New Delhi : Mojarto, a unit of NDTV, in association with Serendipity Arts Trust, has announced the winners of India’s first ever Art Spectrum Awards: South Asia 2017, (ASA:SA 2017). These Awards focused on the essence of the core values of the Serendipity Arts Festival – Arts, Education, Interdisciplinary Awareness and Progress and Overall Excellence in The Arts. Jury members included David Abraham, Creative Director, Abraham & Thakore; Feisal Alkazi, Social Activist & Theatre Director; Malvika Singh, Publisher Seminar; Mita Kapur, Founder & CEO of Siyahi; Mitchell S Crites, Art Historian; Pramod Kumar KG, Managing Director, Ekta; Sanjoy K Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts; Sharmila Tagore, Actor;Shekhar Kapur, Film Director, Actor & Producer and Sid Mathur, Director & Head of Food, Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality.
Set against the backdrop of the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa the Awards Ceremony encompassed the wonderful spectrum of diversity, pluralism and the rich cultural heritage of the South Asian region. Present among the guests at the ceremony were Mira Nair, Naina Lal Kidwai, Mohan Das Pai, Bose Krishnamachari, Deepa Sahi, Ketan Mehta, Vikram Goyal, Shubha Mudgal, Laila Tayabji, Manjari Narula, Anurag Khanna, Jivi Sethi and Riyas Komu among others. The evening also saw captivating performances by Monsoon Wedding, Shiv Yin and Sonam Kalra.
In an attempt to recognize, encourage and promote interdisciplinary art forms, the Mojarto-NDTV Art Spectrum Awards had the following categories: Great Collections, Arts Initiative, Visual Arts, Craft Arts, Performing Arts and Culinary Arts. Winners from five categories received a prize of Rs.6 lakhs each.
Speaking about the event, Dr. Prannoy Roy, Executive Co-Chairperson, NDTV said, “This was probably the finest art awards which aims at both the amazing variety in South Asia arts as well as spreading awareness of our regions artists and their art. Very proud that Mojarto is the driving force with Serendipity in the major objective of making art more accessible across our region.”
Speaking about the initiative, Tara Roy, Managing Director and Co-founder at Mojarto said, “Both Mojarto and the Serendipity Arts Festival share a common core value of making art accessible to everyone. The Arts Spectrum Awards is an extension of that value. It acknowledges the artists and the patrons, the visual arts and the performing arts, traditional forms and also innovative approaches. With these awards, we hope to reflect on how art means different things to different people – an interdisciplinary approach that enables the participation of a wider audience – art on canvas, art in stone, art in the spoken word and even art in food.”
Speaking at the event, Mr. Sunil Munjal, Founder Serendipity Arts Trust, said, “When Mojarto-NDTV came up with the idea of the Awards, we right away felt that this was a great idea. Mainly because we recognize many disciplines and professionals in our lives, but very rarely do we recognize the art, the artists and the ethos with which they work. So this seemed like the best stage to bring all of this together and celebrate what these wonderful artists have to offer to this world.”
The Art Spectrum Awards: South Asia 2017 honours artists and their contribution to education and advancement of the arts across diverse disciplines including visual art, craft, performing arts and culinary arts. The awards were also an attempt to encourage the promotion and exchange of future ideas to inspire the youth of India. Nominees were chosen from across SAARC countries – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal & Afghanistan.
Enclosed below are the categories:
| Categories | Winners |
| Great Collections | Jagdish Mittal |
| Transformation: Visual Art | Waqas Khan |
| Creation: Craft Art | Khamir |
| Sensation: Culinary Arts | Aditya Raghvan |
| Breaking new ground: Public Art | Shamsia Hassani |
| Connection: Performing Arts | Ramu Ramanathan |
