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Open House – Layers 25 July, 2009
An exhibition of photographs by Shaswaty Nair

Beckett on Film
25 July – 1 August 2009

25 July, Saturday
Waiting for Godot (120 mins)

26 July, Sunday
Act without Words I (16 mins)
Act without Words II (11 mins)
Not I (14 mins)
Ohio Impromptu (12 mins)

27 July, Monday
Happy Days (79 mins)

28 July, Tuesday
Rough for Theatre I (20 mins)
Rough for Theatre II (30 mins)
Catastrophe (7 mins)
Breath (45 seconds)
29 July, Wednesday
Krapp’s Last Tape (58 mins)

30 July, Thursday
Footfalls (28 mins)
Rockaby (14 mins)
What Where (12 mins)
Come and Go (8 mins)

31 July, Friday
Endgame (84 mins)

1 August, Saturday
That Time (20mins)
A Piece of Monologue (20mins)
Play (16mins)

Open Mike – 8 August, 2009
An Evening of Poetry

Crimson & Azure – 22 August, 2009
Two short films on Love and Sexuality by Rohit Dasgupta

Graphic/Comics Scripting Workshop 1: The Basics
Rimi B. Chatterjee and Avijit Chatterjee

Graphic/Comics Scripting Workshop 2: The Masterclass
Rimi B. Chatterjee and Avijit Chatterjee

One Cup Music – 5 September, 2009
A unique blend of Carnatic classical ‘krithis’, South Indian folk, North Indian percussion rhythms and Western Guitar chord progressions.
Gouriprasad Nanda—percussions, Srikanth Sugavanam—violin and Baijayanta Roy—guitar.

Face Up
An exhibition of photographs by
Anna Fox and Sunil Gupta
October 10 – 22, 2009

What the Buddha Thought
Richard Gombrich
Book launch on October 23, 2009 at the Seagull Bookstore

Lakoa Wingflow – 24 October, 2009
photographs by Devika Arora

Food Film Fiesta
26 October to 1 November, 2009
31 October, 2009
Old Calcutta Culinary Specialities – A spread curated by Nondon Bagchi, from the forgotten art of the mughlai parathas to deemer devil to mishti doi. Join Nondon for a meal as he takes you on a journey tracing the influence of the Raj on traditional Bengali cuisine.
The Film
Saturday/31 October 2009
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Luis Bunuel/1972/French with English subtitles/102 minutes
A party of would-be diners are constantly frustrated in their search for food. The rituals of food and drink, for Bunuel, conveniently signifies the whole structure of ‘civilization’, by which mankind seeks to create meaning and impose order on the absurdity of life.

1 November, 2009
Kerala Cuisine- Geographically far apart, Bengal and Kerala have many affinities. Explore them and the cross cultural influences on Kerala’s mouth watering delicacies. Engage with Nondon. Savour gastronomical delights. Pamper your taste buds.
The Film
Sunday/1November 2009
Volver
Pedro Almodovar/2006/Spanish with English subtitles/121 minutes
Penelope Cruz plays Raimunda, a resilient young mother with no luck but enough culinary talent to turn adversity into accomplishment.

Other films
Monday/26 October 2009
Eat Drink Man Woman
Ang Lee/1994/Taiwanese with English subtitles/123 minutes

Tuesday/27 October 2009
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and her Lover
Peter Greenaway/1990/English/124 minutes

Wednesday/28 October 2009
What’s Cooking?
Gurinder Chaddha/2000/English/109 minutes

Thursday/29 October 2009
Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart
Wayne Wang/1985/English/88 minutes

Friday/30 October 2009/
In Search of Famine
Mrinal Sen/1980/Bengali with English subtitles/115 minutes

Indian Cinema in the Time of Celluloid
From Bollywood to the Emergency
Ashish Rajadhyaksha
Book launch on October 28, 2009 at the Seagull Bookstore

TALES OF CHITPUR
an exhibition of photographs by Saibal Das
November 14 – 24, 2009

A String of Suppressed Films
21 November 2009
Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom
Pier Paolo Pasolini/1975/Italian with English subtitles/116 minutes

22 November 2009
A Clockwork Orange
Stanley Kubrik/1972/English/136 minutes

23 November 2009
The Last Temptation of Christ
Martin Scorsese/1988/English/164 minutes

24 November 2009
The Holy Mountain
Alejandro Jodorowsky/1973/English/110 minutes

25 November 2009
Baise Moi
Virginie Despentes & Coralie/2000/French with English subtitles/77 minutes

26 November 2009
9 Songs
Michael Winterbottom/2005/English/67 minutes

27 November 2009
Last Tango in Paris
Bernardo Bertolucci/1973/French and English/129 minutes

No Strings Attached – 12 December, 2009
Diptanshu Roy—Mandolin, Vinayak Das Gupta—Guitar

