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Performing arts are living expressions of India's cultural heritage, carrying traditions, stories and knowledge from one generation to the next. Sustaining these traditions requires creating opportunities for artists to learn, perform and build meaningful careers, while ensuring regional practices continue to thrive and reach wider audiences.
The Tata Trusts strengthen the performing arts ecosystem by making larger platforms accessible to practitioners and supporting regional and grassroots organisations rooted in local traditions with the potential for national impact. Alongside this, the Trusts will place increasing emphasis on the welfare and well-being of performing artists and allied professionals, recognising that their livelihoods are as vital as their craft. Additionally, the Trusts are working towards building evidence for formalising performing arts education through innovative fellowship formats, diploma and degree programmes that help establish structured learning pathways for the field.
Horizons MagazineA nine-month fellowship in Wayanad, Kerala, that mentors tribal musicians through a co-created learning model where learning extends beyond instruction, allowing lived experiences to shape music and composition.
To discover how the Earthlore
Fellowship is nurturing a new
generation of tribal musicians,
Click here.
A 10-month professional diploma for training in Kattaikkuttu theatre, establishing the first formal training pathway for this traditional, physically and emotionally demanding folk theatre form from Tamil Nadu. The programme brings together Kuttu artists from rural Tamil Nadu as well as urban actors and dramaturgs, strengthening professional learning while reinforcing the role of folk arts in sustaining cultural traditions, communities and livelihoods.
Supporting the activities of Sri Neelakanteswara Natyaseva Sangha (Ninasam), a unique theatre institute in rural Heggodu, Karnataka. The institute runs a rigorous 10-month diploma course in theatre arts and operates the travelling theatre repertory Ninasam Tirugata that stages plays across Karnataka's villages and towns throughout the year. It also organizes the Kalegala Sangada Matukate, an annual fiveday theatre and art appreciation workshop that draws participants from across the country.
