Core Team, Volunteers and Interns

ART@IITGNwasconceptualizedbyProf.JaisonManjalytocreateaspaceforthe IITGNCommunitytopractice,participateandexperimentwithcreativeartforms. TheideawasreinforcedbyMs AvaniVariawhowasinvitedtobetheArtCurator and the idea ofART@IITGN was incubated and thus the core team was formed Being people of poles apart and passionate aboutArt and Exploration brought a 360 degree perspective to ideate, execute and curate all the events / activities aroundtheyear Theteamwasfurtherbuiltwiththevolunteers,internsandartists oftheIITGNcommunity.

VolunteeringwithART@IITGNwasanopportunitytogainhands-onexperiencein art event and activity planning and execution with flexible working hours. This opportunity encouraged students, amateurs, or professionals from any field, to jointheartjourney.SeveralInterestedindividualshavetakenupdifferentrolesas per their interests and skill sets, and availability of their time. The volunteers rangedfromkids,students,staff,professorsandtheirfamilymembers.

Ontheotherhand,theinternshipprogramwasdesignedtobuildacoreteam.The internshipconsistsof18hoursaweekwithaplannedsetoftaskstobecompleted and the responsibilities were given on the basis of individual choices They also have an opportunity to learn new art forms under the guidance of the curator or pursuetheartformoftheirchoice Beingpartofthecoreteam,helpsaninternto grow themselves not only as an artist but also an exemplary team player The unknownhorizonsofanindividualwerestretchedandseewhataretheotherskills s/hecanacquireasaprofessional.

IITGN provides a unique creative atmosphere with great opportunities for cross pollination of ideas and a place where art and science converge and produce new meanings and languages. -

Sarnath Banerjee, Comics writer

It was a great experience working with Art at IITGN team. The team has always given their best efforts to provide a platform to everyone and accommodate as many people as possible. It was very nice to be organised with the team and plan and also perform. Looking forward to learning and working together more!

- Tanisha Bhadury, PhD Scholar, IITGN

I would like to provide feedback on my experience with the Art Studio at IITGN. It has been an incredibly enriching and enjoyable journey for me, and I have thoroughly cherished my participation and observation of various activities within the studio. Overall, my experience with the Art Studio at IITGN has been truly remarkable. The diverse range of activities offered by the studio, including the workshop by Kalyan Joshi and the creation of the Mata ni pachedi mural, have contributed to my artistic growth and provided immense enjoyment. I am grateful for the opportunity to be involved with such a creative and inspiring community. I eagerly look forward to future events and activities organized by the Art Studio, as I continue to explore and develop my artistic abilities. -

Dr. Monal K.Desai, Teaching Associate, IITGN

ARTISTS of IITGN

We envision forming a strong Network of Creative Practitioners at IIT Gandhinagar to interact with each other as well as contribute to the overall vision of ART@IITGN Encouraging Artists of the IITGN community who are practicing any form of ART (selftaught,formallytrained,amateur,professional)wasoneofourpriorities.Wehavestarted profilingArtistsonourwebsitecreatingtheirprofessionalonlinepresence Focusedefforts aremadetomeetanddiscusstosupportartists'requirementsandfurther,collaborations withthemwillenhancetheartscenariosoncampus Thissymbioticrelationshipwillensure individual artists growth and community development. As a part of TaPAF musicians,dancers and poets from the campus were lined up and gave an amazing performancethewholeevening.Movements-IndianClassicalDancePerformanceswasa showcase of classical dance forms like Kathak, Bharathanatyam, Odissi and Manipuri by the members of the community Recently we have also hosted another musical evening titled ‘Swar Sangam’- Instrumental Performances by artists of IITGN led by teaching faculties and students Self learnt artist, Harvansh Dandelia a PhD student from mechanicalEngg.Dept.,hassuccessfullyinitiatedformalteachingstringinstrumentsand hehasshownwillingnesstodomoreclassesonaregularbasis.

Art@IITGN is a breath of fresh air in the campus. It gives such varied creative opportunities to the community. The curator Ms. Varia has been able to bring out the artistic side of the campus very nicely.

