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One of the indicators
that Auroville is now on the world cultural map is its inclusion
in the itinerary of major performing artists from within India and
abroad.
Kalamitra
Kalamitra (Friends of
the Arts) was formed by a group of Aurovilians to stimulate cultural
life in Auroville by promoting a wide range of events - plus workshops
- in the fields of theatre, dance, music, poetry, the visual arts,
exhibitions and cinema, while at the same time providing support
to upcoming artists and performers in Auroville itself.
Performances by top-ranking artists
Over the years many top-ranking
artists, Indian and foreign, have offered to come to Auroville to
perform, asking only that basic expenses such as travel and accommodation
be met. A not-long-ago example was an Austrian dance group who came
all the way to India for performances in just 3 places - Delhi,
Chennai (Madras) and Auroville.
Obviously Auroville feels
honoured to be singled out by such artists as a special place to
perform. Their visits confirm not only Auroville's status as a unique
'international' township, offering a truly international audience
to perform before, but also its special status in the world, as
a place belonging to humanity as a whole; a place where whatever
happens can become an offering and contribution to a higher ideal.
Kala Khoj
Kala Khoj (In Search of
Art) is an offshoot of Kalamitra. Its aim is to facilitate the development
of an international network of exchange programmes involving artists
from India, Auroville and the rest of the world wishing to deepen
their research in the arts, with outside artists sometimes taking
up residence in Auroville for periods of time ranging from several
weeks to several months. In support of this aim Kala Khoj has become
an affiliate member of the international 'Res Artis' network - now
represented in over one hundred and twenty countries - and is currently
designated the responsible centre to coordinate and develop the
Res Artis programmes in South East Asia.
Although in its infancy,
Kala Khoj has started receiving requests from foreign artists wanting
to work in the residency programme, and is now included in the 600-page
"Guide to host facilities for artists on short-term stay in
the world", covering over two hundred organisations in nearly
thirty countries.
From an article in Auroville Outreach Newsletter.
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