Find Serendipity as Panaji’s historic landmarks once again

Panaji transform into vibrant cultural  spaces, bringing art, people and the city together for the 11th edition of Serendipity Arts  Festival this December.  

Goa Khabar:The eleventh edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival, returns to its home  base, Panaji, later this year from 13^th to 20^th in December 2026. Goa has been our host since the  beginning, and it has been our constant endeavour to spotlight Goan and Goa-based artists along  with bringing arts from around the world to the city. From inclusive design and heritage crafts to  indigenous culinary practices, artists based in the state play a significant role in shaping how  audiences engage with contemporary culture at the festival’s 11th edition.  

Goa-based writer and disability rights campaigner Salil Chaturvedi returns to lead the festival’s  Accessibility vertical. Designed with accessibility at its core from day one, the festival offers  multisensory spaces, adaptive workshops and visual theatre developed with blind, deaf and  neurodiverse communities. In Culinary Arts, Anisha Rachel Oommen (Goya) curates a lineup  deeply rooted in Goa’s regional food systems, under the larger theme of inheritance. The  programming features workshops with local practitioners including Goldspot Canteen who will  unpack the nearly-forgotten foodways of Goa’s Konkani Muslim community anchored in Seafood  Biryani; Hansel Vaz on underwater aging of feni; Dr Maryanne Lobo on monsoon preservation  through purumenth; Buland Shukla on botanical flavour extraction; Charles and Revathi Victor on  native Goan mango varieties; and Crescy Baptista on Merenda, the traditional evening tea ritual.  

Local history and visual memory also take centre stage across Visual Arts and Special Projects. A  dedicated archival exhibition curated by Ram Rahman showcases Karan Kapoor’s photographs of  Goan tavernas, monsoons and family life. A popular model, actor and photographer, Karan Kapoor  is the son of veteran Bollywood actor, the late Shashi Kapoor, who was a regular visitor to Goa.  

The Makers Space project, conceptualised by Grounded, features modular rammed earth  structures hosting hands-on workshops led by Goan craft specialists in stained glass, tile mosaics,  carpentry, bamboo construction and papier mâché.  

Highlighting the curatorial direction for this edition, Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal, Founder & Patron of  Serendipity Arts, said, “Eleven years ago, we came to Panaji believing a festival should belong to  the city that hosts it. As Serendipity Arts enters its second decade, that belief is more visible than  ever — in the Goan artists, chefs, craftspeople, and writers shaping this edition, in the heritage  buildings that open to the public each December, and in the people of Goa at large who have  adopted the Serendipity Arts Festival as their own. Our curators bring the expertise and the spirit  of inquiry that keep the Festival alive to its times. This combination attracts audiences from across  India and the world for an immersive experience they will find nowhere else.”  

Expanding on the curatorial framework, Ms. Shefali Munjal, Co-Founder & Patron of Serendipity  Arts, said, “So much of this December’s edition comes from Goa itself — its kitchens, its crafts, its  photographic memory, its buildings. Our curators are bringing these together with a clear intent:  to push interdisciplinary dialogue further, to make room for slower engagement, and to tell  sharper, more intentional stories across the Festival.” 

The Festival’s multidisciplinary curatorial panel brings together Latika Gupta and Sheba Chhachhi for Visual Arts; Kshitij Jalori and Sudheer Rajbhar for Craft; Anisha Rachel Oommen (Goya) for  Culinary Arts; Aruna Sairam and Ankur Tewari for Music; Ashley Lobo and Surjit Nongmeikapamfor Dance; Mahesh Dattani and Anuradha Kapur for Theatre; Salil Chaturvedi for Accessibility;  and Sreyansi Singh, Padmini Chettur, and Ram Rahman for Special Projects. Together, they bring  diverse practices and perspectives into dialogue across disciplines, shaping a festival that engages  with questions of place, community, memory, materiality and participation.  

Speaking about the connection between local culture and the city’s heritage, Smriti Rajgarhia,  Director of Serendipity Arts, said, “Panaji’s heritage buildings carry stories rooted in Goa’s past  and offer a significant setting for contemporary artists to engage with them. By opening these  spaces to art and audiences, we hope to create new ways for residents and visitors to experience  and connect with the city’s lived tradition.”  

For eight days in December, the festival will breathe fresh public life into iconic heritage buildings  that remain closed or restricted for most of the year. Key festival venues include the Old GMC  Complex, the Directorate of Accounts building, ESG Complex, Azad Maidan, DB Ground and the  Art Park promenade, and more.  

The Serendipity Arts Festival is open to all visitors from December 13 to 20, 2026.