Pan-India : A Shared Habitat
photographs by Prashant Pan
December 19 – 29, 2009

 

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SMALL THINGS
An exhibition of paintings by
Nisreen Moochhala
January 12 to 22, 2009

On the occasion of K. G. Subramanyan’s eighty-fifth birthday,
Recent works by K. G. SUBRAMANYAN
And a series of concerts at the Kala Bhavana grounds Santiniketan, by
Ustad Shahid Parvez, Shrimati Veena Sahasrabuddhe
and the Mysore Brothers-Dr M. Manjunath and Mysore Nagraj

Programme
Tuesday, 3 February 2009, 6 pm
A sitar recital by Ustad Shahid Parvez
Accompanied by Subhranil Sarkar on the tanpura and Subhojyoti Guha on the tabla.

Wednesday, 4 February 2009, 6 pm
A vocal recital by Shrimati Veena Sahasrabuddhe
Accompanied by Seema Shirodkar on the harmonium and Vishwanath Shirodkar on the tabla.

Thursday, 5 February 2009, 11 am
The exhibition opening at Nandan Gallery, Kala Bhavana, in the presence of the artist.

Thursday, 5 February 2009, 6 pm
A carnatic violin jugalbandi by the Mysore Brothers –
Dr M. Manjunath and Mysore Nagaraj.
Accompanied by Vidwan Arjun Kumar on the mridangam and Vidwan Giridhar Udupa on the ghatam.

The exhibition was on view in Kala Bhavana – Santiniketan from 6 – 20 February 2009, Amdavad Ni Gufa – Ahmedabad: 6 – 14 March, 2009, Kalakriti Art Gallery – Hyderabad 7 – 25 April, 2009, Calcutta: June 20 – July 19, 2009, simultaneously at
Aakriti Art Gallery, Akar Prakar and The Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre.

Marc Riboud
An exhibition of photographs by Marc Riboud
27 February 2009 – 10 March 2009.

Three films by Adoor Gopalakrishnan
23 February 2009
Nandan III, 3 pm and 6 pm
NAALU PENNUGAL (Four Women)
Colour, 105 mins
6 pm screening followed by Q and A session with the Filmmaker,
conducted by Samik Bandyopadhyay

24 February 2009
Nandan III, 3 pm and 6 pm
ORU PENNUM RANDAANUM (A Climate for Crime)
Colour, 115 mins

25 February 2009
Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre, 3 pm and 6 pm
The Dance of the Enchantress
Colour, 70 mins

RECENT WORKS
an exhibition of paintings by Chandana Hore
March 21 to April 4, 2009

ART AGAINST TERRORISM
The Aftermath of War
An Exhibition of Books and Films
30 March to 1 April, 2009
The films:
Turtles Can Fly by Bahman Ghobadi on March 30, 2009 at 6.30 pm
Black Box BDR by Andres Veiel onMarch 31, 2009 at 6.30 pm
Waltz with Bashir by Ari Folman on April 1, 2009 at 6.30 pm
The books:
The Assassination: Who Killed Indira G? by Tariq Ali
Fear of Small Numbers by Arjun Appadurai
Buda’s Wagon:?A Brief History of the Car Bomb by Mike Davis
On Suicide Bombing by Talat Asad
Hold Everything Dear by John Berger
Women as Weapons of War: Iraq, Sex and the Media by Kelly Oliver
Violence and Democracy in India, edited by Amrita Basu & Srirupa Roy
The Last Resistance by Jacqueline Rose
The Aftermath of War by Jean-Paul Sartre

An evening of poetry reading – 20 April 2009
Amiya Deb, Samik Bandopadhyay & Chinmay Guha
read poems in English and French
and their translations into Bengali by
Jibanananda Das
Sudhindranath Dutta
Buddhadev Bose
Bishnu De
Arun Mitra

Shadi Ghadirian – Photographer
An exhibition of photographs by Shadi Ghadirian
April 8, 2009 to April 19, 2009.

Somnath Hore: Bronzes, Drawings, Watercolours
An exhibition of the works of Somnath Hore
April 13 to May 20, 2009.
The Tea Garden Journal, My Concept of Art and a new edition of Tebhaga by Somnath Hore and translated by Somnath Zutshi released on the occasion of the exhibition.

A Long Exposure
An exhibition of photographs by T.S. Satyen
May 1 to May 15, 2009.

A Pause for Pinter
4 Films based on plays by Harold Pinter
Introduced by Samik Bandyopadhyay
June 5, 2009 The Caretaker, directed by Clive Donner
June 6, 2009 The Birthday Party, directed by William Friedkin
June 7, 2009 Accident, directed by Joseph Losey
June 8, 2009 The Servant , directed by Joseph Losey

 

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July 1, 2008
THE SEAGULL LIBRARY RE-OPENS AT THE BOOKSTORE PREMISES

July 6 – 19, 2008
Exhibition of Photographs by Martine Franck, Tim Hall and Swapan Nayak

August 16 – 24, 2008
A Festival of Films and Video Art from China
An eclectic mix of fifteen award winning features and documentaries including a selection of films by Zhangke Jia one of the most renowned of these film makers.

