I Believe #ArtMatters, India's biggest fundraising gala by artistes, for artistes

COVID 19 crisis has affected the art sector and over a hundred million people, from across the rural and urban India, who earn their primary or secondary income from the art that they perform. ractise, perfect, and perform. Teamwork Fine Arts Society' sinitative #ARtMatters is working towards creating awareness about the artistes and artisans who have lost their income and are plagued by uncertainty of what lies ahead.

As they continue to struggle to feed themselves and their families in the absence of their traditional livelihood to address large-scale need for financial and policy support in the cultural sector, #ArtMatters announced a fundraising gala, 'I Believe #ArtMatters'. It is a virtual event featuring over 450 artists and performers. Celebrated contemporary and classical musicians, dancers, comedians, visual artists, and theatre practitioners will be coming together to support the artists and artisans. The fundraiser will be broadcast on 4th October 2020 on Teamwork Arts' Facebook Page and on BookMyShow.

I Believe #ArtMatters will showcase a magnificent range of performances and will feature icons of Indian classical artistes including - Shubhendra Rao & Saskia Rao-de-Haas on the Sitar and Cello; Mridangam and Konnakkol artiste,B. C. Manjunath, and Hindustani classical vocalist Vidya Shah to name a few. The gala will include legendary Grammy Award–winningpercussionist Pt. VikkuVinayakram, and violin virtuosoDr. L. Subramaniam, with the hugely acclaimed playback singer, Kavita Krishnamurthi.

The performing artist line-up will also include celebrated music composers A. R. Rahman, Salim-Sulaiman, Shekhar Ravjiani, Amit Trivedi, Shantanu Moitra, and Praveen D Rao. The effervescent Kailash Kher; power-house vocalist, GurdaasMaan; forever vibrant Usha Uthup; widely popular Raghu Dixit Project; pioneers of Indian fusion in India, Indian Ocean; Sufi& Punjabi vocalist Harshdeep Kaur; playback singer Shilpa Rao; Kabirpanthi band, Neeraj Arya's Kabir Cafe; India's leading fusion act, Advaita; the internationally acclaimed Shillong Chamber Choir, and the Bengali – British sarod prodigy, Soumik Datta.

The folk tradition of India will be showcased by Shabnam Virmani, Bipul Chettri, Chugge Khan, Kutle Khan, Bhai Baldeep Singh, Aabha Hanjura, Harpreet, and many more. The evening will also be adorned by a collaborative performance by ace percussionists, Sivamaniand V. Selvaganesh.

I Believe will also witness dance performances by renowned Indian classical dancers namely, Aditi Mangaldas, Malavika Sarukkai, Manjari Chaturvedi, and Rukmini Vijaykumar. There will be a special performance by India's first modern Gurukul for Indian classical dance, Nrityagram. Ashley Lobo's The Danceworx Performing Arts Academy and the Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts will also be a part of the virtual event.

The 5+ hour long star-studded evening will be hosted by two of the finest Indian actors Shabana Aazmi and Manoj Bajpayee. Popular stand-up comedians such as, Papa CJ, Radhika Vaz, and Abish Matthew, will bring some comedic relief to the viewers. Enchanting us with their words, Javed Akhtar and Varun Grover will present two very special spoken- word pieces.