Govt has done little to help pandemic-hit 'arts' community: Arundhati Ghosh

The pandemic has hit hard an already vulnerable community that survives on creativity. And the government's response hasn't helped, Ghosh tells Chintan Girish Modi

When the government wants to boost tourism and peddle soft power, arts and culture serve their purpose. Artists are sent out as emissaries. But when a pandemic breaks out, they are the first ones to be abandoned,” says Arundhati Ghosh, executive director of India Foundation for the Arts (IFA), which supports practice, research and education in the arts in India. 

While she is upset that her sector has not got its due, Ghosh admits that artists and culture workers have led precarious lives even in pre-pandemic times. 

“We could teach others about being atmanirbhar, you know!” she says.

Ghosh took on the leadership