2 August – 13 August, 2008
RUNNING AMOK
Jasmeen Patheja an exhibition of photographs

August 28 – September 6, 2008
SECOND SKIN
AN EXHIBITION OF SCULPTURES
By Venkat Bothsa
September 24 – October 3, 2008
Listening Camera
An exhibition of black and white photographs of Jazz musicians by
Navroze Contractor
20 October – 29, 2008
Heresies, a retrospective of Pedro Meyer
An exhibition will open simultaneously in nearly 60 locations around the world in October 2008.

November 1 – 30, 2008
SURANJAN BASU
A RETROSPECTIVE
The exhibition of the works of Suranjan Basu (1957- 2001)

November 5, 2008
The Aftermath of War
By Jean Paul Satre
The book was released by Shri Gopal Krishna Gandhi, followed by a dramatized reading of excerpts from the book by Jayant Kripalani.

November 7,8,9, 2008
Peace Festival

December 5 – 13, 2008
SHADOWBOXING
EXHIBITION OF BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS BY SHAHID DATAWALA

December 8 – 15
FROM THE VANISHING POINT
an exhibition of paintings by
Roy Thomas

December 12 and 13, 2008
Open Space-Seagull Film Festival
BE POSITIVE
SHORT FILMS ON HIV/AIDS

A 2-day film festival for young audiences across India exploring the issue of HIV/AIDS.
Curated by Open Space, a civil society and youth outreach programme active in Pune, Kolkata, Lucknow and Ranchi, the festival was addressed at a squarely middle class audience, about how HIV can and does affect you and me.
The package included short films by popular and accomplished filmmakers Mira Nair, Farhan Akhtar, Santosh Sivan and Vishal Bhardwaj (made with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation). Superstars Prabhudeva, Irrfan Khan, Shabana Azmi, Shiney Ahuja, Ayesha Takia, Boman Irani and others put their heavyweight audience draw behind the project, hoping to change minds and save lives.

Day 1
Migration
18 mins
Starring: Sameera Reddy, Shiney Ahuja, Raima Sen, Irfan Khan
Using AIDS as the great class leveler, Mira Nair directs a powerful story linking urban and rural India.
Some Burning Questions
30 min, DVD, 2006
Directed by: Abhijit Dasgupta
Through candid interviews with HIV+ patients in Kolkata, we get an insight into their lives and their struggle against social stigma and discrimination
Prarambha (The Beginning)
15mins
Starring: Prabhu Deva
Renowned director Santosh Sivan expertly deals with society’s prejudices against people with AIDS through the journey of a young boy’s search for his mother.
Day 2
Blood Brothers
20mins
Starring: Siddharth Suryanarayan, Ayesha Takia, Pankaj Kapoor
Award-winning director Vishal Bhardwaj follows the journey of a young man from a positive HIV diagnosis to the eye-opening conclusion.
Unheard Voices
27 mins, DVD, English, 2006
Directors: KP Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
Co-produced by Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Norwegian Church Aid, this film looks at multiple ways of transmission of the HIV virus, including unsafe medical and cosmetic practices.
Positive
20mins
Starring: Shabana Azmi, Boman Irani
One of India’s most prominent young directors Farhan Akhtar shows a family coping with AIDS and reveals the courage they bring to overcome the tragedy.

December 26, 2008
THE SALT STORIES
A film by Lalit Vachani
(84 min.)
In 1930, a group of Indians led by a frail, elderly man marched for 241 miles.
They marched for salt. Mahatma Gandhi was able to craft an anti-colonial, nationalist movement around a basic issue of livelihood: the right of Indians to make and consume their own salt.

77 years later, the Wide Eye Film team followed the trail of the famous Dandi Salt March, in search of Gandhi’s legacy. Set against the backdrop of Gandhi’s original journey, this is a road-movie about issues of livelihood in modern, globalizing India. It is a documentary about ‘the salt stories’ of our times.

 

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January

The Magic of Making
Recent works – K. G. Subramanyan
28 April – 4 May 2008 Coomaraswamy Hall, Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai
17 – 28 March 2008 Lalit Kala Akademi Delhi
20 February – 8 March 2008 Gallery Sumukha Bangalore
24 January – 5 February 2008 Gallery Sumukha Chennai

Exhibition of black-white photographs by Christopher Taylor
presented at 46 Satish Mukherjee Road which is an old residence quite like some of the old buildings that Christopher Taylor has been photographing in Calcutta and Bombay. This is an old house where we have been since presenting interesting photography, sculpture, music events. This is also in keeping with Seagull’s own tradition or practice of locating interesting spaces and turning them into places where the public can enjoy the arts.
The space was inaugurated with a Sarod recital by Buddhadeb Dasgupta on the 26th evening along with the Christopher Taylor photographs.

