|
Artist Exchange Program
|
Tuesday, Feb 16, 2010
|
|
| |
AIS have been closely collaborating with The Lake Side Center for Arts and Culture (click on link below). The Center invites artists from around the world to work and live in the Southwestern Michigan area. Beginning in the mid 1980's, it started as a very informal affair. In 1984 the selection of American artists became a more structured process, and in 1987 the Center became the first organization to implement an international exchange with the USSR Artists Union. The Lakeside Center for the Arts was the first Soviet government sanctioned artist exchange of its kind. The program expanded to include artists from Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, India, China, Norway, the Republic of Georgia, Poland, France and Australia.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Mr. Dial V. Gidwani, founding President of AIS, and John Wilson served as directors on the Mayor of Chicago's Tourism Board in 1990. Gidwani became interested in the Center and its programs, and in 1992 approached John Wilson to include Indian artists in the exchange program. AIS and Air Canada sponsored the trip to India, and Gidwani traveled with John. Two artists were selected from Ghadi in Delhi. The first two Indian artists, who worked in studios in Michigan in 1992, Latika Katt and Jagdeesh Chinthala, have gone on to be very successful in America.
Unfortunately, the Indian side backed out from the reciprocal commitment to host American Artists, and therefore India was dropped from the program.
Mr. Dial VGidwani has been been approached by Mr. Arnab Paul, of US-India Exchange of Arts and Culture center, New Delhi, to include upcoming Indian artists in Lakeside program. Arnab has agreed to sponsor John Wilson's trip to India, and has agreed to host American artists in exchange. Mr. Wilson is leaving for Delhi on January 23,2009. He will be meeting Hon. Minister for Culture Ambika Soni , Mr. Ram Jethmalani and promoters of Art and culture in Mumbai/Delhi/Kolkata.
Economies ebb and flow. Historically, following the arts would lead the movers and shakers of industry, the people who have the money to add to world's economies. This can be seen happening as recently as the 1980's, when John founded the Chicago International Art Exposition in a Midwestern town of no artistic renown. Soon, all eyes were on Chicago's Navy Pier, which is now a center of the city's tourist activities, bringing hundreds of millions of dollars into the economy and has even caught the attention of foremost magazines and the rest of media.
We shall welcome any suggestions and comments you might have in respect of this Program. Please Email us at
[email protected]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|