Press File September 2013

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PRACTICAL INFORMATION Théâtre

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PRESS CONTACTS

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SOCIAL MEDIA

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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



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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 Dates 05.01.2013 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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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…

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Creating chances together

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