Celebrate Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights during Free Arts Day @ Pelham Art Center

Indian Classical Dance Performance, Henna Tattoos, & Hands-on Traditional Indian Art Workshops at Pelham Art Center

Free and open to all ages!

Diwali, the Hindu Festival
of Lights, returns to Pelham Art Center as part of its Folk Arts Series, Sunday,
December 8 from 1:30-3:30pm. Join us for this popular event with free hands-on workshops and activities, held
during ArtsWestchester’s Free Arts Day!

Throughout the event visitors
have the opportunity to watch an Indian classical dance performance, participate in two art-making
workshops and receive Mehndi body art
from artist Manjula Kandaswamy. Also known as henna tattoos, Mehndi is a temporary form of skin
decoration using henna ink, an all natural paste derived from the Henna plant. At
2pm, dancer Kritika
Rajgopalan will perform Bharata Natyam, a contemporary
dance-theatre form that is rooted in the ancient traditions of South Indian
performance. It is renowned globally as a powerful rhythmic and theatrical
style of dance. The dance incorporates distinct and powerful percussive sounds
of rhythmic footwork, intricate and nuanced bodily movements, precise hand
gestures and theatrical story-telling that communicates complex emotions. As a
performance form, Bharata Natyam truly transforms music and literature into
visual poetry movement. Viewers should expect an interactive
performance and will be given time to ask questions. For more information on Bharata
Natyam visit natya.com.

Running concurrently, Lavanya Misra will once again lead the art-making
workshops. In the Warli workshop, participants can decorate a Diwali paper door hanging with a rudimentary style of painting that
dates back to 2500 BCE and is similar to prehistoric cave paintings. In
the Rangoli workshop, participants can create decorative designs using brightly
colored lentils. This traditional folk art is practiced to bring good luck and welcome
Hindu deities into the home.
 

This event is made possible, in part,
by Broadway
Electric, New York, NY, the ArtsWestchester with funds from Westchester County
Government. Pelham Art Center also receives funding from New York State Council
on the Arts.

About
Diwali

Diwali is a major festival
for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains, who believe that light is a metaphor
for knowledge and signifies health, wealth and peace. Diwali is celebrated as
the "Festival of Lights,” in which participants light diyas—cotton-like string wicks inserted in small clay pots filled
with oil—to signify victory of good over the evil within an individual, and
uplifting of spiritual darkness. The festival symbolizes unity in diversity as
every region of India celebrates it in its own unique way. The five day Diwali
festival usually occurs during October or November, with the main day of
celebration varying regionally.

About Krithika
Rajagopalan

Krithika Rajagopalan has a
diverse and extensive background in the arts, both with Natya Dance Theatre and
beyond. Krithika is an acclaimed choreographer, dancer, master teacher and
lecturer, who serves as co-choreographer on all works produced by NDT. She is
NDT's featured principal dancer in numerous productions. In addition to her
company performances, Krithika has presented more than 200 solo performances at
prestigious venues all over the world, including the Kennedy Center for
Performing Arts in Washington, DC; Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois;
the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago; the Kentucky Centre for the Arts; the Music
and Dance Festival of Madras, India; and the National Centre for Performing
Arts, Mumbai, India. Her highlight engagements include the honor of appearing
for President Bill Clinton, performances at Chicago's Millennium Park with
acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, and performances with
the Silk Road Ensemble at New York's Rubin Museum.

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Pelham Art Center  
155 Fifth Avenue   Pelham, NY
10803   914-738-2525   info@pelhamartcenter.org

Hours: Tuesday–Friday, 10–5pm; Saturday, 10–4pm

Directions: Located 5 blocks from the Hutchinson
Parkway exit 12 and 2 blocks from the Metro North Pelham stop

These events and programs are made
possible, in part, by the ArtsWestchester with funds from Westchester County
Government. Pelham Art Center also receives funding from: New York State
Council on the Arts, A State Agency; Westchester Jewish Community Services;
Nurses Network of America; Town of Pelham; Strypemonde
Foundation; New York Multi-Arts Centers Consortium; New Rochelle
Campership Fund; Bistro Rollin; Robin’s Art+Giving; Nycon; Junior League of
Pelham, Amani Charter School; Prospect Hill Lunchtime Enrichment; Yellowbook;
Mark Link Insurance; Broadway
Electric, Owen Berkowitz; Members; and Annual Fund Donors.