Tag: Goa Arts

Events in Goa

IPRS Sets the Stage for Artistic Excellence and Creator Empowerment at Serendipity Arts Festival 2025

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral

The Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS) is set to play a defining role in shaping conversations around artistic excellence and creator empowerment at the 10th edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival 2025 in Goa. From December 15 to 20 at Azad Maidan, Panaji, the IPRS Stage will once again become a vibrant platform celebrating India’s musical diversity, evolving soundscape, and the creators who drive it.

The IPRS Stage offers a rare space where regional, folk, traditional, and emerging artists from across the country come together to connect with wider audiences beyond their local geographies. The platform not only celebrates performance but also reinforces the importance of access, recognition, and opportunity for music creators in an ever-changing industry.

The stage opened on December 15 with the Vayali Bamboo Band, whose handcrafted bamboo instruments and ecologically rooted soundscapes set the tone for a programme rooted in creativity and cultural consciousness. On December 17, audiences will witness Gulabi Vinyl, a collaboration between vocalist Vidhya Gopal and poet Alok Ranjan Srivastava, blending thumri, dadra, ghazal and classic Hindi melodies with contemporary expression. The musical journey continues on December 18 with Beintehaan: A Musical Harvest, curated by songwriter and filmmaker Mayur Puri, weaving together Kajri, dohas, Sufi kalaams, indie-folk sensibilities and original compositions.

On December 19, Shahbaaz Hussain Khan of the centuries-old Gwalior Gharana will lead Rooh-e-Qawwali, bringing the spiritual energy of Sufi devotion and collective expression to the stage. The showcase culminates on December 20 with Dashugs, a dynamic Ladakhi band whose powerful, community-driven sound reflects the emerging creative voices from the Himalayan region.

Sharing IPRS’ broader vision, CEO Rakesh Nigam highlighted that the IPRS Stage at Serendipity Arts Festival marks an important milestone in celebrating India’s creative spirit while building an inclusive music ecosystem. As IPRS deepens its engagement with the artistic community in Goa this December, the initiative underscores a future where creators are not only celebrated on stage but also empowered beyond it, ensuring that India’s cultural legacy continues to evolve with purpose and pride.

Events in Goa

At Serendipity Arts Festival, a Goa Barge Transforms Into a Floating Exhibition

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral

At the 10th edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival, one of Goa’s iconic ore barges is set to take on an unexpected new role as a floating exhibition. Titled Barge, the installation will be anchored at the Captain of Ports Jetty in Old Goa from December 12, reimagining a vessel long associated with the state’s riverine economy as a space for artistic exploration. Curated by Mumbai-based writer and curator Veeranganakumari Solanki, the project transforms the familiar industrial structure into a participatory environment that listens as much as it speaks, inviting visitors to engage with ideas of presence, absence and sensory perception.

For decades, barges have been an essential part of Goa’s landscape—silently ferrying iron ore along its waterways and shaping the region’s industrial identity since the liberation era and the rise of mechanised mining. By bringing this utilitarian vessel into the realm of contemporary art, the exhibition bridges the gap between the everyday and the imaginative, framing the barge as a site of possibility rather than mere function. Solanki builds on ideas from three earlier Serendipity Arts Festival projects—Future Landing, Synaesthetic Notations and A Haptic Score—each of which explored the ways the human body interprets sensory information. These inquiries continue aboard the barge, where its cavernous architecture becomes a point of departure for artistic response.

Solanki describes the barge as a space defined by absence. Its hollow structure, she notes, creates a cavity where presence can form—whether through sound, memory or imagination. She reflects on how imagination emerges in the gaps between what we perceive and what remains unseen, and how this threshold becomes fertile ground for potentiality. The artists contributing to the exhibition—Prajakta Potnis, Hemant Sreekumar and Julien Segard—work directly with the vessel’s architecture, responding to the interplay of sound, space and material. Their works explore the fragile boundaries between the industrial and the imaginative, offering viewers a space to dwell in uncertainty rather than seek definitive answers.

A central element of Barge is an evolving sound work by artist Alan Rego, who has been studying the acoustic behaviour of the vessel. Rego collects sounds from within the barge and plans to submerge a microphone into the river during his performance, gathering underwater noise that will be processed in real time. Using a programme that breaks noise into frequencies and reshapes them into evolving patterns, he gradually transforms randomness into rhythm, noise into music. For Solanki, this transformation embodies the exhibition’s core idea that presence can emerge from absence and meaning can arise from what first appears incoherent.

