Stories of Performance Art, Activism, and Social Change in South India

Oberlin Shansi hosted a webinar on "Stories of Performance Art, Activism, and Social Change in South India" in May 2022.

Socially-engaged performance art has been central to the experiences and careers of generations of Shansi Fellows, Visiting Scholars, and friends at our partner institutions in India. Through embodied movement, rhythm, vocalization, intonation, and gesture, these artists, in collaboration with Tamil communities and activists, have addressed a range of social issues, including gender inequity, caste-based discrimination, and HIV/AIDS awareness.

In this event, panelists share stories about the arts that they practice and the artforms they support. Through personal narratives, recorded media, and live performances, they reflect on the beauty and messiness of artistic interventions, the nuances of intercultural artistic collaborations, the individual and collective transformation that the arts provide, and the joy that performance can elicit from local and transnational audiences.

Storytellers:

David Gere OC ’79

Rajasekaran Jesudasan

Zoe Sherinian OC ’84

Bala Swaminathan

Ted Samuel - Moderator

This event is part of Oberlin Shansi's celebration of 70 years of engagement in India.