Description

The village is an emerging international residential arts center in New Delhi, India offering residencies starting August 2005. Global Arts Village, a public charitable trust, provides platform for artist’s mobility and cultural exchange in all creative disciplines. We offer artist in residence programs, classes, retreats and frequent special events and workshops. The Village enables creative people to experience cultural interaction in a natural, eco-friendly environment. Our three-acre campus combines gardens, ponds and waterfalls with studios, artist accommodations, performance halls and exhibition space. We are building a community that blends art, culture and consciousness.

Indian scriptures believe in Satyam Shivam Sundram. The village’s objective is to attract people on the path of ’Satyam - following truth; Shivam - doing good to the community, self & environment; Sundram - seeking beauty and sensitivity’. Generally every individual has one dominant quality, if a person develops one, the other two will come complimentary. Truth is goodness and goodness is beauty, so all three are one. All our programs are titled “Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram†.

Total surface of the site : 3 acres
Location: Outskirts of main city
Foundation year of the centre : 2005
Type of occupation: Owned
Owner of the building : Ashwin Aishwarya

Infrastructures / Facilities

The Global Arts Village is a three acre property that includes award-winning gardens, studios, a meditation hall, a common building, dance studio, performance spaces and accommodations. The buildings are in accordance with the ancient wisdom of Vastu, which harmonizes man-made structures with their natural environments.

- Grounds
The grounds include a garden amphitheatre, award winning gardens and ample lawn space for events and recreation. There are several ponds, which include fish and several types of waterfowl. Several peacocks have made the Village their home and wander freely throughout the grounds. These natural surroundings have been found to be both calming and inspirational.

- Studios
The Village has shared studios, which are used by resident artists and students attending classes and workshops.

- Multi-purpose Studio
Our 1,000 square foot ceramics- sculpture-painting multi-purpose studio is organically shaped and covered with a thatch roof. It is open on all sides, overseeing the garden and ponds nearby. The studio is equipped with a heater for the winter months and a desert cooler for the summer. Mosquito protection is provided. The studio is open to artists 24 hours a day.

The following equipment is available:
- 5 kick wheels
- 1 electric wheel (for resident artists only)
- gas kiln (38†X 28†X 48†) (Rs 1200 for bisque fire, Rs 2600 for high fire)
- kiln shelves (24†X 12†)
- glaze material available
- stoneware and terracotta clays (Rs 10/kg)
- basic clay tools plus drill, bench grinder, mixer, sieves
- pliers, hammers, screwdrivers
- storage space and shelves

- Sculpture Workshop
The 200 square foot sculpture workshop is located adjacent to the artists’ accommodation. The space is enclosed on three sides but open to the air. The Village provides basic sculpture tools as well as a drill, workbench, grinders, woodcarving tools and a vice. The village will work to source any specific materials or tools necessary to create work. Welding machine is available at the Village, but for casting, workshops are located close by. The cost of any outsourcing is left to the artist. The workshop is available 24 hours per day, but we do ask that noise be kept to a minimum, especially at night.

- “Clean†Two-Dimensional Studio
Two-Dimensional artists will primarily be working in their duplex accommodation but additional space is available. The studio is located in the common building and is open to all resident artists 24 hours a day. Large working tables face full windows overlooking the gardens. This is used as a “clean room†suitable for drawing, cutting, framing and gluing. The Village library and internet access is here as well.

- Common Building
The common building is the hub of the village. It is a spacious, multi level building, which includes the communal dining area, resident computer access, 2D studio space, lounge, exhibition space and the Village office. Numerous large windows overlook the enveloping ponds and gardens.

- Meditation Hall / Performance Space
The Meditation hall, under construction, is a very large multi-purpose space with a thatch roof. It is open from all sides and can hold up to 50 people. It will be used for morning and evening mediations as well as special performances and workshops.

- Activity Hall
The Dance hall, under construction, is a medium sized, air-conditioned building that will be used for practice space, yoga sessions and more intimate performances. It can accommodate 20 people. We will also use this space to screen films for residents. The massage room is just outside the far door. This space can double up as a dormitory for weekend retreats.

- Accommodation
The Village has 11 rooms for artists and guests in residence. The standard and duplex rooms are designed in contemporary Zen, mixing Eastern traditions with Western modernity. They include a bed, table, chair, bed table and full bathroom with shower. The standard accommodations are a single room while the duplex rooms have upper level, mezzanine living space over looking a private studio. The building is constructed from bamboo, mud and thatch, reinforced with concrete. This creates a naturally insulated, quake-resistant, environmentally conscious structure. The rooms benefit from the positions of the sun and the natural air-flow. The ground floor rooms open to the gardens while the second floor occupants can enjoy balconies on both sides. All furniture is made by Indian craftsmen out of indigenous rosewood. Evaporative water-cooling will be used in the summer while heaters can be provided in winter for a minimal cost.

Social and artistic disciplines

 Visual Arts
Visual arts residencies includes painting, drawing, illustration, design, studio ceramics, sculpture, photography, Ikebana, digital arts, land art, fiber arts, installation art, public art, art history etc.

- Literary Arts
Literary arts residencies are offered for novel writing, playwriting, creative writing, poetry, haiku, script writing, journalism, multimedia works etc.

- Performing Arts
Performing arts residencies are offered for actors, dancers, musicians, composers, directors, choreographers, puppeteers, clowns, mime-artists, etc.

- Healing Arts
Residencies in the healing arts are offered for individuals involved in - yoga, meditation, massage, Ayurvedic rejuvenation therapies, de-hypnotherapy, tai chi, reiki, shiatsu etc

- Professional Development
The Village offers seven types of professional development programs: visual arts coordinator, curator, grant-writer in residence, organizational developer, performing arts coordinator, chef/ culinary artist in residence and organic farmer in residence. See fellowship descriptions for detailed explanations.

Financial support:

Self funded