From October 30 to November 01, 2019, India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) in collaboration with Bangalore International Centre (BIC) organised Past Forward: Celebrating Critical Practices. Spread across disciplines such as photography, visual arts, theatre, video installation, film, gaming, graphic art, sound, music, dance and puppetry, this festival featured a diverse line-up of artists sharing their work through panel discussions, performances, film screenings, exhibitions and workshops.
In the opening keynote address to the festival, Sunil Shanbag shared the voices and thoughts of the artists struggling to understand the value of their work and the role it can play in the rapidly changing context of artistic practice in India. He talks about whether there are ideas we can borrow, threads we can pull, inspirations we can seek and strategies we can build on in the present moment, learning from our pasts — across time, geographies, cultures and contexts.
IFA would like to thank their philanthropy partners – Bangalore International Centre, Biocon Limited, C. Krishniah Chetty Group Of Jewellers, Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, RMZ Foundation, Sandeep and Gitanjali Maini Foundation, and Jaithirth (Jerry) Rao; and outreach partner – Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru, for supporting this festival.