P. K. Ghosh Memorial Lecture: ‘Partition, Proust and Palestine’ by Jacqueline Rose, Prof. of English, Queen Mary University, UK. Kala Mandir Basement Theatre, 6.30 pm. A Seagull event.

The Last Resistance’: Jacqueline Rose (Prof. of English, Queen Mary University, UK) in conversation with Supriya Chaudhuri (Prof. of English, Jadavpur University) and Aveek Sen (The Telegraph).

February 15 – 23, 2008
mohandas n.n. /new work
an exhibition of paintings

February 24 – March 3, 2008
The Boxing Ladies
black and white photographs by David Trattles

March 1 – 10, 2008
Poster Women
an exhibition of posters from the women’s movement in India
The exhibition was inaugurated by Vidya Munshi, Guest of Honour and Maitreyee Chatterjee will be our Special Guest
Films on the women’s movement will be available for screening on request during the exhibition

March 15, 2008
Bells of Change
Sawaaal-Jawaab with Pallabi Chakravorty
A conversation with visual anthropolgist and Kathak exponent Pallabi Chakravorty about the story of Kathak.
The Sawaal Jawaab will begin with a live performance and video excerpts from Pallabi Chakravorty’s own choreographic works to meld embodied aesthetics and social theory.
Bells of Change: Kathak dance, Women and Modernity in India
By Pallabi Chakravorty will be released on the occasion.

March 20, 2008
Home Again :
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak in conversation with Rosalind Morris
Gayatri Spivak(University Professor and Director, Centre for Comparative Literature and Society, Columbia University) and Rosalind Morris ( Professor of Anthropology, University of Columbia) friends and intellectual allies in New York, their shared home, ask each other what is it to live in so many worlds, in a place which is home to one and abroad to the other.

April 11 – 25, 2008
an exhibition of works by
Somnath Hore
Until the Rain: Fragments from an artist’s life
A DIARY BY SOMNATH HORE
was released by Shri Gopal Krishna Gandhi on this occasion

6 – 19 June 2008
Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata and Seagull Foundation for the Arts
DISTANCE AND PROXIMITY
Photographic works by Bernd and Hilla Becher, Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Axel Hütte, Simone Nieweg, Thomas Ruff, Jörg Sasse, Thomas Strutz, Petra Wunderlich
Part of the exhibition series, ‘Photography in Germany from 1850 to the Present’, conceived and organized by curator Wulf Herzogenrath and ifa. It is a history of German photography in independent sections documenting important aspects of the development of this technical and artistic medium.
The various subject exhibitions document different photographic approaches and stylized artistic stances.

June 27 – July 2
Under Development Singur
Friday 27 June, 4:30 pm
Panel discussion and open forum
On the Representation of Displacement and Development.
Professor Samik Bandyopadhyay (Senior Film Critic and Scholar)
Dr. Kavita Panjabi (Professor, Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University)
Dr. Rajarshi Dasgupta (Fellow in Political Science, CSSSC)
Dr. Paromita Chakravarti (Senior Lecturer, Department of English, Jadavpur University)
Photo Exhibition
Friday 27 June – Wednesday 2 July 2008
Film Festival
Saturday 28 June, 2008
11:00 am
Bombay Our City – Anand Patwardhan
(India: 1985, 82 min)
2: 00 pm
Mahua Memoirs – Vinod Raja
(India: 2007, 80 min)
4:30 pm
Czech Dream – Vit Klusak and Felip Remunda (Czechoslovakia: 2004, 90 mins)
6: 00 pm
An Aura of Development – Shubhasree Bhattacharyya and Sumantra Roy
(India: 2008, 65 mins)
7: 00 pm
Unnayan – Banduker Nole – Pramod Gupta (India: 2007, 44 mins)
Sunday 29 July
11: 00 am
A Narmada Diary – Anand Patwardhan
(India: 1996, 60 min)
2:00 pm
Still Life – Zhang ke Jia
(Hong Kong: 2006, 111 min)
4: 30 pm
Mahua Memoirs – Vinod Raja
(India: 2007, 80 min)
6:00 pm
Teardrops of Karnaphuli – Tanvir Mokammel (Bangladesh: 2006, 60 mins)

 

 

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Anjum Katyal, with Sumit Ramachandran and Dominic Saldanha,23rd July, Seagull Bookstore
Anjum Katyal went back to her first encounter with the Black heritage of singing the Blues in a session called Black & Blue, and the changes it wrought in her own approach to singing and music, especially her identity as a female singer. From early country blues to the electric rhythm n blues of today, she demonstrated the evolution of blues singing over the years.

