The Art of CURATION

Sunil Kant Munjal, founder patron of the Serendipity Arts Foundation, on how one of our biggest multi-disciplinary festivals came about and what to look forward to in this edition

- Amit Dixit

"We don't say this publicly, but it is probably the largest multidisciplinary festival in the world, with artists from about 30 countries participating. We see some 100,000 footfalls a day," says Sunil Kant Munjal, chairman, Hero Enterprise, of the Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF), which he founded in 2016. The ninth edition of the festival will be held in Panjim, Goa, from December 15 to 22, 2024, and will span everything from the visual arts to music, theatre, dance, culinary arts, craft and more.

The seeds of the mega festival were sown long ago. Munjal, now 66, was inducted into the arts at an early age. As a child he saw Ravi Shankar and Alla Rakha perform in private baithaks at home. At Doon School, the art and music departments were "fantastic", and legendary art teachers like Rathin Mitra kindled an early love of visual art. He started collecting art in the 9th standard with pocket money he had saved, buying artists from the Bengal School, then moving on the Baroda artists and the Progressives. Hardly a typical teenage hobby, but appropriate for someone who would go on to play a pivotal role in promoting the arts.