wider programme of public engagement, including talks, film screenings and cultural events aimed at fostering deeper understanding.

The opening on March 1 will feature a talk by Professor Varun Sahni titled Compassion in a Complex and Often Cruel World, followed by the launch of the book Voice for the Voiceless and a guided walkthrough of the exhibition. Daily walkthroughs will continue from March 3 to 7, offering visitors detailed insights into the narratives and materials on display.

The exhibition will conclude on March 8 with talks by Karma Thupten and photographer Kishore Thukral, along with a traditional Blackhat Dance performance by monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery — a powerful cultural expression rooted in Tibetan spiritual heritage.

By hosting Refuge, Resilience, and Rights: The Tibetan Story, the Museum of Goa reinforces its commitment to presenting global histories through a human lens — creating space for dialogue, empathy and reflection within the cultural landscape of Goa.

Events in Goa

Serendipity Arts Festival Transforms Panaji’s Art Park into a Hub of Art, Food, and Community

allycaralgoa

Panaji, December 2025: The Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF), Asia’s largest multidisciplinary art festival, has once again turned Panaji’s Art Park along the riverfront into a dynamic cultural hub. Visitors of all ages have been immersed in a vibrant blend of art, workshops, culinary experiences, and entertainment.

The festival space is thoughtfully designed to cater to varied interests. The western end features the photography exhibits in Feeling Home. Where is Home?, with works ranging from Assavri Kulkarni’s tribal portraits to Anurag Banerjee’s homage to Bombay, drawing visitors into diverse worlds through the lens. Moving inward, the buzz grows louder with interactive workshops, storytelling sessions, and a showcase of Goan culinary traditions.

SAF’s colourful stalls and installations make the festival appealing to schools and families alike. Surekha Gaonkar, a teacher from Bal Bharati Vidyamandir, Ribandar, brought 73 students from standards 1 to 3, saying, “We come to help students learn something new while having fun. There’s so much to do here.”

Students like Nisha Fernandes of Chubby Cheeks High School were equally enthused, exploring workshops such as Changing Charpai and creative storytelling sessions. “It was my first time here, and I had a lot of fun. The Hive workshop helped us learn limericks and poetry, and the charpai installation was fun to climb and play on,” she shared.

Parents, too, found the festival a perfect opportunity to engage with their children while enjoying a safe and relaxing environment. Upen Kumar from Margao said, “I registered my son for storytelling and workshops on emotions and musical instruments while browsing the stalls. Every amenity, from washrooms to guidance, was well taken care of.”

The Serendipity Arts Festival continues to offer an inclusive, engaging, and educational experience, blending celebration, learning, and community bonding in the heart of Panaji.

Events in Goa

Poland Brings Sculpture, Jazz and Theatre to Serendipity Arts Festival 2025

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral

As the Serendipity Arts Festival marks its landmark 10th anniversary edition in 2025, the Polish Institute in New Delhi joins the celebrations, signalling an important moment for deepening cultural dialogue between Poland and India. This participation opens pathways for long-term collaboration at both institutional and artistic levels, strengthening ties across contemporary art practices.

The presence of the Polish Institute at the festival represents a significant step towards establishing sustained Polish engagement with one of South Asia’s fastest-growing multidisciplinary arts festivals. By presenting Polish artists across sculpture, music and theatre, the initiative creates opportunities for future residencies, joint productions, curatorial exchanges and collaborative projects between the two countries.

Renowned Polish sculptor Tomasz Koclęga presents Suspensio Spiritualis (Spiritual Suspension) at the Art Park from 14 to 21 December 2025. A leading figure in contemporary figurative sculpture and Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, Koclęga is known for his expressive monumental works that explore the human body as a site of emotional and spiritual tension. At the festival, he showcases three striking white sculptures, each standing between two and three metres tall and crafted in polyester resin. The works depict human figures interacting with oversized heads, symbolising intellect, consciousness and spirituality, creating a powerful visual and contemplative presence amid the greenery of the Art Park. The exhibition is presented with the support of the Polish Institute in New Delhi.