Amit Chaudhuri with Madhav Chari, 6th August, Seagull Bookstore
Amit Chaudhuri is a writer and musician. This Is Not Fusion, an unplugged concert with acclaimed jazz pianist, Madhav Chari was an attempt to see if musical empathy can be translated into something creative.

Sankho Chaudhuri 2001-2006
3rd May to 12th May
Seagull Arts & Media Resource Centre
An exhibition of sculpture created by the late Sankho Chaudhuri between the years 2001 and 2006.
Sankho Chaudhuri had been a noted figure in the art scene of India for nearly a quarter of a century as a sculptor and a teacher and through his unrelenting advocacy of the cause of sculpture.

The Prison Manuscripts
11th May
Seagull Arts & Media Resource Centre
The book release of The Prison Manuscripts: Socialism and its Culture by Nicholas Bukharin. Samik Banerjee, Professors Amiya Deb and Sobhanlal Dutta-Gupta took part in a discussion on the book.

Khela
new works on paper, canvas and enamel by Arunima Choudhury
19th May to 12th June
Seagull Arts & Media Resource Centre
Arunima Choudhury received her Diploma in Fine Arts from the Indian Art College, Calcutta. Currently working as a music, art and craft teacher at Patha Bhavan, Calcutta, Arunima, along with her husband Goutam, runs Bihan, a centre for visual and performing arts for children, and Bihan Pathshala, a school for pre-primary children in Naihati, 24 Parganas.

Ustad Rashid Khan / Ustad Shahid Parvez
19th June
G.D. Birla Sabhagar
On the occasion of the twenty-fifth year in publishing Seagull Books Pvt Ltd. presented a midnight concert by Ustad Rashid Khan followed by Ustad Shahid Parvez ushering in the morning

The Phobic and the Erotic
11th May
Seagull Arts & Media Resource Centre
The book release of The Phobic and the Erotic: The Politics of Sexualities in Contemporary India edited by Brinda Bose and Subhabrata Bhattacharya.

Mehsoos
new works on paper, canvas and enamel by Faiza Huma
9th July to 29th July
Seagull Arts & Media Resource Centre
An exhibition of new work and the first solo show by the Bhopal-based artist.

Subhen Chatterjee Bandish Fusion
19th July
G.D. Birla Sabhagar
Continuing a series of concerts to celebrate twenty-five years in publishing Seagull Books Pvt Ltd. presented Lagi Barsaat by internationally acclaimed tabla/world music exponent Subhen Chatterjee and Karma, the world music ensemble with special appearances by Lew Hilt and Amyt Datta.

Anu Matthew Memories of India and An Indian from India
1st August to 12th August
Seagull Arts & Media Resource Centre
Annu Palakunnathu Matthew is Associate Professor of Art (Photography) at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, Rhode Island. This was the sixth and final exhibition of the first season of Tasveer.

A FRANK FRIENDSHIP-GANDHI AND BENGAL: A DESCRIPTIVE CHRONOLOGY
14th August G.D. Birla Sabhagar
On the occasion of the release of A FRANK FRIENDSHIP GANDHI AND BENGAL: A DESCRIPTIVE CHRONOLOGY (compiled and edited by Gopalkrishna Gandhi), Seagull Books presented an evening with Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia.

Bergman Evenings with Samik Bandyopadhyay
This retrospective featuring 11 of Bergman’s varied works, was presented by noted film scholar Mr. Samik Bandyopadhyay who shared his readings and impressions on Bergman with the cinephiles of Kolkata. His commentaries introduced each film which, arranged chronologically, facilitated the reading of Bergman synchronically.

The package of films included
• 25 th August The Seventh Seal (1957, 96 min.)
• 26 th August Wild Strawberries (1957, 91 min.)
• 27 th August Winter Lights (1962, 81 min.)
• 28 th August Silence (1963, 96 min.)
• 29 th August Persona (1966, 85 min.)
• 30 th August Cries and Whispers (1972, 91 min.)
• 31 st August Fanny and Alexander (1982, 188 min.)
• 1 st September Saraband (2003, 120 min.)
• 2 nd September Scenes from a Marriage (1973, 167min.)
• 3 rd September Face to Face (1976, 114 min.)
• 4 th September Autumn Sonata (1978, 99 min.)

NY below the belt
An exhibition of photographs by Pradeep Dasgupta
17th September to 27th September
Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre
Asked about the photographs Pradeep Dasgupta says “I have tried to give free rein to my instincts rather that my head . The photographs are all shot ‘off the hip’ in order to escape my advertising photography anchors of manipulated images, slick lighting and crafty but still compositions”

Anjum Katyal & Los Amigos
19th September G.D. Birla Sabhagar
Continuing a series of concerts to celebrate twenty-five years in publishing Seagull Books Pvt Ltd. presented Fine and Mellow by Blues singer Anjum Katyal joined by Latino jazz ensemble Los Amigos an evening of music which ranged from blues-jazz classics to originals by the band.