- Amit Arora, Associate Professor, IITGN

My heartfelt gratitude for the exceptional experiences I have had at guitar classes, painting and clay studios. It has provided wonderful experience, learning and a space to explore. - Saumil

Shah, CDS, IITGN

The arts enliven the IITGN campus with inspired conversations, outdoor performances, interactive art making, creative interactions. The arts round out the educational experience and provide community and a place for exploration. -

Cynthia Campoy Brophy

I attended only one event organised by Art@IITGN. It was a superbly organised Classical Dance programme and I enjoyed myself immensely. Hope there are more such events in the future. - Madhumita

Sengupta, Assistant Professor, IITGN

Art studio helped us with our concept of fluid art keychains during spring carnations :) Great job promoting art and culture on campus people. Very much appreciatedRuthvik, Student, IITGN

Would love to participate in music instruments workshop if arranged by art@iitgn. -

Prasad Pawar, PhD Physics, IITGN

Art Associations

Humans comprehend the world and assign meaning to it by employing art. A s s o c i a t i o n s o f p r o d u c t i o n , administration, ideology, scientific and cultural impression, and senses, the identity of a society is shaped in theArt of that society IIT Gandhinagar a wholesome technology institute has alwaysinvestedincreatingastudentforce with the practice of bridging technology gap with human association, a responsible global citizen, ownership in multitude level and being true to their thoughts Artassociationswiththestudent community have given that space to explore their ideas and expression. Beyondpaintandpens,ART@IITGNhave been associated with students for their dissertation, classroom projects and more Someofthemare,AnishaMohanty, aMAstudentfromHSSwhodeliveredher finalthesiswiththeseriesofherartworks, HarshMandaliaaBachelor’sstudentfrom Mechanical Engg. Dept. have used the forum to get connected with traditional Kathputli artists to understand the design aspects of the traditional toy mechanism to optimize a mechanical machine and Anjali Singh a MA student from HSS explored photo documentation & cyanotype print making. She is currently workinginaMuseumandrecentlycreated prints for a professional photographer’s full-fledged exhibition with cyanotype. Rahul Bishnoi, a current MA student is experimenting with theater for his master’sthesis.Studentsfromfirstyearof bachelor's completed their prototype makingofaCoconutCutterasapartofthe Design, Innovation and prototyping (ES 115) course, utilizing the art studio facilities Students often utilized the facility for creating souvenirs for their personal use and also have taken advice forcreatingclayproductsasapartoftheir designcourse.

Reflection of the first year's journey

From naming the initiative as ART@IITGN to curating the events and activities,everysmallthingisdonewithmeticulousattention.FromJune 2022,ART@IITGNhadtheonlyaimtoexploredifferentformsofartsand itscompatibilitywiththeIITGNcommunityrequirement;alongsideitwas alsotryingtounderstand thesoft/artskillsrequiredbytheacademiaof the institute. Tabulation of the primary mission has been done and presented in this report. With the core team of 2 passionate individuals, we were able to pull off as many as possible happenings in the campus withaminimalexpenditure.OneofthefoundingpillarsofIITGNProfessor SudhirKJaininhisinterviewwithAchalMishrahasmentionedthat“The universityenterpriseneedsallkindsofpeople,andtherefore,webrought peopleherewithsomewhatunconventionalspecialities” Atruevisionary of his time and we see how important it is to have a team and with all distinctivequalities.Over120activitieswithinayearreachingouttomore than6000peopleasparticipants,seemsinsurmountablebutitcametrue because of the continual support of a very sincere team consisting of volunteers,interns,supportingtechnicalandadministrativedepartments along with the core team of 2 members We envision doing more qualitative art related activities on the campus with a bigger and diversifiedcoreteam.Asmuchastheartandrelatedactivitiescanbeout of box imagination and creativity, we urge to form a more structured administrationtomanagethisindependentbodycalledas‘ART@IITGN’/ ‘ARTLABS-suggestive’.ResponsesfromtheIITGNcommunitytowards this Arts Initiative have stumbled us all the time and that’s what has motivatedustoenvisionforthefuture.Thevisionistocreate‘ARTLABS’ asanindependentbodyaswellasinterdisciplinarysupportivelimbtothe community and its welfare; nevertheless we wanted to support our studentsandacademicfraternitytoreachnewheights.