Solanki’s curatorial practice has long explored the ways artistic forms converse across public and private spaces. Her experience as a Brooks International Research Fellow at Tate Modern, a resident at Delfina Foundation and her leadership roles at Space Studio and The Gujral Foundation reflects a deep engagement with art’s relationship to environment and community. She now co-directs the SqW:Lab Foundation and serves on the advisory committee of the Piramal Photography Gallery at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai.

Visitors to Serendipity Arts Festival can experience Barge throughout the event at the Captain of Ports Jetty in Old Goa. The installation stands as an evocative reminder of how imagination can transform the familiar, offering a rare opportunity to step inside a vessel that has shaped Goa’s industrial history and witness it reimagined through the lens of sound, space and sensory inquiry.

Entertainment

Pai Tiatrist Auditorium Remains Closed for Roof Repairs, Expected to Reopen by May 30

allycaralgoa

Margao, May 29, 2025 – The Pai Tiatrist Auditorium in Margao, a prominent cultural venue in Goa, has been temporarily closed due to essential roof repairs. The closure, which started in mid-May, was expected to be a brief disruption but has been delayed due to unforeseen monsoon rains. Rajendra Talak, Chairman of Ravindra Bhavan, confirmed that the venue will likely reopen by May 30, once the repairs are completed. The unexpected rains hindered progress, and the work was paused for safety reasons, as the building’s structural integrity had to be prioritized.

The roof repairs at the Pai Tiatrist Auditorium are necessary to maintain the building’s safety and functionality. Talak explained that the ongoing monsoon season led to delays, as the repair work could not be completed under rainy conditions. As a result, the auditorium has been closed for nearly two weeks. The repairs, while essential for the long-term upkeep of the venue, have unfortunately disrupted scheduled events, leaving the venue unusable for the time being. The government has ensured that the work will be completed as soon as possible, with a targeted reopening date of May 30, 2025.

As a result of the closure, all scheduled performances and events at the Pai Tiatrist Auditorium have been either cancelled or postponed. This includes a range of cultural activities, theatrical performances, and film screenings that were expected to take place in May. Talak assured that efforts are already underway to reschedule these events. The Ravindra Bhavan team is coordinating with performers and event organizers to ensure that all postponed shows will be rescheduled for later dates, and audience members will be informed promptly.

In a positive turn of events, the Shyam Benegal Film Festival, which was initially scheduled during the closure, will now mark the reopening of the auditorium. The festival, an important cultural milestone for Goa, will be inaugurated on May 30, 2025, by Jnanpith awardee Damodar Mauzo. The film festival will celebrate the works of renowned filmmaker Shyam Benegal and is expected to draw cinema lovers from across the state. Despite the temporary setback, the inaugural event is set to bring the auditorium back to life, creating a buzz in the local cultural scene.

In addition to the roof repairs, Rajendra Talak revealed plans for major upgrades to the auditorium, which will take place in July and August 2025. These renovations are part of a broader effort to enhance the venue in preparation for the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which will be held later in 2025. The upgrades will include improvements to the sound system, projector, and screen, ensuring that the auditorium can host large-scale cultural events and international festivals with the highest technical standards. These upgrades are expected to enhance the overall experience for both performers and audiences.

While the roof repairs have caused some disruption in the short term, the planned renovations and upgrades signal a promising future for the Pai Tiatrist Auditorium. The venue, known for hosting a wide array of cultural events, will continue to play a central role in Goa’s vibrant cultural landscape. Once the repairs and upgrades are completed, the auditorium will be fully equipped to host a variety of cultural and cinematic events, ensuring that it remains a cornerstone of Goa’s rich artistic heritage.

The Pai Tiatrist Auditorium’s temporary closure for roof repairs may have caused some inconvenience, but the measures being taken to ensure its long-term functionality and modernization are clear. The venue is set to reopen on May 30 with the exciting Shyam Benegal Film Festival, signaling the start of a new chapter. With upcoming upgrades planned for later in the year, the auditorium will continue to be a vital cultural hub in Goa, attracting both local and international talent for years to come.