Music of Colours and Textures
Recent work by Jacob Jebaraj
1st October to 14th October
Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre
Jacob carries within his sensibility the influence of the Madras Art Movement particularly in its decorative qualities, the play of line and a predilection towards experimentation in all media since he could not escape the vitiating influence of living in Cholamandal and surrounded by veterans of the movement. The line as an element has great valence for Jacob since it is subconsciously nurtured through exposure partially to works of Ramanujam or Paniker or others. He has a mindset that invites constant indulgence in experimentation and innovations.

The Gundecha Brothers
27th November G.D. Birla Sabhagar
Continuing a series of concerts to celebrate twenty-five years in publishing Seagull Books Pvt Ltd. presented Dhrupad an evening with the Gundecha Brothers, Umakant and Ramakant, accompanied on the pakhawaj by Akhilesh Gundecha.

The Magic of Making K.G Subramanyan
5th December to 12th January
Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre
Featuring over 320 works by the master painter the exhibition was spread over three floors of the Centre, the Bookstore and included screenings of documentaries on the artist. It may be of interest here to note that the Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre has emptied the entire library on the ground floor for the duration of the exhibition in order to showcase this extensive collection of the artist’s old and new works.
The Magic of Making travelled to Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi and Bombay between January and April 2008.

6th December Rotary Sadan
The artist took part in a public conversation with eminent scholar Samik Bandyopadhyay.

Mathieu Sapin
15th December Seagull Bookstore
Mathieu Sapin, a French cartoonist conducted an interactive workshop with 13 participants on graphic narrative. At the end of the session each participant had created and designed an original comic strip.
Studying illustration in the well known Ecole des Arts Decoratifs de Strasbourg (France), Mathieu Sapin adapted eight literary classics into comics for “Je Bouquine” publications, and worked at the same time for the Museum of Comics in Angoulême.
The workshop was presented in association with the Alliance Francase du Bengale.

Christopher Taylor
26th December to 6th January
46 Satish Mukherjee Road.
The first exhibition at the new space at 46 Satish Mukhejee Road there were 128 black & white photographs on display shot in various architectural locations in Calcutta and Bombay.
The exhibition opened with a sarod recital for a select audience by Buddhadeb Dasgupta.

 

 

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Fawsan Husain Silverscreen
Photographs taken on the sets of various Bollywood productions. The fifth show of the first season of Tasveer.

The History of Stained Glass
A talk by Patrick Reyntiens
Patrick Reyntiens is a stained glass artist who has been associated intimately with major achievements in the medium since 1951. He studied at the Edinburgh College of Art and his own work includes the complete Leyland Priory, The RIBA award winning church at Woodthorpe, Nottingham and two churches in Waterford in Ireland. He has collaborated with artists such as John Piper and their work includes Oundel School Chapel, Coventry Cathedral and Eton College Chapel. He has also worked with Ceri Richards at Derby and Liverpool Cathedrals.
The talk was conducted in association with Gallery Katayun.

The Music Room
The Music Room was conceived as a conceptual space arising from the need to have a space, in which musicians of any persuasion and background – Hindustani classical, Carnatic, jazz, rock, pop, Rabindrasangeet could meet, perform and talk about their music to a small, casual audience. It was also a place for musicians to depart from their conventional practice: for first-rate accompanists who might also be terrific soloists or composers, for instance, to bring their work before an audience; for ongoing experiments to find a hearing. The first season of The Music Room was curated with Amit Chaudhuri.

Arshad Ali Khan at the Seagull Bookstore
Arshad Ali, is a young classical vocalist, a scholar of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata, and a representative of the Kirana gharana tradition of Khayal singing.

Bikram Ghosh, 22nd May, Seagull Bookstore
Bikram Ghosh is an eminent tabla player, composer and the lead person of the fusion band Rhythmscape.
He has been a lecturer at the reputed Rabindra Bharati and Vishwa Bharati Universities in India. He has two Grammy nominations for whis work with Ravi Shankar and Anoushka Ravi Shankar
Amyt Datta & Pink Noise, 18th June, Seagull Bookstore

Pink Noise is one of the most prominent bands in the Calcutta music scene having performed for over 20 years in their various incarnations. With a number of original songs to their credit, the session Birth of a Song at the Seagull Bookstore was an interactive session on their song-writing process.

