Panaji: Boasting a line-up of 150-plus projects, lectures by experts and public art interventions spread across 12 venues, the highly anticipated sixth physical edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF) 2023 is back with a bang in Goa’s capital, Panaji.
One of Asia’s biggest multidisciplinary arts festivals, which is now synonymous with Goa, SAF 2023 will be held from December 15 to December 23.
“We are very proud to host the sixth physical edition of SAF 2023 in the beautiful capital city of Goa – Panaji. SAF is a major part of Goan popular culture and we hope to keep it that way in the years to come. This is the biggest edition of the Festival so far — a wonderful confluence of amazing multidisciplinary artists showcasing their talents and offering audiences immersive, lifelong experiences,” said Sunil Kant Munjal, Founding Patron, Serendipity Arts Trust.
This year the festival is supported by the Government of Goa, in partnership with the Entertainment Society of Goa and Corporation of The City of Panaji along with the Directorate of Art and Culture, Goa,, Goa Tourism Department, the Goa Forest Department, and Smart City Panaji.
The curtain raiser event was held recently in Panaji, with the Festival curators, patrons and local authorities in attendance as Goa gears up for the imminent sixth physical edition of SAF 2023.
According to Rohit Monserrate, Mayor, Corporation of the City of Panaji, Goa’s bustling capital is the perfect mix of historic and modern and therefore, the perfect place to host SAF 2023. “The city of Panjim has a history like no other. It was the first cosmopolitan city to allow different influences of culture to co-exist. Through festivals like Serendipity Arts Festival, we want to make the city the cultural capital of the country. It helps not only in bringing people and communities together but also engaging people from outside in the history of the state. Culture creates infrastructure and brings economies to the state but what it does best is build sustainable communities. I wish the Serendipity Arts Festival and Panjim a successful step towards cultural progress,” he said.
SAF 2023 will be conducted across 12 venues spread across the culturally rich city of Panaji — Art Park (16 events), Excise Building (11 events), Old GMC Complex (57 events), ESG complex (21 events), Santa Monica jetty (one event), Old PWD complex (six events), Multi-level parking (two events), Samba Square, The Arena at Nagalli Hills Ground (16 events), Promenade, Dinanath Mangeshkar Kala Mandir (eight events), Azad Maidan (one event) and more.
According to Shrinivas Dempo, SAF Patron and President, Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, SAF 2023 has put Panaji in the global spotlight. “It is wonderful that this Festival has taken place in the city of Panaji year after year. SAF has also provided ample footfalls in Panaji aiding the city’s economy, while adding heft to the city’s profile in national and international art circuits,” he said.
This year, SAF 2023 boasts more than 300 artists conducting 150-plus projects (not including workshops and talks), of which 15 are special projects and four are Serendipity Arts Foundation initiatives. All the projects curated by domain experts fall under six broader disciplines, namely Dance, Visual Arts, Music, Culinary Arts, Theatre and Craft.
