Serendipity Arts Festival to celebrate cross-cultural dialogue at debut edition in Birmingham

New Delhi, May 8 (PTI) Serendipity Arts Festival will connect south asian artistic traditions with Birmingham's diverse cultural landscape in its debut edition in the British city from May 23.

Organised in partnership with Birmingham City University, the festival’s first edition outside India will present a rich programme of live performances, exhibitions, pop-up libraries, and masterclasses.

As an extension of the Serendipity Arts Festival -- which marks its milestone 10th year -- the multidisciplinary event will create new dialogues and collaborative opportunities between artists from South Asia, the UK, and beyond, through performances, exhibitions, discussions, and culinary experiences.

Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain will be paid tribute to through exhibitions, talks, and documentaries.

Renowned photographer Dayanita Singh's 'Zakir Hussain Maquette', originally crafted as Singh's first student project, will showcase the master on and off stage.

Filmmaker Sumantra Ghosal will lead a reflective talk on the tabla virtuoso with other artists who collaborated with him. A documentary by Ghosal, "The Speaking Hand", will also trace Hussain's musical journey.

Exhibition curated by Helen Acharya, featuring archival images of Indian musical instruments from the collection of Sunil Kant Munjal, "Eternal Echoes", will highlight the craftsmanship and cultural legacy of Indian music.

"Pop-Up Library: History of Indian Instruments", curated by Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC), will feature books on Indian music history, alongside book readings by authors from Birmingham.

Zubin Balaporia and Sameer Patwardhan will lead an interactive session on composing music for films, while noted authors and historians from Birmingham will host daily readings and conversations, exploring the evolution of Indian music.

Balaporia with Gina Banks and Ojas Adhiya will conduct a hands-on workshop on blending Indian rhythmic traditions with Western jazz drumming.

"The city (Birmingham) is synonymous with culture and creativity and also exceeds all the requirements needed to stage a multi-cultural global event at this scale. We have been incredibly impressed by the BCU's focus on nurturing the arts, and its ideas for creating an event which celebrates inclusivity and diversity and is truly for everyone," Sunil Kant Munjal, founder-patron of Serendipity Arts Festival, said in a statement.

At the heart of the programme is "Thumri in the Chamber", with an evocative curatorial focus exploring the layered beauty of thumri – a semi-classical Hindustani vocal form that embodies poetic storytelling, melodic improvisation, and emotional depth.

While rooted in tradition, it does not present thumri in its conventional form, but reinvents it in a way that makes it more contemporary without disturbing the beauty of the original.

The programme will present thumri not only as a musical form, but as a cultural prism, offering a fresh and immersive perspective on one of Hindustani music's most cherished traditions.

This thematic lens will shape performances, discussions, and artistic interventions across the festival, illuminating how music serves as a bridge between cultural memory and contemporary expression.

Other concerts and performances include "Sempre Fado - Antigo e Novo" -- an evening of Portuguese-Goan music; "Across Oceans - Jazz from India and the Americas" -- a cross-cultural collaboration blending Indian and Western jazz traditions; "Banda Brasileira" –- a high-energy performance celebrating the rich musical traditions of Brazil; "Echoes of Elegance – Ghazals & Old Bollywood Classics"; "RBC Folk Ensemble" –- a showcase by the Conservatoire Folk Ensemble, blending folk music with jazz, rock, global beats, and contemporary styles.

The artists leading the musical performances will be Zubin Balaporia, Nadia Rebelo, Priyanka Barve, Sarang Kulkarni, Vijay Prakash, Shanti Jayasinha and a string quartet.

The four-day event will serve as a prelude to the 10-day full-format celebrations, marking a decade of the Serendipity Arts Festival in Panjim, Goa, from December 12-21.

The Birmingham edition will come to a close on May 26. PTI MAH MAH MG MG