 

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July-August
Reba Hore: an exhibition of her paintings and sketches. This was followed by the release of her Journal Banga Payer Diary

September
Americana: a film festival at the Seagull Book store, the films that were screened are given as follows:
The Control Room*(2004)
Directed by Jehane Noujaim, Written by Julia Bacha and Jehane Noujaim

Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism* (2004)
Directed by Robert Greenwald

The Panama Deception (1992)
Directed by Barbara Trent, Written by David Kasper

Roger & Me* (1989)
Directed and Written by Michael Moore

Wal Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005)
Directed by Robert Greenwald

The Road to Guantanmo (2006)
Directed by Michael Winterbottom

Hearts & Mind (1974)
Directed by Peter Davis

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
Directed by Alex Gibney

The Corporation* (2003)
Directed by Mark Achbar

An Evening of Poetry and Performance with OLUMIDE POPOOLA at the Seagull bookstore. Olumide Popoola is a 30- year old Nigerian-German poet who performed her poetry in a variety of style, such as African story-telling, jazz poetry, hip hop and dramatic expression.

PEACE WOMEN ACROSS THE GLOBE, an exhibition of 1000 Peace Women.
(in collaboration with Swayam) at the Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre
The exhibition included 1000 postcards with portraits and messages from peace women. The idea behind the exhibition was to present the most essential information about each peacewoman in a way that is intimate, powerful and highly practical to transport and set up. A documentary film: Redefining Peace: Women Lead the Way Produced by Sangat and Visual Search in association with 1000 women for Nobel Peace Prize- 2005 was also screened as part of the exhibition.

October
MEN, MARTIANS, MACHINES : A Season of Science Fiction Films.
at Seagull Bookstore. The festival included the films which are mentioned below:

The Thing From Another World Directed by Christian Nyby (1956)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers Directed by Don Siegel (1956)
Alphaville Directed by Jean-Luc Godard (1965)
12 Monkeys Directed by Terry Gilliam (1995)
The Day the Earth Stood Still Directed by Robert Wise (1951)
War of the Worlds Directed by Byron Haskin (1953)
The Quatermass Experiment Directed by Val Guest (1961)
The Man Who Fell to Earth Directed by Nicholas Roeg (1975)
The City of Lost Children Directed by Jeunet & Caro (1995)
Ecoute Voir Directed by Hugo Santiago (1978)

October-November
EXHIBITION: REGHU an exhibition of ceramic sculptures
Reghu’s sculptures are made of clay; pinched, coiled or slabbed forming simple human beings which appear energetic although fragile. A further step traces these forms emerging from his roots in an agricultural family, based in a rural environment in Kerala.

Saturday Sessions. Screening & Discussion
September
La Regle de Jeu (Rules of the Game)
Dir: Jean Renoir

October
Spanish Earth
Dir: Joris Evens

November
Night & Fog
Dir: Alain Resnais

 

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January ’06
TARIQ ALI IN CALCUTTA

Whatever happened to India’s Foreign Policy- Lecture at Jadavpur University

Democracy or Dictatorship of Capital- Lecture at St. Xavier’s College

In Conversation – Tariq Ali and Sitaram Yechury at G.D. Birla Sabhagar.

TARIQ ALI IN DELHI

IN CONVERSATION- Tariq Ali and Achin Vinayak at the Gandhi Peace Foundation

Democracy or Dictatorship of Capital? – Lecture at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Is a South Asian Union Possible? – TALK BY TARIQ ALI and moderated by Aijaz Ahmed at the U-special Bookshop Student Activity Centre

The Tariq Ali series of programmes was on the occasion of the release of his books Islam Quintet, Street-fighting years- an autobiography of the sixties and Bush in Babylon (Left Word) Published by Seagull Books.

February 
Exhibition: OSTKREUZ– An exhibition of photographs by seven photographers in Berlin was presented in collaboration with Goethe Institut, Max Mueller Bhavan, Kolkata

Music Recital: THUMRI BAITHAK WITH VIDYA RAO was presented in association with the Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University, Calcutta

Exhibition: An exhibition of installation art, A DAILY RECORD by Gisele Amantea was presented. The work was inspired by notebooks of a Mrs. Emma Luciantonio. Gisele Amantea makes a private, seemingly insignificant life known in the public realm and inserts it into a History of Art.

Index on Censorship
Ursula Owen is the Chief Executive of Index on Censorship and Judith Vidal-Hall is its Editor. They delivered talks at Modern High School, La Martiniere for Girls, the English department of Jadavpur University, the Calcutta International school on literature and censorship. Ms. Owen and Ms Vidal Hall also conducted a two-day workshop on Free Expression for college students.

March
Anniversary of the Political Lie
PeaceWorks, responded to a worldwide call sent out by the Peter-Weiss Foundation for Art and Politics, based in Berlin, to commit 20 March (the third anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq) as an ‘anniversary of the political lie’. A reading of Eliot Weinberger’s ‘WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ’ (Translated into Bengali by Kasturi Basu) by Soumitra Chattopadhyay was held at the Max Mueller Bhavan Auditorium.

