The forthcoming edition of Contemporary Arts Week will see participation of more than 300 artistes who will regale the audience for eight days across locations
For much of North India and more so for Delhi, the coming of October marks the start of the festive season. With the mercury showing mercy by dropping — particularly in the evenings — to a level where people can move out without feeling the heat or the humidity, arts and culture organisations become active.
The Contemporary Arts Week which will commence from the first weekend of October will be the first to take advantage of the season, with an event that is slated to be much larger in terms of spread and scope than last year. Forty five performances have been lined up and will last over eight days with 300 performing artistes.
Sohini Dutta and Pankaj Bajaj, directors of Friends of Arts, which is organising the festivities said, “Essentially, the focus this year is to make performing arts accessible. Arts are by the people and generally for the people, and show the changing trends in society.”
Contemporary Arts Week is the first integrated multi-arts festival held in New Delhi and has given a platform to over 300 artistes in various fields in the last two years since it was conceived in 2013.
Since its inception in 2013, it has provided a platform to innumerous artistes in various fields. This year, the events are taking place at venues like Nehru Park in Chanakyapuri and DlF Promenade Mall in Vasant Kunj to make them easily accessible. Other venues are lTG on Copernicus Marg, Akshara Theatre on Ashoka Road, Instituto Cervantes on Hanuman Marg, Informal and Hybrid on Janpath Road.
The Grand Opening weekend will be in Nehru Park which has been modeled as an Arts and Food Carnival. It will have three stages, 20 performances, and 200 performers, apart from several food stalls.
The two-day opening weekend will feature a workshop corner, dedicated F&B section, and DIY corners for graffiti and craft. The entire weekend is planned as an arts carnival.
The much awaited performances include the mesmerising Sadhya Dance Company and The Danceworx, a two-day street dance battle being judged by French House Dance legend Kundu, Hari Sukhmani, puppetry, stand up comedy, and workshops for the audience.
Other events will include work of talented young dancers across genres of contemporary dance — jazz, hip hop, belly dance, b-boy, chhau by an enthralling mix of captivating performers like Ankit Pahadiya, Aseng Borang, Kritika Thakur, Nanda Kumar, Sandeep Chhabra, Priyanka Valech and Makkhan.
There will also be a Short and Sweet Theatre Night, a presentation of Sheetal from Wayward performed and written by Hina Siddiqui from Pune, Dance Diaries, and a Hinglish stand-up comedy-cum-satire RelationShip or RelationShitIJ