Polish improvised music takes centre stage with a live jazz concert by Warsaw-based quartet LIGHT STAR GUIDING on 15 December 2025 at the Art Park. Active since 2018, the ensemble blends electro, trance, folk and free jazz, drawing inspiration from the raw energy of the 1970s while shaping a contemporary soundscape. The line-up includes Ray Dickaty on tenor saxophone and flute, Mikołaj Poncyljusz on electric guitar, Michał Załęski on keyboards, Moog and bass, and Dominik Mokrzewski on drums. The performance forms part of the “Jazz Po Polsku – Around the World / Asia Stop” tour, co-funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland and carried out by the JAZZ PO POLSKU Foundation, with support from the Polish Institute in New Delhi. The Panjim concert marks the conclusion of the band’s India tour.

Adding a strong theatrical and technological dimension, acclaimed Polish theatre director and multimedia artist Krzysztof Garbaczewski participates in the SEA – Serendipity Exchange for the Arts on 19 and 20 December 2025 at the Old GMC Complex. Known for his experimental approach and integration of theatre with video, virtual reality and immersive technologies, Garbaczewski brings a critical international perspective to the exchange. SEA runs parallel to the festival as a delegate programme connecting artists, curators, producers and arts managers from across Asia and beyond. His participation opens discussions on new technologies and immersive art practices, laying the groundwork for future Polish–Indian collaborations, including performance projects that explore artificial intelligence and digital tools.

Together, these presentations underline Poland’s dynamic contribution to Serendipity Arts Festival 2025, celebrating artistic excellence while building a foundation for enduring cultural collaboration between Poland and India.

Events in Goa

Serendipity Arts Festival 2025 Day 2 Unfolds with Jazz Grooves, Motown Memories and Immersive Visual Worlds

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral

The second day of Serendipity Arts Festival 2025 unfolded as a vibrant celebration of sound, memory and visual storytelling, reaffirming the festival’s commitment to diverse artistic expressions spread across multiple venues in Panjim. Audiences moved seamlessly between music, film, exhibitions and culinary experiences, encountering art that invited both participation and reflection.

At The Arena at Nagalli Hills, the evening’s musical journey began with The Revisit Project, curated by Zubin Balaporia and Ehsaan Noorani. Known for demystifying the complexities of jazz, the band delivered a powerful blend of groove-driven rhythms, old-school funk and contemporary jazz, weaving pointed observations about life, love and politics in India into their performance. The set offered a refreshing balance of technical precision and emotional accessibility, drawing in both seasoned listeners and new audiences.

The night reached a celebratory high with Motown Madness, also curated by Zubin Balaporia. The high-energy concert paid tribute to the iconic Motown sound that shaped generations, transporting audiences through timeless hits associated with legends like Michael Jackson, The Supremes and Stevie Wonder. The performance blended nostalgia with exuberance, turning the venue into a space of collective joy and shared musical memory.

Reflecting on the evening, Balaporia noted that the curation was about embracing the vast emotional range of music — from the sharp, contemporary language of jazz to the enduring warmth of Motown. Despite their differences, he observed, both performances met on common ground through rhythm, storytelling and shared energy.

Meanwhile, the Captain of Ports Jetty in Old Goa continued to host unique experiences aboard the Barge installation. The Silent Film Screening by Aldona Video Club transformed the floating venue into an intimate cinema, where audiences engaged with cinema that both honoured and questioned traditional narrative forms. The collective’s approach examined representation and media boundaries, offering a contemplative counterpoint to the city’s musical pulse.

From December 14 onwards, exhibitions across festival venues opened to the public, further expanding the festival’s immersive landscape. At the Directorate of Accounts, Multiplay 02: Soft Systems, curated by Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra, invited visitors into a participatory environment designed as a sandbox for collective experience. Featuring works by artists including Chunky Move, Jayasimha Chandrashekar, Alke Reeh, Bwanga Kapumpa and Teja Gavankar, the exhibition encouraged acts of care, rest and attention — from modelling clay portraits in the dark to listening to the sounds of trees and birds. The curators described the project as a tender constellation of practices that hold space, invite participation and foster connection through touch, rhythm and generosity.

