Sangam in 2022
Sangam - MSO Summer Symphony Collaboration
In partnership with Bunjil Place & City of Casey
Building the previous year’s collaboration, two new works were created to showcase stories from the present and past. Working with South Asian artistes in Naarm and India and telling the stories of South Asian Sri Lankan Australians and Indian dancers from 1837 and their encounters with Johann Strauss in Europe and the influence that had on his composition.
Sangam “Light” Commissions 2022
Sangam, in partnership with the City of Casey and City of Greater Dandenong presented “Light”, a showcase of live and on screen commissions by early to mid-career South Asian performing artists. The evening was a celebration of local passionate creatives of artistic excellence to self-led art marking.
Diwali is the Festival of Light and the performances were community-centric, personal and/or political stories that respond to this theme while acknowledging that their art is being created on stolen land.
Three digital “screen” based and two live performance based works were commissioned in early 2022. The artistes then met online and live across a 4 month period, sharing, discussing and creating their works.
All commissions were presented at Bunjil Place to a sold out theatre. The 3 screen works were additionally screened on Dandenong screens at Harmony Square and Springvale Hub each day at 9am, 12pm and 5pm across October and November 2022.
The Commissions:
The Light Within - a live dance work by Ahalika Wickneswaran that questions the truth of our actions to choose the path that we must take to bring light to our soul and so be a lamp to others. This piece will explore the concept of light from two viewpoints: inner self and society as a whole.
Red, Green And Everything In Between - a short film, written and directed by Sol Fernandez. The film encompasses storytelling and discovery through the lens of ancestral connection, curiosity and family traditions. With a multi-generational and multi-cultural cast and crew, the film explores non-western family dynamics and discovery of a wider/collective identity. Encouraging conversation about life, culture, tradition and ancestry, the film is a celebration of the lives of our loved ones.
SAVAG - a group of 4 artists comprising Venkatesh Shankar, Ananya Sundar, Ganesha Ragavan and Shruthi Mangalaganesh, who play the flute, percussion and violin. They explore culture and identity through music in a screen work they have filmed and edited together. As second generation South Asian Australian artists, SAVAG expresses a blend of both cultures and this film explores their journey to find empowerment through the expression of dual identities.
Jyothi - by flautist Subramanya Sastry is a project capturing light as the divine pure element which can be a symbol of creation, maintenance, and destruction of the material world. Jyothi enlightens us through a path of spiritual awakening or can be Agni (fire) within us which provides us the energy to face life in all its glory.
Kavidaiyum Gaanamum - a live Carnatic music and spoken word presentation by Kanchana Senthuran and Narthana Kanagasabai. This piece aims to shed light on the deeper philosophical meanings offered by Carnatic literature. The performance is a way to connect with new audiences by highlighting the struggles of communities practicing their art forms in lands far away from their own.
Opera Australia & The Keerthana Music
in collaboration with Drum Theatre
Creative Team
Director: Uthra Vijay
Intercultural Exchange Director: Priya Srinivasan
Performers: Keerthana Music School children ages 9-14 with Opera Australia
Opera Australia via the Drum Theatre in Dandenong opened a partnership with Sangam in their Touring Program starting in April 2021 with a successful season of Carmen with The Keerthana Music School students as part of the performance.
With the levels of excellence achieved by the students of the Indian music school, Sangam was approached again for this collaboration.
In 2022, the partnership continued towards equitable cultural exchange and an intercultural exchange workshop was set up prior to the Opera: The Barber of Seville’s delivery. This included students from the Keerthana Music school in weeks long workshops and rehearsals towards the performance season outcome. Although the partnership and exchange was begun, unfortunately due to Covid issues the shows were postponed.
In 2023, the cultural exchange is proposed as an equitable beginning of future collaborations between Sangam and the Australian Opera. Given the ancient knowledges (approximately 4000 years old) of one of the Indian classical music forms known as Carnatic music, the exchange will focus on a short exposition of the key features of the form to Opera members. Directed by Uthra Vijay, it will be an interactive session open to questions and comments in between different segments prior to the performances by the Opera for its Drum Theatre Season.
The Durga Chronicles
In collaboration with Artshouse - MAV - Melbourne City Council
Creative Team
Artistic Director: Priya Srinivasan
Choreography: Philipa Rothfield and Priya Srinivasan
Music Composition: Uthra Vijay and Hari Sivanesan
Visual Design, Lighting and Film: Govin Ruben and Marcus Salvagno
Production: Insite Arts
At once a rite of collective mourning and a call to action, The Durga Chronicles remembers the stories of women who have been harmed and harnesses the force of Durga to provoke empowered resistance against gendered violence. The Durga Chronicles evokes a metaverse in which the Goddess is ruler and destroyer of demons in one world, whilst in another, her kin are assaulted and murdered.
Drawing on contemporary, classical Indian postmodern aesthetics, this rich work uses music, dance and stunning visuals – along with a world first; an exquisite, moving Carnatic choir of 12 women – to create a storytelling experience that operates on a visceral level.
The season was sold out and heralded as an unprecedented gathering of diverse communities of audiences which held traditional Indian forms as the core and strength of the work while creating a highly nuanced experimental, immersive performance that literally moved audiences
Project Website
Artshouse - The Durga Chronicles
Artshouse - The Story Behind the Durga Chronicles
Reviews:
indianlink.com.au/arts/the-durga-chronicles-by-priya-srinivasan
