The Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) is an American

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

cultural organization that promotes

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

, art,

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fash ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

, and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The Council was established in 1998 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and is headed by Aroon Shivdasani. IAAC hosts cultural and artistic events throughout the year, including the annual New York Indian Film Festival, which showcases Indian and diaspora-related films.

History

IAAC was founded on August 1, 1998 by the editor of '' India Abroad'', Gopal Raju, American choreographer Jonathan Hollander and Aroon Shivdasani, to promote the Indian arts to mainstream American media. In 2001, IAAC established The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) to promote Indian and diaspora-related film in the United States. In 2004, IAAC began its annual contemporary art exhibition, ''Erasing Borders: Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora'', which features art related to the Indian Diaspora. In 2008, the council began its annual dance festival, ''Erasing Borders: Festival of Dance'', which exhibits outdoor dance performances in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

. Aroon Shivdasani serves as the council’s president and executive director, with Jonathan Hollander as vice president and co-founder. India Abroad journalist Aseem Chhabra is the Film Festival Director, Prachi Dalal is the director of the dance festival, and Anjali Maniam is the director of development.

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

, Mallika Sarabhai,

Deepa Mehta Deepa Mehta, (; born 1 January 1950) is an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for her Elements Trilogy, ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth'' (1998), and ''Water'' (2005). ''Earth'' was submitted by India as its official ...

Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spher ...

Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey CBE (née Bahadur; born 13 August 1933) is an Indian-British-American actress, food and travel writer, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the western hemisphere with her debut cookbook ...

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and ...

, and

Shashi Tharoor Shashi Tharoor (; ; born 9 March 1956 in London, England ) is an Indian former international civil servant, diplomat, bureaucrat and politician, writer and public intellectual who has been serving as Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, ...

serve on the IAAC

Advisory Board An advisory board is a body that provides non-binding strategic advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation. The informal nature of an advisory board gives greater flexibility in structure and management compared to th ...

Theater

IAAC works with several New York based theater companies, including The Lark Theatre and The Royal Shakespeare Company, and produces Indian

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

shows and play readings. The council also partners with The Lark Theater during its Playwright’s Festival each fall. Past performances include: *

’s '' Midnights Children'' in 2003. *

Rajiv Joseph Rajiv Joseph (born June 16, 1974) is an American playwright. He was named a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'', and he won an Obie Award for Best New American Play for his play ''Descri ...

’s ''

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'' is a play by Rajiv Joseph. The show is about "a tiger that haunts the streets of present-day Baghdad seeking the meaning of life. As he witnesses the puzzling absurdities of war, the tiger encounters Americans ...

'' in 2007. * Atul Kumar’s ''The Blue Mug'' starring

Ranvir Shorey Ranvir Shorey is an Indian actor and former VJ who works in Hindi films and television. Since making his debut in '' Ek Chhotisi Love Story'' (2002), he has starred in a number of high-profile films such as '' Jism'' (2003) and '' Lakshya'' ( ...

and

Konkona Sen Sharma Konkona Sen Sharma (born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmakeractress Aparna Sen, Sen S ...

in 2010. *

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the ...

’s ''Broken Images'' starring

in 2010. * Rehana Lew Mirza’s ''Barriers'' starring

Pooja Kumar Pooja Kumar is an American actress of Indian descent who works in Tamil, Hindi, and English-language Indian films. After winning Miss India USA in 1995, she pursued a career as an actress and producer. She has appeared in a number of American f ...

and

Sunkrish Bala Sunkrish Bala (born Sunkrish Balasubramanian May 21, 1984) is an American actor. Early life Bala was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, and is of Tamil ancestry. He graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory in 2002 and from the school of ...

in 2011.

Art

The council hosts several art exhibitions throughout the year in galleries across the Eastern United States, to promote the work of emerging Indian artists, as well as established artists. IAAC frequently collaborates with local galleries in New York City, as well as

The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

, The Queens Museum of Art, and The Rubin Museum of Art. They also host benefit auctions and Indian Folk Art markets in the fall. On June 29, 2011, a tribute to the late Indian painter M.F. Husain was held at the

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is owned by Groupe Artémi ...

Gallery in

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...

