Jehangir Sabavala: His Life and Work

Performance: Alarmel Valli
Panelists: Jehangir Sabavala, Arun Khopkar and Ranjit Hoskote
Launch of documentary (DVD and CD Rom) in association with Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai

March 4, 2009 | 6.30 pm
Godrej Dance Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai

The programme will present and launch “Jehangir Sabavala: DVD and CD-ROM on the life and work of Jehangir Sabavala”. This two-disc compilation directed by Arun Khopkar is a path-breaking comprehensive presentation towards documenting the renowned artist’s practice and locating it in its historical context.

Disc 1 includes video material on the life and work of Sabavala. It comprises coverage of the inaugural function of the National Retrospective of the artist organized by the National Gallery of Modern Art in collaboration with Sakshi Gallery held in 2005, in Mumbai and New Delhi. It also covers the release of Ranjit Hoskote’s book ‘The Crucible of Painting: The Art of Jehangir Sabavala’. The disc has interviews with biographer and curator Ranjit Hoskote, andJehangir and Shirin Sabavala, on the concept and design of the retrospective. It also has interviews of Sabavala’s friends and collectors that bring out various facets of the artist’s personality. The national award-winning film ‘Colours of Absence’ directed by the well-known filmmaker Arun Khopkar is included in the compilation, courtesy its producer, The Gallery Arts Trust, Chennai.

Disc 2 is a CD-ROM containing an extensive collection of paintings by Sabavala, a record of personal photographs and related information. A detailed curriculum vitae completes this archival set.

The programme opens with a performance by the internationally acclaimed danseuse, Alarmel Valli, offering tribute to Sabavala, an artist she has always deeply admired as a sublime poet on canvas.

The dance performance will be followed by a screening that offers a brief look at the contents of the DVD and a panel discussion between Jehangir Sabavala, filmmaker Arun Khopkar, and art critic and curator, Ranjit Hoskote.