At Art Park, The Culinary Odyssey of Goa, curated by Odette Mascarenhas, explored Goan cuisine as a living archive of memory and migration. The project showcased five traditional kitchens representing Hindu artisans, Muslim descendants of the Bijapur dynasty, Gaud Saraswat Brahmins, Indo-Luso influences and Christian descendants. Through tastings centred on ingredients such as turmeric, kokum, black peppercorn, tamarind and star anise, visitors engaged with stories of spice, history and everyday ritual narrated by the curator herself.

The Promenade hosted Urban Reimagined, curated by Ravi Agarwal, which examined the city through the lens of waste, extraction and inequality. Featuring photographs by the late Vivan Sundaram, the exhibition positioned waste as a marker of caste and class, prompting audiences to confront what urban spaces reveal — and conceal — about aspiration, excess and social structure.

At The Access Village in the Old GMC Complex, Therefore I Am brought together seven artists whose lived experiences of disability shape their creative practices. Working across painting, sculpture, photography, video, performance and digital media, the artists challenged conventional perceptions of the body, presenting disability as a powerful site of creativity, resistance and truth. Curator Salil Chaturvedi highlighted the exhibition as an essential reminder that disability is not marginal, but an integral part of the collective human story.

Together, the experiences of Day 2 wove a rich tapestry of jazz, nostalgia, visual inquiry and participatory art, underscoring Serendipity Arts Festival 2025’s role as a platform where artistic expression meets social reflection and shared experience.

Events in Goa

Serendipity Arts Festival 2025 Opens in Panjim with a Grand Celebration of Heritage and Innovation

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral

The landmark 10th edition of Serendipity Arts Festival opened in Panjim on December 12 with a powerful celebration of India’s cultural heritage and contemporary artistic expression. Returning to Goa for ten days of immersive experiences, the opening day reflected the festival’s enduring vision of bridging tradition and innovation through art.

The evening commenced with the inauguration of Barge at the Captain of Ports Jetty in Old Goa, where Founder-Patron Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal welcomed audiences to the milestone edition. Reflecting on the journey of the festival, he described Serendipity Arts as a movement that has grown into a shared cultural space connecting artists, communities, and audiences across disciplines. The 10th edition, he noted, is dedicated to Mukta Munjal, whose early initiatives in the arts continue to inspire the festival’s spirit.

Curated by Veerangana Solanki, Barge transformed a floating structure into an experiential space exploring absence and presence through spatial, architectural, and sonic responses. Drawing from earlier exhibitions, the installation invited visitors to activate the space through movement, sound, and perception, leaving behind fleeting yet personal imprints.

The opening continued at Nagalli Hills with Palette(s), a striking performance by Cédric Gagneur and Marc Oosterhoff that reimagined wooden pallets as both object and collaborator. Blurring the lines between dance and circus, the performance explored gravity, vulnerability, and repetition in a raw and physical expression.

The night concluded with Clay Play, curated by Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan, a mesmerizing performance that foregrounded percussion instruments crafted from clay. Rooted deeply in Goan traditions, the sounds of the ghumat and other instruments resonated through the space, reaffirming their place as living cultural practices rather than relics of the past.

Across the city, Beasts of Reincarnations: Mythical Beings in the City began appearing along Panjim’s streets and waterfronts. Curated by Diptej Vernekar, the large-scale installations reimagined Goa’s effigy-making traditions, inviting the public to encounter ritual memory through forms suspended between destruction, renewal, and contemporary urban life.

As the festival unfolds, exhibitions opening from December 14 will further expand this dialogue. These include Not a shore, neither a ship, but the sea itself at the Old GMC Complex, OTHERLAND at the Old GMC Building, and several immersive installations exploring systems, food memory, loss, movement, and sensory experience across multiple venues.

Day 1 of Serendipity Arts Festival 2025 set a compelling tone for the days ahead, weaving together local and global voices, traditional and contemporary practices, and transforming Panjim into a living, breathing canvas of artistic discovery.