. Each year, IAAC holds its annual art exhibition called ''Erasing Borders: Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora''. It is the council’s largest art exhibition. It features the artwork of the Indian diaspora, or those who can trace their roots to the Indian Subcontinent. The exhibition was founded in 2004, and is curated by Sundaram Tagore. The exhibition tours across the boroughs of New York City at The Queens Museum of Art, as well as The Charles B. Wang Center in

Stony Brook, New York Stony Brook is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island. Begun in the colonial era as an agricultural enclave, the hamlet experienced gr ...

, and the Jorgenson Gallery at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

Film

IAAC screens newly released Indian films throughout the year, both

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...

and

independent films An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

, and holds Q&A sessions with the filmmaker after the screening. Such screenings have included

7 Khoon Maaf ''7 Khoon Maaf'' (; read as "''Saat Khoon Maaf''"), released internationally as ''Seven Sins Forgiven'', is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language black comedy film directed, co-written and co-produced by Vishal Bhardwaj. The film stars Priyanka Chopra ...

Sita Sings the Blues ''Sita Sings the Blues'' is a 2008 American animated musical romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, produced and animated by American artist Nina Paley. It intersperses events from the '' Ramayana'', light-hearted but knowledgeable disc ...

, and

My Name is Khan ''My Name Is Khan'', is a 2010 social drama film directed by Karan Johar and written by Shibani Bathija and lyricist Niranjan Iyengar. It was produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Gauri Khan under their production companies, Dharma Productions ...

New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF)

NYIFF is IAAC's annual film festival which is held in

Tribeca Cinemas Tribeca Productions is an American film and television production company co-founded in 1989 by actor Robert De Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal in the lower Manhattan neighborhood of Tribeca. History The production company was founded in 1989 a ...

. It was previously known as the Mahindra Indo American Arts Council Film Festival (MIAAC), and features films from the Indian Subcontinent, as well as from the

Indian diaspora Overseas Indians (IAST: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) are Indians who live outside of the Republic of India. According to the Government of India, ''Non-Resident Indians'' are citizens of Indi ...

. About 40 films are screened, including features, shorts, documentaries, and animated films. The first MIAAC Film Festival took place on November 1-4th, 2001 at Manhattan’s Imagin Asian theatre. In 2011, the festival was renamed The New York Indian Film Festival, with Aseem Chhabra as the festival director. Many films had their world, national, or New York premiere at the festival, including '' Monsoon Wedding'', ''

Born Into Brothels ''Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids'' is a 2004 Indian-American documentary film about the children of prostitutes in Sonagachi, Kolkata's red light district. The widely acclaimed film, written and directed by Zana Briski and Ross ...

'', '' Bride and Prejudice'', '' The Namesake'', and ''

Slumdog Millionaire ''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Pa ...

''. The festival also holds a sidebar retrospective on a prominent Indian filmmaker, actor, or artist. Past retrospectives have included

Smita Patil Smita Patil (17 October 1955 – 13 December 1986) was an Indian actress who worked in films, television series and theatres. She appeared in over 80 Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Malayalam and Kannada films in a career that spanned just ...

, and

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

Fashion

IAAC infrequently holds fashion shows featuring the work of Indian designers, and also offers invitations to international fashion shows. The council frequently collaborates with the boutique Misha Nicole, jewelry designer Amrita Singh, and

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional che ...

host and jewelry designer

Padma Lakshmi Padma Parvati Lakshmi (; born September 1, 1970) is an Indian-born American author, activist, actress, model, philanthropist, and television host. She has hosted the cooking competition program '' Top Chef'' on Bravo continuously since season 2 ...

. Other featured designers: *

Naeem Khan Naeem Khan ( hi, नाीईम ख़ान) (born May 21, 1958) is an Indian-American fashion designer based in New York City known for his ornate and intricately detailed gowns, and for dressing First Lady Michelle Obama, Queen Noor of Jorda ...

* Payal Singhal * Shekhar Rahate * Stephanie Singh * Babita Malkani * Sachin + Babi

Dance

Several dance performances are held throughout the year. IAAC's largest is the ''Erasing Borders: Festival of Indian Dance''. The Erasing Borders

dance festival Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

was launched in August 2008 to promote

Indian dance Dance in India comprises numerous styles of dances, generally classified as classical or folk. As with other aspects of Indian culture, different forms of dances originated in different parts of India, developed according to the local tradi ...

