The damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet. The art and cultural sectors continue to face its devastating consequences. After a successful fundraising gala in the previous year, ‘I Believe Art Matters’ is back with a fresh concept to help the Indian artiste community. As a part of the ongoing advocacy and fundraising initiative to revitalise artistes and artisans, Art Matters has announced ‘I Believe Art Matters 2021’ with the primary purpose to provide artistes with an opportunity to engage in cross-genre collaborations and create original work. We hope to produce subsequent events under this initiative as we continue to support and invest in the arts by providing opportunities for artistes to craft new work and do what they love best despite the circumstances.
This edition has paired some of our most renowned artists in partnership with emerging performers to create 10 individual pieces in the space of visual and performing art. The creative collaborations include theatre, music, dance, visual art, and poetry. We hope to open avenues of dialogue and create platforms for artistes and artisans to continue to create and connect with each other and an interesting virtual audience.
Sanjoy K Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts said, “‘I Believe #ArtMatters 2021’ has engaged and collaborated with some of the finest celebrated and emerging artists from the country, in creating 10 exclusive pieces of multi-dimensional arts across genres. Art Matters has successfully provided support to over 5800 artistes (check numbers) and will hope to do much more with this ongoing initiative.”
The list of artists involved with the initiative includes Bharatanatyam dancer Rukmini Vijayakumar; celebrated music composer-director and singer Shekhar Ravjiani; story writer and lyricist Anvita Dutt; famous Kashmiri folk singer Noor Mohammad Shah; dancer from Assam Shilpika Bordoloi; the multi-faceted UK based artist and dancer Shane Shambhu; critically acclaimed singer Harpreet; award-winning singer and composer Bindhu Malini Narayanswamy; drummer, educator and composer Darshan Doshi; young musician and mridangam artist BC Manjunath, well-known percussionist Pramath Kiran, reputed director, composer and percussionist Praveen D. Rao, and master nagada player Nathulal Solanki; award-winning director Jino Joseph; Delhi-based musician Stefan Kaye; stand-up comedian Abish Mathew; celebrated playback singer Kailash Kher; eminent artist and actor Arjun Mathur.
The 10 acts will premiere on Sunday, October 10, 2021, at 7 pm IST, as part of the second edition of I Believe Art Matters.
The evening will make an appeal to the audience to support these ten acts and the entire Art Matters initiative, raising awareness and resources for artistes through creatively nuanced performances to help sustain their art forms.
