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IANS
An arts council has been established in the US to introduce America to India's artistic riches and encourage local performers and scholars of Indian art. The Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) is the brainchild of Gopal Raju, the editor and publisher of the weekly newspaper, India Abroad, and Jonathan Hollander, artistic director of the Battery Dance Company.
Raju took the initiative in setting up the Arts Council because he had long felt that despite much talk of a lack of organisational support for the arts of India, nothing concrete was being done. So early this year, he met Hollander, known for his championship of the arts of India in the US, and suggested that together they form the council.
``The time has come to introduce America to India's artistic riches,'' Raju said following the launch of the council. ``We want to encourage and help emerging performers and scholars of Indian art, regardless of whether they are of Indian origin or not.''
``There have been sporadic attempts to support the artsof India,'' he said. ``For example, the Asia Society does a lot, but from its perspective, India is just another Asian country. To me, India is the only country. This council will promote only India.''
The other members of the council's board of directors are Veena Merchant, deputy publisher of India Abroad, Hollander, attorney Talat Ansari and Aroon Shivdasani, the council's executive director.
Hollander said he had been seeking means of raising the profile of Indian arts in the US. He had been ``totally inspired by the brilliant dance, music and visual arts'' to which he was exposed when he spent three months in India as a Fulbright lecturer in the field of dance in 1992. He wondered why Indian dance didn't occupy a more prominent position in the cultural life of New York City.
``When I was invited to attend dance performances by top calibre Indian dancers,'' he said, ``the venues were often at hard-to-reach areas'' when he felt they should have been at Lincoln Centre or Carnegie Hall.
Hollanderbegan to ponder ``Why wasn't India part of `Asia'?'' Various well-funded arts groups with Asian-American in their titles didn't appear to be representing the Indian sub-continent. He wondered why there was an Asian Cultural Council which funded arts projects and fellowships for all the Asian countries but not India.
``It also struck me that for an immigrant group touted as being the highest earning, highest educated in the history of America,'' he said, ``individual and corporate support of the arts was hardly evident among Indian Americans. Other individuals and institutions involved in presenting the arts of India in the US concurred with me in their disappointment.''
This was what prompted him to organise a seminar at the Indian Consulate in March this year. ``At this seminar,'' he said, ``after we had aired our discouragement with things as they now stand, I came out with a suggestion: Why not form an Indo-American Arts Council to raise the profile of Indian arts in this country?''
The proposal wasimmediately taken up by Raju and India Abroad Publications Inc., who put up $50,000 as seed money to start with. Besides, support was also provided by India Abroad in the form of the first year's salary for an executive director and office space and other infrastructural support.
The council's mission is described as follows: ``The Indo-American Arts Council is a secular, not-for-profit service and resource organisation charged with the mission of promoting the awareness, creation, production, exhibition, publication and performance of Indian and cross-cultural art forms in North America.
``The IAAC supports all the artistic disciplines in classical, fusion, folk and innovative forms influenced by the arts of India. We will work cooperatively with colleagues around the US to broaden our collective audience and to create a network for shared information, resources and funding.
``While our primary focus will be to help artistes and art organisations in North America, our secondary goal is to facilitateartistes and art organisations from India to exhibit, perform and produce their works here.``Our proposed satellite office in India will enable us to raise funds in India as well as to maintain direct contact with Indian artistes of calibre who wish to share their talents with American audiences.
``The IAAC shall become a consolidated central funding agency to disseminate grants to individual artists and arts organisations engaged in exceptional work relating to the mission and guidelines set forth by the IAAC.''
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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