Edition 2
2019
Imagining and communicating are two faces of our existence. The duality of the present and timeless prevails at all times. The world is in flux and ever-changing, where new contours of values and meanings get written even before old ones are forgotten. And yet the more it changes - it remains the same. It remains in constant, coagulant flux with ever-changing contours but of the same matter. Art provides society with a mirror it requires to reassess the reflection of our times and beyond. In the second Edition, curators of Abhivyakti called for proposals that were on the cusp of these possibilities. On one hand, hope was to receive proposals that were reflective and pondered the times we lived in, and in the same breath, we wanted these proposals to have innocence and depth of the timeless and wondrous idea of art. The proposals were invited this time across Gujarat, which was fearful of what they wanted to say, even anxious, but at the same time had the power to initiate dialogues with those who care to unsettle the settled and to bring solace to the troubled.
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Visual Arts
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Dance
Music
Theatre
Visual Arts
Literature
Mentors
Sanjukta Wagh
Performer, choreographer, educator and curator, Sanjukta Wagh trained in Kathak under Rajashree Shirke and Hindustani Music under Pandit Murli Manohar Shukla. Her interdisciplinary work draws from theatre, contemporary dance and literature, resulting in productions celebrated nationally and abroad. Her dance theatre work Rage and Beyond: Irawati's Gandhari won two National Theatre Awards at META 2015. She holds an M.A. in English Literature and has been honoured with the Vinod Doshi Award, Aditya Birla Kala Kiran Puruskar and the British Council's Charles Wallace scholarship.
Sunil Shanbag
Sunil Shanbag is a Mumbai-based theatre director and producer who co-founded Theatre Arpana and Tamaasha Theatre, serving as their artistic director. Over 35 years, his work has examined the complexities of contemporary India through theatre across conventional and alternative spaces. His productions address pressing social issues including class, caste and gender. Beyond directing, he has led theatre education workshops for actors, directors and teachers at multiple levels. Sunil is also a distinguished documentary filmmaker recognised with national awards.
Curators
Akash Bhatt
Akash Bhatt is a musician and practicing architect trained in tabla at Saptak School of Music. A SOROS Foundation Scholarship winner for Performing Arts in 2001, he spent over a decade in Eastern Europe absorbing Balkan, Turkish, Arabian and jazz fusion traditions. His unique fusion concept Kshitij Project brought together genre origins from across the world at Abhivyakti's first edition. He continues his musical journey as a curator, believing art forms can freely dance, sing and compose together.
Pooja Purohit
Pooja Purohit is a trained Bharatnatyam dancer and performing artist with 16 years of experience spanning classical dance, contemporary movement, Kalaripayattu, aerial work and screen acting. She has performed across India, the Middle East, Europe and America, collaborating with international choreographers including French directors Nicole and Norbert Corsino. Having worked with Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, she served as Dance Curator for Abhivyakti Edition 2, bringing both curatorial vision and deep performance experience to the role.
Ankit Gor
Ankit Gor is a theatre director, actor and writer based in Ahmedabad who believes art must unsettle and illuminate. He studied Mass Communication and Journalism at master's level and trained with the National School of Drama and Gujarat Sangeet Natak Akademi. For nearly four years he directed full-length productions at Tapovan Sanskar Pith. A playwright of distinction, he won the most promising theatre writer award at the Gujarat Literature Festival 2018 and also writes for films and web series.
Mitul Kajaria
Mitul Kajaria is an international award-winning photographer, curator, educator and archivist. With a background in architecture and over fourteen years of arts practice, their work orbits vital themes: mental health, diverse archives and the relationship between built environments and human experience. Their curatorial practice creates spaces for dialogue and reflection around underrepresented narratives, grounded in relational ethics and collaborative meaning-making. Mitul is also the founder of Aaste Mental Health and Wellbeing, offering psychotherapy and psychodrama workshops through a humanistic, person-centred approach.
