Art meets music in this digital festival

At the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP), Bengaluru, the emphasis has generally been to develop interdisciplinary connections. One observed these kinds of intersections involving food items, art and historical past as component of its digital exhibition, Tales on a Banana Leaf, held previously this 12 months. And now Art is Life: SoundFrames celebrates music and its energy to convey people today jointly. The a few-working day digital festival will element 25 occasions these kinds of as live shows, performances, panel discussions, talks, workshops, and additional. The musical showcase features far more than 65 artists from across the entire world this sort of as Ambi and Bindu Subramaniam, Ricky Kej, Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar and Vidya Shah.
This festival also marks MAP’s collaboration with the Berklee School of Music, which will enable viewers to witness by no means-before-witnessed concerts by the Berklee Indian Ensemble and Girls of the Entire world. The two have also worked jointly on Appears of the Town, a sonic public engagement in which composers and producers have produced music influenced by seems of cities these kinds of as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Delhi.
According to Kamini Sawhney, director, MAP Bengaluru, arts in India have often been interconnected, with several musicians being deeply influenced by the visual arts, and lots of photographers likening their perform to structures in literature. “Music is universal in its appeal. We required to tap into this, and the possibility that it presents to interact with a a lot broader viewers,” she claims. “Our research has shown that audiences in India really feel that museums need to give more local and innovative written content, and due to the fact our digital-1st launch in the pandemic, we have seen a marked enhance in engagement with programmes that bring relatable conversations.”
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Placing on the pageant has been a sizable process, created probable by partners and the group at MAP, who collaborated remotely at studios spread throughout geographies. The workforce feels that the pandemic has introduced with it stunning new techniques in which men and women can continue to be linked even with the isolation. According to Sawhney, it has given the artists time at residence, resulting in a ton of innovation. “Take, for instance, Seems of the Metropolis, a exceptional initiative that appears to be at musical creative imagination in the digital music context of our instances. It is led by Berklee school member and composer Yoel Genin,” she elaborates.



‘Drummer’ by Tyeb Mehta. Courtesy: Museum of Art and Pictures


The venture is educated by the reality that just like architecture, streets and foodstuff, appears also condition our knowledge of towns. Genin invited producers from 4 Indian metros to seize seems that most effective outlined their towns and develop new music with it. Considering that this was an open phone, it introduced in new voices and perspectives. The aim has been to invite the viewer to query notions of art and existence in the promptly altering social dynamics and technologies-driven city spaces.
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Diversity is the central theme of the competition, with a array of genres—from folks and rap to Hindustani typical, and voices from marginalised communities—on showcase. A mix of big live shows and a lot more personal performances will premiere throughout the three days. The workshops are immersive periods for people today with a critical interest in music—be it track creating, new music treatment and vocals. There are also a vary of academic workshops which investigate technological, historical and social-political facets of developing audio. Other than the Berklee College of Tunes, the Indian Songs Practical experience (IME) museum is also a companion for these workshops.
By way of such festivals, MAP seeks to broaden on the scope of what a museum is meant to do. “Through our programmes, we purpose to choose art to the heart of the group, to provide enriching cultural ordeals which create connection and empathy. Our associates incorporate seasoned collectors and cultural connoisseurs as well as newcomers to art, across age teams,” elaborates Sawhney. “We want to reinvent the perception of museums as archaic. We don’t see visible arts in a silo and our programming has made at the intersection of tradition, technology and the communities about us, bringing alongside one another curators and collaborators from around India and the entire world to notify stories that inspire significant dialogue.”
Art is Daily life: SoundFrames will be held from 3 to 5 December 2021
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