Village Paradsinga

Art residency aims to unite visual artists, performing artists, art critics, architects, social workers and people working in diverse mediums to rural areas of India to collaborate and work with local community on issues related to environment, promoting organic farming, social and health awareness, women education and other important issues related to village and its social development… To develop opportunities for collaborative work that interacts with the rural environment is also our objective…

We want to make an alternative space for artists around the world as well as local traditional artists and artisans of the village so that both Artists and local Artisans get opportunity to collaborate and work together which can help in exchange of dialogues, ideas, culture and work methods, giving birth to new interventions and creations… It will act as a social environment development and improving the artistes impressions on both the sides…

Through Village Art residency project we want to create local community collaboration to create works in the way of social development in the village Paradsinga, Madhya Pradesh, (India) The artist residency will bring together 10 women artists around the world, practicing in a wide variety of media such as sculpture, painting, site specific works, writing & poetry, performances,videos, social awareness programs… We hope this residency will bring benefit and sharing of methods and ideas for the period of 10 days with the village Paradsinga…

The artists residency will provide the invited artists with full lodging and food, work space, local transportation, art student helpers and a small material stipend. And will help artists to communicate with villagers…

Daily life and crafts practiced in village Paradsinga    ;

village at morning time when cattles are taken to nearby jungles

Blanket factory workshop

 Basket weaving  Village women in cotton field Thread making on Gandhi Charkha Thread spinning   Rope making  Rangoli, the traditional sand powder decoration  Bullock-carts used for farming   Village mud house

Programme brief ;

We are few practicing Artists organising Gram International Art Residency, in the village Paradsinga during 10th-20th January 2014. For this residency we are inviting 15 Artists and Art students from around the world. In which 7 artists are from different countries and others from India. Paradsinga is a village with 1thousand homes and  four  thousand people, and crafts like spinning, bamboo art, rope making, handloom works, blanket weaving , Chanderi saree weaving and other different crafts are also practiced in village. With this Art residency we invited artists from around the world as well from different states of India, to this rural area aiming for;
* Exchange of ideas & dialogues between the craft men and artists.
* Inputs in designs and concepts.
This cross culture exchange will bring the better market opportunities to craft of village.

We have also designed different workshops during residency period for children, women and farmers;
*For children different art workshops, with invited artists.
*Women empowerment and awareness program through the medium of Public
Art and social awareness programs by invited women artists and social workers around.
* New farming techniques for farmers by the invited farmer-designer from Taiwan & performer-farmer from Gujarat.
These interactions on social ground will benefit the village environment, awareness amongst village youth, and inspiration for women children. It will also create the opportunity for villagers in generating economy through handicrafts. During these 10 days, we have also planned different collaborative programs with local folk singers and dancers. Art installation in different public areas in collaboration with local villagers, invited Artists and the students of Government Art College Nagpur. This multidimensional collaboration will create the opportunity of culture exchange bringing everyone on one common ground of creativity which will be a crucial step towards awareness and Art exchange in a unique way.

We are extremely excited to have all the invited Artists here at Gram Art Residency-2014;

Anuradha Upadhyaya, Baroda
Cameron Hanson, USA
Denise Karabinus, Huwaii
Hsieh,Sheng-Hua, Taiwan
Iliad Sabchi, Iran
Kelly Klein, Columbia
Kimberly Alexander, USA
Noda Tomoyuki, Japan
Satyabhama Majhi, Orissa
Shakti Bhatt, Baroda
Shu Lun, Taiwan
Srimali Chandrasena, Srilanka
Wangdi Sherpa, Darjeeling

Selected students from Government Art College- Nagpur for Gram Art Project 2014

Aniruddha Bele, Anupama Dey
Roma Khushalani, Swapnil Sangole

Programme initiated  by: Lalit Vikamshi & Shweta Bhattad.

Project Team: Aditi Bhattad, Parvindar Singh Dadilaya, Bhojraj Hawaldar, Saket Bhattad, Rohit Bhaiya, Wangdi sherpa

Special thanks to: Alag Angle, Aaartcafe, SCZCC.