. Each year, the festival offers several outdoor dance performances in

, in various styles of modern and classical Indian dance, such as

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

Mohiniattam Mohiniyattam, ( ml, മോഹിനിയാട്ടം), is an Indian classical dance form that developed and remained popular in the state of Kerala. Kathakali is another classical dance form of Kerala. Mohiniyattam dance gets its name fr ...

, and Manipuri. Dance workshops are offered throughout the program. The festival is also run in conjunction with The Battery Dance Company’s Annual Downtown Dance Festival. Each year, IAAC holds submissions for dancers to participate in the festival. Most notable performers include dancers from the Natya Academy,

Rukmini Vijayakumar Rukmini Vijayakumar is an Indian dance choreographer, Bharatanatyam dancer, and actress from engaluru . Along with her performances on stage, she has appeared in films such as '' Ananda Thandavam'' (2009), ''Bhajarangi'' (2013), ''Kochadaiyaan ...

, and Mandakini Trivedi.

Music

IAAC holds concerts and CD release performances for

Indian musicians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

of various styles, including

Indian Classical Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

, Indian Folk,

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...

, and

lounge music Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The rang ...

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (born 9 October 1945) is an Indian classical ''sarod'' player, best known for his clear and fast ekhara taans. Khan was born into a classical musical family and has performed internationally since the 1960s. He was award ...

, Samir Chatterjee,

Kiran Ahluwalia Kiran Ahluwalia is a Canadian singer, songwriter who infuses African desert blues and Western musical styles. Kiran Ahluwalia won the 'Newcomer' category in the inaugural Songlines Music Awards (2009) – announced 1 May 2009 – the new 'world m ...

, and

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

are a few of the musicians who have performed with IAAC. Performances have been held

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

, The Tribeca Performing Arts Center, and the fashion boutique Misha Nicole. On July 30, 2006, IAAC held its first music festival in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

, with performances by

Salman Ahmad Salman Ahmad ( ur, , born 12 December 1963) is a Pakistani born-American musician, rock guitarist, physician, activist, occasional actor and professor at the City University of New York. He earned nationwide popularity in 1998 for his uniq ...

, Marina Ahmad Alam,

Sivamani Sivamani (1 December 1959), commonly known by his stage name Drums Sivamani, is an Indian percussionist. He plays many instruments including drums, octoban, darbuka, udukai, ghatam and kanjira. He performed drumming during the IPL Championship ...

, and

Karsh Kale Karsh Kale (pronounced ''Kursh Kah-lay'', ''कर्ष काळे'' in Marathi; born 1 November 1974) is an Indian-American musician born in England. Known primarily for his experimental tabla playing within electronic music contexts, Kale ...

Literature

IAAC hosts book launches and signings for Indian authors in New York City, and are usually held at a local art gallery. The genres of books released include

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a tradi ...

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

cookbooks A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cours ...

, and

graphic novels A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

. The council has hosted book launches for authors such as: *

Anupama Chopra Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...

’s ''King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema'' (2007). *

’s ''Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India'' (2006). *

’s ''

The Enchantress of Florence ''The Enchantress of Florence'' is the ninth novel by Salman Rushdie, published in 2008. According to Rushdie this is his "most researched book" which required "years and years of reading". The novel was published on 11 April 2008 by Jonathan C ...

'' (2008). *

Vivan Sundaram Vivan Sundaram (born 28 May 1943) is an Indian contemporary artist. His parents were Kalyan Sundaram, Chairman of Law Commission of India from 1968 to 1971, and Indira Sher-Gil, sister of noted Indian modern artist Amrita Sher-Gil. He is marr ...

's ''

Amrita Sher-Gil Amrita Sher-Gil (30 January 1913 – 5 December 1941) was a Hungarian-Indian painter. She has been called "one of the greatest avant-garde women artists of the early 20th century" and a pioneer in modern Indian art. Drawn to painting from an ear ...

: A Self-portrait in Letters & Writings'' (2010). * Keshni Kashyap’s ''Tina’s Mouth'' (2012).

References

{{Reflist

External links

Website
501(c)(3) organizations Culture of Manhattan Festivals in Manhattan Indian-American culture in New York City Non-profit organizations based in New York (state)