London based ‘The Adivasi Arts Trust’ in collaboration with Nehru Center, London is hosting an event presenting Tara Douglas’ new Animated Film Man Tiger Spirit a folktale from Nagaland.The event will be held on the 6th of July 2012, 06:30 pm onwards and will also include a presentation on 3d animation workshops in Manipur and include discussions on ways of adapting art and culture from the North East for digital media.
The event will start with the screening of the 3D animation film “Man Tiger Spirit” (a folktale from Nagaland) created by Tara Douglas along with the help of local Nagas. It is the first film to be completed for the new series “Tales of the Tribes” It is a six minute artistic style film which has been inspired by the art of the Nagas, in particular, the wooden sculptures and the textiles. The 3D animation film is made using high end software along with few handmade stop motion animation sequences. This will be followed by a presentation on a recent Animation Workshop in Manipur that took place from February 25-17 March. The introduction on the culture of Manipur will be given by Dr Irengbam Mohendra Singh, a writer from Manipur. The event will be concluded with an open discussion on ways of adapting tribal art and culture from the northeast for digital media. Artists and filmmakers from the northeast residing in the United Kingdom will be attending the event and they will be making presentations of their work.
Talking to Animationxpress.com, Tara Douglas, Secretary, Adivasi Arts Trust said that, “The northeast region of India is a much neglected area and little is known about the rich cultural and artistic heritage of the tribes. This event at the Nehru Centre is a celebration of the art and culture of the northeast: The more people that know about it, the more local communities will be encouraged to preserve and develop their artistic traditions. Young people will be able to revitalize the cultural landscape using the new digital tools.”
The target audiences for this event are people from the northeast residing in the United Kingdom, and also people who are interested in the art and culture of the area. This will include researchers, artists and filmmakers. The event is free of cost with no registration procedures, it is open for all.
Elaborating more about the event Tara added, “The way the animation films are developed, is through extended workshops for indigenous participants in the northeast, so now the short film from Manipur for the collection is ready for production. The objective of this event is firstly to raise awareness of the rich cultural heritage of the northeast region of India. I want to raise awareness about the activities already completed by the Adivasi Arts Trust and also generate support for future projects to preserve and promote the art and culture of the tribes. The event will also provide an occasion for people from the northeast that are based in the United Kingdom and those interested in the culture of that region to meet each other to discuss new ways of promoting the culture through new media”.
The Adivasi Arts Trust has collaborated with the Nehru Centre several times before, for events focusing on Adivasi art and culture from Central India. This is the first time they are organising an event on the northeast.
“Future plans for Adivasi Arts Trust is to organise more animation workshops for tribal participants in the northeast region. The next one will be held in Arunachal Pradesh, hopefully by the end of the year, to develop a short animation film of a story from the Tani group of tribes in the state. The other films in the series also need to be completed – these are animated folktales from Sikkim and the one from Manipur. Once the whole series is finished it will be ready for screening in schools and cultural centers in the United Kingdom and in India. There will surely be more screenings at the Nehru Centre too in the future” Tara concluded.