Art, Activism and Change in Gujarat

Protests by citizen groups are only growing. Be it the absence of arts infrastructure or protest for protection of basic civil rights, artist group SAHMAT has always been a leading example, a vanguard.
Four years ago, a group of artists from Berlin, Bangalore and Bombay set up Pad.ma (Public Access Digital Media Archive). On Sunday, they launched a renewed Pad.ma, an online archive of 'densely text-annotated video material, primarily footage and not finished films'.

About significance of this day, organisers said, "Sunday marked 10 years since February 27, 2002 Godhra attacks and the anti-Muslim carnage in Gujarat that followed. We remember these events through Shared Footage Group (SFG)'s carefully shot, indexed and annotated video documentation that is now being put online in stages and the screening of a short film compiled by Faiza Khan, which reflects on the turn of events in one basti (locality) of Ahmedabad.

The SFG is a collective formed in the aftermath of the 2002 carnage. It consisted of film professionals, film students and many other volunteers. The idea was to document survivor stories on video so that the footage could later be used free of cost by anyone interested in the material. SFG collected about 250 hours of footage that is now being put online in collaboration with Pad.ma. Even the world waits and watches the twists and turns of long delayed and complex judicial processes. The efforts of a few citizens/artists groups to mobilise public opinion continues.

The Kochi Muziris Biennale, slated for 12/12 is another case in point of artists' action of a different kind. The biennale, spearheaded by Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu, is reportedly the newest in the world and India's first. It is an attempt to "welcome new ideas, new impulses and collectively invest in India's artistic future."

The Kochi Biennale Foundation for this has received Rs5 crore from Kerala government. Of this, Rs3.5 crore was allocated for renovation of Durbar Hall with state of the art technical facilities and climate control, while remaining Rs1.5 crore is for establishment of the Biennale office.

While speculation has been rife about audits et al, the biennale is on course, and listed by publications such as the New York Times as one of the 45 places to go to in 2012. Apart from bringing in works of art and artists around the globe, this artist led Biennale would also contribute towards being one more reason to make Kerala, God's own country for destination shoppers. Contact www.kochimuzirisbiennale.com for details. But more than that and more than providing tangible additions to society, artists' combine, collectives and people movements are creating legacies and holding up mirrors to complacent establishments.    

The author is a published writer and an independent arts consultant