Activity:

Discussion evenings

Indigenous Knowledge Series

Art as initiatic transmission

This activity is part of a series “Indigenous Knowledge” whose goal is to valorize knowledge and practices of different cultures in various sectors of human life: art, politics, economy, education, health, ecology, etc

Art, Initiation, and Transmission
in the Black African Context

Thursday October 13 and 20, 2005
from 6:30 to 9:30 PM

Ressource person :
Lomomba Emongo, writer and philosopher

Language : French
A dmission : $10 each meeting
Location : at the Intercultural Institute of Montreal 4917, St. Urbain Street (corner St. Joseph)
Montreal

In the Black African context and from the perspective of tradition, “art” is not generally distinguished from other sectors of life: it originates and culminates in the sacred finality of life itself, in this sacredness of life for which initiation is a crucial expression, at the heart of tradition. The rhythm of life itself is art. “Art” initiation, and tradition are articulated within the same sacred celebration where space and time, the visible and the invisible are created, destroyed, and recreated.

Through concrete examples and images, participants will rediscover, learn to recognize, and reflect on the intersection of “art” and initiation at the heart of tradition. By the end of the two meetings, each participant will be able to see the implications of art and, no doubt, to sketch perspectives for his or her life and work, here and now.

Content :

First meeting

“ART”, INITIATION, TRADITION: A SACRED UNIVERSE

• “Art”, initiation, tradition: concepts, characteristics, languages, and expressions, etc.
• The sacred as a regulatory framework for tradition
• “Art” and initiation as sacred meditation sites
• “Art,” initiation, and transmission: trajectories, participants, tools of transmission, etc.

Second meeting

“ART,” INITIATION, TRADITION : CONJUGATED RYTHMS

• Projection of an audiovisual document
• Discussion based on the audiovisual document: when initiation is conjugated to the rhythm of
  “art” when “art” is conjugated to the rhythm of the sacred, and when the sacred is conjugated to the rhythm of life.
  

Transmission of traditional values through the Arts

Thursday November 17 and 24, 2005
From 6:30 to 9:30 PM

Resource-person :
Dr. Mamata Niyogi Nakra, founder-director of Kala Bharati, an Indian dance school in Montreal. www.kalabharati.ca

Language : English
Cost : $10 each session
Location : at the Intercultural Institute of Montreal 4917, St. Urbain Street (corner St. Joseph)
Montreal

(School visit, November 20, at noon : free entrance for the participants)

This interactive workshop is based on the experiences of transmitting Indian samskara, that is the cultural and spiritual values, through the training of young dance students at Kala Bharati, a Montreal based internationally known Bharata Natya School. The training program followed at Kala Bharati encompasses a strong foundation of the religious, spiritual and textual aspects to inculcate the fundamentals of the art of Bharata Natya. This workshop will provide an opportunity for people to discover how this art is being transmitted outside the country of origin and how an Indian dance school has met with the challenges of immigration and has succeeded to transmit this art in its true spirit.

It is also the objective of this workshop to look at the aspect of transmitting values in our own lives as persons, at a personal and familial levels and to share this process with others in the group.

First session, Thursday November 17:
Presentation of philosophical and spiritual foundations of Bharata Natya art form and the specific guru-shishya tradition of transmission through initiation. This will be followed by discussion and exchange among the participants.

School visit, Sunday November 20 (at noon):
Participants are invited to visit the dance lessons at the Kala Bharati Dance School. (free entrance)

Second session, Thursday November 24
Audio-visual presentation of this art form and its transmission. Iinteractive dialogue on participants experiences of transmission of cultural and spiritual values.

For informations and registration: 514 288-7229 or info@iim.qc.ca