Taking art to public spaces

Sudhanva Deshpande explains the need to build inclusive cities

Strategic Management in the Art of Theatre (SMART) has been conceived and is run by a core team under the aegis of the India Theatre Forum (ITF), and managed by Junoon Theatre and India Foundation for the Arts. Sudhanva Deshpande of Jana NatyaManch and Core Team member of ITF, engages Priya Paul, chairperson of Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels about the need to build inclusive cities and the importance of arts management training.

Sudhanva Deshpande: Priya, I sometimes despair at the state of our cities. They are overcrowded and the disparities are shocking. Culture and the arts are also spatially segregated — the well-off have access, the poor don’t. 

Priya Paul: Right after Independence, in the 1950s and ’60s, some attention was paid to public art. But today, space is at a premium. Why just art and culture, recreational spaces on the whole are being encroached upon. Even when public, open spaces are available, are they easily accessible? I feel that cultural institutions end up putting barriers between practitioners and viewers. But often there’s a positive example. Take Central Park in Connaught Place, Delhi. It used to be a den of vagrants and drunks. Then the NDMC decided to turn it around. And look at it today — it is a living, breathing, interactive space. Change is possible if multiple agencies work together. We don’t have too many artists doing public art, murals and street art. For example, the planning process for smart cities has begun but I’m not sure how much thought is going into them. We need to involve communities, and create well-designed, multi-dimensional spaces.

SD: We need trained arts managers who can work with designers, architects, urban planners, to make this a reality, isn’t it? Arts management is an emerging profession, but we don’t have too many home grown courses in this field.

PP: Many young people are getting trained abroad, as can be seen in festivals and arts fairs. These young people need opportunity. Arts need freedom and space to flourish. 

SD: Which is why a bunch of us in the theatre decided to come together to create SMART.

PP: I’m delighted about that. SMART is excellent. It gives a leg up to small groups working in different languages across the country, and will help them take their work to the next level. I’m particularly proud because of my association with the India Foundation for the Arts, which is one of the partners in SMART. We need many more such programmes for different arts.

SD: Priya, as a corporate leader who’s supported the arts for many years, how do you see corporate involvement in the arts? My impression is that it is still fairly low down on their priority. 

PP: I think a lot of companies support the arts in their own quiet way. Many initiatives are not owned by corporations, but supported, for example, the music scene in Chennai. A lot of that kind of support comes from the marketing budgets. Even the Jaipur Literature Festival is hugely supported by corporations. Then there are those who create properties, and do work on a larger scale. For example, the Mahindras have supported theatre for a decade or more; Sunil Munjal of Hero has recently started the Serendipity Arts Festival; and, of course, we in Apeejay run the Parks New Festival in 10 cities. As you know, I’ve been on the board of IFA, and we are noticing a change. Earlier it was only individuals who supported the arts, but now companies are also looking to support the arts outside of the marketing framework. It is a slow trend, to be sure, and nothing on the scale of the US, but it is there.

SD: That’s interesting. What has brought about this change? Is it that companies are doing more to sensitise their workforce to the arts?

PP: Well, the truth is, you can’t put the arts down. Creativity is inherent in people. Many people may work in corporate setups, but they have an artistic side that comes out. The more evolved companies realise that there’s more to life than just work, and they strive to create an environment where people are encouraged to explore their artistic side. But to drive corporate support for the arts, the reality is that the person on top needs to see the importance of it. And, honestly, we do face a situation where people’s very basic needs — education, health, housing — are so under-addressed, that many companies feel that that is what needs their more urgent attention.