Film Festival: THE FELLINI WEEK

8 ½
I Vitelloni
Nights of Cabiria
Amarcord
City of Women
I am a Born Liar

MAY
Traveling Film South Asia 2006 was screened in collaboration with Himal Association at
Seagull Arts And Media Resource Centre

The City Beautiful (78 min)
Dirty Laundry (42 min)
Girl Song (29 min)

City of Photos (60 min)
The Great Indian School Show (53 min)
A Certain Liberation (38 min)

Continuous Journey (87 min)
Teardrops of Karnaphuli (60 min)
The Legend of Fat Mama (23 min)

Final Solution (149 min)
Sunset Bollywood (54 min)
Team Nepal (37 min)

The Life and Times of a Lady from Avadh: Hima (135 min)
Lanka: The Other Side of War and Peace (75 min)
Good News (17 min)

June 
Reading Film: film appreciation for young people
After the overwhelming response in the last few years, we presented this course for the third time. Reading Film introduces and discusses film as a text using film screenings, illustrated lectures by different faculty members.

CHE LIVES a film festival on Ernesto Che Guevare at Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre from 6 pm.
The films included:
I am Cuba Soy Cuba/Ya Kuba (1964)
141 min, B/W, Russian
Directed by Mikheil Kalatozishvili

El Che (1997)
83 min, Colour, Spanish
Directed by Aníbal Di Salvo and Maurice Dugowson

Tracing Che (2002)
Directed by Lawrence Elman,
83 min, Colour, UK/Canada

Motorcycle Diaries Diarios de motocicleta (2004)
128 min, Colour, Spanish

 

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July ’05
Exhibition: FOOT FETISH – an exhibition of photographs by Ashish Avikuntak.

August ’05
Book Release: English translations of KURUKSHETRA, BEDANABALA and WRONG NUMBER by Mahasweta Devi. The governor of West Bengal Shri Gopal Gandhi released the books in the presence of the author.

Exhibition: POETIC SPACES– an exhibition which captured young, emerging poets living in the social margins of Kolkata whose poetry arose from the moments, the moods, the habits, the landscapes, the routines, the chores, the addiction and the rebellions of their lives. This exhibition revealed the poets in their poetic spaces- the margins they have reclaimed as centres of creativity. The exhibition included their poetry and photographs. This exhibition was presented in collaboration with Kalam: Margins Writes, The Daywalka Foundation.

Seminar: BEYOND ANECDOTES-DISCOVERING NARRATIVES IN SILENCED COMMUNITIES – part of the Kalam exhibition .Participants: Urvashi Butalia, Kalpana Sharma, Faustina Bama and Supriya Choudhury was the moderator.

Film screening: SALAM BOMBAY, directed by Meera Nair – part of the Kalam exhibition.

September ’05
Exhibition: An exhibition of paintings by Chandana Hore, NEW WORKS 2005.

November / December ’05
Film Festival: VÉRITÉ –A FESTIVAL OF DOCUMENTARY FILMS

Bowling for Columbine. Dir: Michael Moore

Manufacturing Consent :Noam Chomsky and the Media. Dir: Marc Achbar, Peter Wintonick

Man Bites Dog. Dir: Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel

Forest of Bliss. Dir: Robert Gardener

Atomic Café. Dir: Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader

Super Size Me. Dir Morgan Spurlock

Sans Soleil. Dir: Chis Marker

Film Screening: THE SWORD AND THE SPEAR directed by Sunil Shanbag, Sajiv Shah, Sudheer Palsane and Suresh Rajamani was screened. This film depicts the well known contemporary dancer Astad Deboo and his dance company on tour in Taiwan and explores the relationship between Astad and the Thang-ta dancers.

Film Festival:PRESENTING ADOOR GOPALAKRISHNAN – A RETROSPECTIVE OF FILM – screened at the Nandan Auditorium.

Antaram (Monologue)

Swayamvaram (One’s Own Choice)

Kodiyettam (Ascent)

Elippathayam (The Rat Trap)

Mukhamukham (Face to Face)

Mathilukal (The Walls)

Vidheyan (The Servile)

Kathapurushan (Man of the Story)

Nizhalkuttu (Shadow Kill)

Documentaries:

Kalamandalam Ramkutty Nair
Kalamandalam Gopi
Past in Perspective
Yakshagana
Krishnattam
The Chola Heritage
Guru Chengannur

The festival took place in collaboration with Nandan, Kolkata and the National Film Archive of India Film and Television Institute of India, Pune

Conversation: ADOOR GOPALAKRISHNAN IN CONVERSATION WITH DR. SOMNATH ZUTSHI at the Max Mueller Bhavan Auditorium.

ADOOR GOPALAKRISHNAN TALKS TO STUDENTSabout his films at Nandan auditorim.

Exhibition: An exhibition of photographs by Peter Bialobrzeski- NEONTIGERS, HEIMAT, presented in collaboration with the Goethe Institut, Max Mueller Bhavan , Kolkata.

 

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