Art beyond barriers : Accessibility programming at Serendipity Arts Festival 2025

Goa Khabar : South Asia’s largest mutli-disciplinary arts festival, the Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF), returns to Panaji this December with its tenth edition from December 12 to 21, spread across familiar riverfront venues in the state capital and other public spaces, with accessibility at its core. Over ten days, the festival will run exhibitions, performances and workshops across the city. The cultural initiative with its own unique signature has grown into a steady, multi-disciplinary platform that brings together artists and audiences from across India and the globe. 

Before returning to Goa, the festival has travelled through the year to Birmingham, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Varanasi, Chennai, Gurugram, Dubai and Paris, holding programmes and collaborations in each city. These events offered early previews of its tenth edition and helped Serendipity engage with audiences beyond Goa, SAF’s home turf.

Accessibility has been a core part of the Serendipity Arts Festival since its first edition and in 2025 it remains central under the curation of poet and artist Salil Chaturvedi. At the Access Village in the Old GMC Complex, the programme brings together sensorial, interactive and community-oriented projects designed for diverse needs.

“Culture must belong to everyone. From the beginning, we have worked to build a festival where no one feels excluded. Accessibility, for us, is linked to dignity and participation, and we want every visitor to feel they belong. As we complete ten years, this principle continues to guide Serendipity Arts,” said founder and patron Sunil Kant Munjal.

Key accessibility-accentuating experiences in the SAF’s 10th edition include Scented Stories: An Artisanal Fragrance Workshop, which links scent and storytelling; Hand/Eye, which explores touch as a form of seeing; and Breath + Sound Immersion, a meditative session combining breathwork and sound healing. Space-oriented formats such as Studio Me, an open art space and the Sensory Room, designed for neurodiverse and neurotypical visitors to decompress, expand the festival’s inclusive footprint.

Curated by Tanul Vikamshi, the workshop Paper to Sculpture focuses on recycling and collaborative making. Nature’s Symphony: A Bird Watching Adventure, held at Art Park and later at Access Village, offers blind audiences an introduction to urban avian life.

The Gallery presents Therefore I Am, featuring seven artists whose practices draw from lived disability. Performances include Silent Rhythms, led by India’s first group of deaf performers with Dr Alim Chandani, and Poems on the Move 2.0, curated by Thukral & Tagra with Chaturvedi, which brings live poetry readings into shuttle cabs.

At The Lab, workshops by Siddhant Shah, Access for All, Rohan Marathe and Shivani Dhillon support children, seniors and neurodiverse participants through sessions like Dear Normal, Sound of Silence, Sensory Storytelling and Panchtantra Stories. Special projects include Cinema for Every Sense, with audio-described Hindi films, and Pilates Flow Performance by Kaizen Wellness.

“Accessibility has been a key priority for the SAF long before it became common vocabulary. Our commitment has only strengthened over the years. For us, accessibility is not just inclusion but expanding how art can be experienced so everyone, whatever their ability, can connect with it. In our tenth year, it remains core to our mission,” said SAF Director Smriti Rajgarhia.

“Ten years on, Serendipity Arts has grown from a festival into a movement for creative and social connection. Our commitment remains to support artists, protect cultural heritage and build spaces where art and people meet,” the festival’s co-patron, Shefali Munjal, also said, while reflecting on SAF’s ten-year journey.

Registrations for Serendipity Arts Festival 2025 are now live! Visit the official festival website to secure your Art Pass, book your tickets, and stay updated on workshops, performances, exhibitions, and more. More programmes will be announced soon so keep checking back for updates.