Through February 5th in Goa, on the West coast of India, photography and the visual arts are the theme of the first edition of the Sensorium Fest, which explores the relationship between images and literature. Organized by art patrons Raj and Dipti Salgaocar, the art direction of the festival was overseen by Prashant Panjiar, director of the Delhi Photo Festival and Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi, writer.
A stone’s throw from the sandy beaches and palm trees of India’s most famous resort, visitors will discover one of the finest events of the season, Sensorium Fest, with exhibitions, conferences, readings and concerts at Sunaparanta, Goa Center for the Arts, in a lovely Portuguese house in Panaji, capital of the state of Goa. William Dalrymple, specialist and writer of Indian history, lectures on Indian wall art. Sooni Taraporevala, a photographer and co-writer of the film Salaam Bombay!, explains her visual approach to the film script. And the influential Indian photographer Dayanita Singh discusses the connections between her favorite books and photographs.
The young Indian photographer and Magnum member Sohrab Hura— the second Indian, after Raghu Rai, to join its ranks—will be presenting his book Life Is Elsewhere, which documents life with his schizophrenic mother since he was nineteen. The book is filled with humanity and poetry.
There’s also Anusha Yadav with a selection of photographs from The Indian Memory Project. Since 2010, she has invited users to post photo archives of the Indian subcontinent to the website she created, along with their stories. There are hundred of stories of individuals and families that contribute, picture after picture to the capital ‘h’ History of the subcontinent.
And you can’t leave Sunaparanta without first seeing the exhibition of Italian photographer Fausto Giaccone on One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s masterpiece. With Macondo, the World of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Giaccone delivers a subtle and sensitive interpretation of the famous novel, which beautifully echoes the gentle city of Goa. This is the series that gave Prashant Panjiar the idea to organize this highly promising festival about literature and images.
FESTIVAL
Sensorium Fest
Through February 25th 2015
Sunaparanta, Goa Centre for the Arts
63/C-8, Near Lar de Estudantes
Altinho, Panjim, Goa 403001
India
