Making an early debut, Serendipity Arts Festival 2024’s itinerant public art installation, ‘Traveling Balcãos’, inspired by the traditional Goan porches or balcãos, will celebrate the spirit of community at three venues in the heart of Panaji, as a pre-cursor to the festival.
The public is invited to engage with the installation at the Kadamba Bus Stand on December 10, the Panaji Market on December 11 and the Panaji Promenade on December 12, before it is parked at The Art Park for the Festival, which commences in full swing on December 15 across Panaji.
‘Traveling Balcãos’ aims to create conversations in the city’s public spaces on community, identity and belonging in the context of a rapidly changing Goa. The installation shares the diversity of the voices from across the city, connected by the common thread of migration and dualism of home. An integral part of the architecture and history of Goa, the balcão is a domestic, intimate space to sit and talk in, which the project opens up into a public space to create a local collective voice.
Curated by Delhi-based artist duo and SAF 2024’s Visual Design co-curators Thukral & Tagra as part of the multisensory experience ‘Multiplay’ at the Festival, ‘Traveling Balcãos’ is a project by art and architectural practice a global collective specialising in participatory urban planning, design, governance, and architecture.
The ninth edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival is set to take place in Panaji, Goa, from December 15-22, 2024.
