Delhi to host international symposium on creativity, freedom

At a time when the digital sphere has pervaded almost all spheres of life, and when nearly everything creative has been commodified, an upcoming symposium on "Creativity and Freedom" here, beginning from Tuesday, will ask what does creative freedom and artistic autonomy really mean?

A stellar line up of speakers including thinkers, academics, filmmakers, artists and others from the creative world, will address the pertinent subject of creative freedom, especially in today's polarised climate, during the two-day international symposium.

"Creativity And Freedom" is being presented by Kolkata based CIMA gallery, Ashoka University and the India International Centre (IIC), with noted art historian Alka Pande as its director.

Some of the prominent speakers include Nicholas Coleridge (Chairman of Conde Nast Britain and Chairman, Victoria And Albert Museum, London), Gopalkrishna Gandhi (civil servant and author), Sabyasachi Mukherjee (fashion designer), Catherine David (Deputy Director, Musee d'Art Moderne at The Centre Pompidou, Paris), Patrizia Asproni (President, Marino Marini Foundation, Florence), Deborah Swallow (Director, The Courtauld Institute of Art, London) and Sergio Scapagnini (Italian filmmaker).

The event will be presented in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur, Agha Khan Foundation and Raza Foundation and will be held at the IIC.

"Artists, thinkers, academics, designers and innovators need to regroup and work as incubators for fashioning and reimagining a world order of inclusiveness. It is time again for dialogue and discussions, for debates and discourses to sow seeds of a new knowledge for peace, stability and a new system of sustainability," said Pande.

"The two-day symposium is not just limited to Fine Arts but spanning across Visual Arts, Cinema, Literature, Design and Popular Culture."

Participating speakers will address concerns in art history, fine arts practice, music, theatre, design, literature and cultural studies, including popular culture, architecture, film and the increasing concern with 'wellness', both physical and mental.

Entry is open to public.

--IANS

ss/ksk