Women On Record combines newer technologies with contemporary art practices in collaboration with artist communities traversing across film, photography, scenography, dance, theater and music. The art practices come together to recreate the ambience of the gramophone era. The idea of reviving interest in the immense contributions made by these artists in the late 19th and early 20th century lends itself to immense visual possibilities given that their lives were about music, theater, film and overall entertainment.
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Think Through: Seminar
This seminar brought together artists, historians, musicologists, filmmakers, art and media institutions to disseminate and discuss the issues and the ideas that arise from the project. It focuses on the role, the idea of touring companies, the construction of the music market, the voice hierarchy, the gendered performer and status of women professionals in the entertainment industry. The speakers including Amlan Dasgupta, Urmila Bhirdikar, Nanda Kumar, Saleem Kidwai, Suresh Chandvankar, S. Kalidas, Dr. Deepti Priya Mehrotra, Dr. Steve Hughes, Dr. Partho Datta, Vibodh Parthasarathy, Shikha Jhingan and Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam.
Inhi Logo Ne: Performance
Inhi Logo Ne was a scripted performance involving narration, visuals and a concert. Through the performance, we allowed the audience to experience the time and challenges of women singers; moreover, it gave the audience a sense their sense of enterprise, including the diverse repertoire they brought into Indian music. Bringing back the histories of these incredible women artists in a more contemporary interpretation, Inhi Logo Ne contributes a fresh perspective in the area of cultural history and performance. The event was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Chief Guest Smt. Gursharan Kaur and Shri Chinmaya R. Gharekhan, President, IGNCA Trust was the Guest of Honour.
Music & Nostalgia: Exhibition
Music & Nostalgia was an exhibition which featured a tapestry of archival images, contemporary photography of the Jalsaghars of that time, woven with videos, including music and interviews from collectors and musicians, alongside interesting anecdotes and texts to experience the era. The exhibition highlighted these innovations and celebrated them as a vital evolution in the Indian musical tradition – one that has directly influenced Indian music as it is played and performed today.
Women On Record: Website
CMAC launched a website on the Women on Record project. You can view the website here. The website walks you through the world of music and its many complexities, across genres, generations and technologies. It presents music from an interdisciplinary perspective, by providing information, links, anecdotes, data, videos and photos about women artists, medium makers, music historians, genres, and timelines, among other things.
Indian Women On Record: Film
The film follows a contemporary female musician who embarks on a journey to trace the beginnings of the first expeditions of European sound engineers to India, the transitions brought about by the gramophone in the consumption of music and the invaluable contributions of women singers who laid the foundations of what later evolved into the Indian Music industry. Wading through the visual sceneries of Calcutta, Benares and Lucknow–the three important centres of North India Classical music– Indian Women On Record traverses between nostalgia and the contemporary music scenario, bringing alive the forgotten histories of women singers through interviews with artists, connoisseurs, film industry veterans and experts in the field of music.
Delving into the musical history of a bygone era, the film explores the myriad of reasons that made these women successful as musicians and later as producers, composers and actors. The film documents their struggle to ward off the social stigmas of their professional lives, their unrelenting participation in national struggle despite innumerable odds and, most of all, their passion for music; and what it meant to be a singer during the pre-independence years and in the decline that followed.
The film is a tribute to the ignored protagonists of a cultural revolution that began with the miraculous popularisation of 78 rpm records in the 1900’s and merged later with the evolution of radio and cinema in India.
Film Duration : 48 minutes 21 seconds
Watch the trailer, here.
Jalsa: Women and Their Journey from the Salon to the Studio
CMAC was commissioned by the External Affairs Ministry, from the Government of India, to research and produce this coffee table book. Jalsa employs pictures, graphics and text to take the reader through the journeys of women performers in India from the salon to the studio. It attempts to give insight into and a perspective on the beginning of the interface of technology and entertainment, and the irreversible impact this has had on how we listen to, enjoy, and consume music. It acknowledges an important slice of the history of Indian music, which is celebrated the world over today in its many forms and avatars. The book has been researched and authored by Vidya Shah. Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External affairs released the book on International Women’s day at the MEA premises.
Conflictorium
CMAC designed and curated an exhibition in collaboration with the Conflictorium, Museum of Conflict in Ahmedabad, for the Women On Record project. The programme had an official opening and thereafter a session took place wherein Parthiv Shah was in conversation with Avni Sethi.