Raza Foundation to Sponsor Performances by Young Artists Under New Aarambh Scheme

NEW DELHI:
Young practitioners of classical music, classical dance and theatre are being offered a chance to stage live performances before discerning audiences under a new scheme introduced by the Raza Foundation in keeping with the mission of its founder, the late S H Raza, to support and nurture promising Indian artists who are struggling for recognition.
Under the ‘Aarambh’ scheme launched this month, the Foundation will invite two artists from different genres every month to perform at two different venues in Delhi. The performances will be fully sponsored by the Foundation, which may also decide to offer a modest remuneration to the artist.
Interested artists/performers can contact the on razafoundation.delhi@gmail.com with their CVs and photographs and videos of their performances for possible inclusion in the series. The Foundation will evaluate the all entries before making the selection.
The last date for submission of applications is August 31, 2017.
Recognized worldwide as one of India’s finest modernists, Raza Saheb, as the artist was known, funded and established the Foundation to promote the talent and creativity of younger generations in the world of Indian arts, music, poetry and dance.
Although he lived and worked in Paris for decades before his return to India during his final years, Raza Saheb always felt deeply concerned about the struggles of and inadequate opportunities for young artists in his native country, says Ashok Vajpeyi, Managing Trustee, Raza Foundation.
“During his almost annual visits to India he would meet young artists to discuss their works. His home in Paris had a large collection of the promising works he had acquired. Raza Sahab’s unflinching support was in part due to his remembrances of the struggles that he and other colleagues such M F Husain, F N Souza, H A Gade, S K Bakre and Krishnaji Ara endured when they were young putting together the path-breaking Progressive Artists Group in Bombay,” Vajpeyi added.
Raza Saheb also had a series of shows for several years in which he showed jointly his works with a young artists’ works. He set up the Foundation in 2001, and it began by granting awards to promising Indian artists.
Over the years it has expanded to a range of activities including publishing journals, catalogues and books, organising art talks, exhibitions, dance and music festivals, poetry recitations and a Poetry Biennale. It also organises camps and workshops for young artists, and supports them with scholarships.
Raza Saheb passed away in July last year at the age of 94, but the Foundation is committed to continuing his rich humanitarian legacy.