Cartoon Natyam

Cartoon Natyam is a digital initiative by Veena Basavarajaiah designed to create a space to have conversations around various questions relevant to the art world. It started with an online forum where cartoons and illustrations were used to elicit discussions on issues that are socially and politically impacting artists and their practice. This interactive installation at Serendipity Arts Festival will look at how this idea of dialogue between art, practice, and audience can be extended into a public space, to engage a wider community of art-lovers.

Veena Basavarajaiah is a movement practitioner who has been learning and performing various artforms for more than two decades and has constantly been curious about creating innovative ways and mediums of engaging with the audience. She views these cartoons not just as social commentary but also as choreographic pieces. The simplicity of the images ensures that they are highly relatable to both practitioners and the audience. Each of these images are carefully constructed using the elements of time, space, texture and context in mind. Unlike dance/ movement that is often ephemeral, these compositions take a much more tangible shape that stay in the audience's mind, provoking them to think and question in deeper ways. 'Practice as research' is Veena’s approach to creating these illustrations and the images are informed by years of training, performing and engaging with the art world in a critical way. The project’s Instagram profile is cartoon_natyam.  


Date: 15 - 23 December 2023

Time: 11 AM - 8 PM

Venue: The Courtyard, Old GMC Complex

Commissioned by Serendipity Arts

Artwork by Veena Basavarajaiah

Past Program