SANSKRITI FOUNDATION
New Delhi -1978:
Nested in the five acre haven on the outskirts of Delhi, Sanskriti International Residency has hosted over 800 artists, poets, scholars, and writers, craftspersons and cultural activists at the Sanskriti Kendra. Established by Om Prakash Jain as the Sanskriti Foundation in 1979, the primary aims were to encourage research, understanding and promotion of traditional Indian arts, and create a platform for conversation and nurturing of emerging artists, writers and social entrepreneurs, and create connections between traditional and crafts artists, the contemporary art world, and the international art community.
The residency space was set up in 1993, with the completion of Sanskriti Kendra; and also the establishment of the Sanskriti Museum of Indian Terracotta along with a workshop on Terracotta by eminent artists such as Bhupen Khakhar and Gulam Muhammad Sheikh, as well as local craftsmen like Neelamani Devi, Khemraj Kumar.
The model for residency at Sanskriti can also include the resident paying a fee to be part of the program. Hosting individual residencies (offered in cooperation with bodies such as UNESCO, and Australia’s Asia-Link), as well as group residencies. Artist Sudarshan Shetty and writer Geeti Sen were part of the first residency in 1993-94. Since then, among others, Sheba Chachhi, Mrinalini Mukherjee, and Manisha Parekh have been the prominent Indian artists, in a very large and illustrious list of international artists and writers in residence.
The last year saw residencies in collaboration with the Art Council of Northern Ireland, Asialink of Australia, The Helpmann Academy, Australia and the Fulbright Scholarship fellows; and some self funded artists, writers, sculptors, ceramists, Mandala artists, amongst others. They also supported a project by St+Art, where the gond artist Bhajju Shyam was the artist-in-residence.Under the current pandemic situation, while all residencies at Sanskriti this year have been suspended, the Foundation is accepting proposals from Institutions and individuals for the next season.
Text Courtesy : Space118
Image Courtesy : World Wide Web