KIPAF 17 | OPEN CALL

Silence

Resistance in the time of Global Capital 

sa re ga ma pa da ni

bomb pheleche japani

bomb er modhey keote shaap

british bole baap re baap

(a bengali limeric composed during the WW 2) 

              KIPAF 2017 - Conceptual Framework 

"The problem at hand--silence=action or inaction? There is an urge to  rethink the word action politically. Is action also a state of being where the subject  is acted upon?  For the performance artist these questions need to be articulated by rethinking the space of action. How does one spatialize silence rather than silencing the space. Can silence be that placelessness, that invokes neither utopia nor dystopia--rather a kind of heterotopia--an interstices-- which betrays the very inadequacies of classification of space. What can silence and acts of hearing/listening add to this conundrum? Does silence not suffer from its own inadequacies as a split objectof performance between  noise, non noise, sound? Also can we start thinking of the act associated with silence--silencing. can we start thinking action as Silen(S)ing?"

Note by Shrimoy Roy Chaudhury

---------------------------------------

KIPAF(Kolkata International Performance Art Festival) is an annual event organized by independent artist group. The festival was initiated in 2013 to annually open up the city of Kolkata to diverse  traditions of performance and interventions. It aims to be a platform for dialogue between site, art, politics and culture. KIPAF was conceived to address the nascent nature of Performance Art in India, and continues to play a significant role in the practice, pedagogy and outreach of performance art in South Asia. Our basic concern is to work out the formal , circumstantial, performative aspects of our everyday practices of  hospitality.

The Festival happens every year from 23rd to 26th January.KIPAF is also becoming special as many students from institutions like Gov. Art College,Kolkata , KALA Bhavan Shantiniketan, Fine Arts College Surat, Kashmir Art College travel to Kolkata, as observers and participants of the Open section. The independent nature of KIPAF has been maintained by constantly developing alternate modes of fundraising, involving street paintings, live art, sticker and post card campaigns. Since 2015 KIPAF is taking a workshop based turn, as we invite artists to come a week before KIPAF and initiate workshops. KIPAF ‘13,’14,‘15 & 16 have got participation from Bangladesh, Nepal, Philippines, Japan, Israel, Belgium ,Italy , Uk, Indonesia, Australia, France, Switzerland, USA & various parts of India. 

Unable to offer the artists any remuneration or travel expenses to and from Kolkata, we take responsibilities of the curated artists’ stay, food and local conveyance in the city. We will share the same with all participants as much as our limits allow.

Please send in your applications to kipaf.curator@gmail.com by the 1st November