The Delhi government, with the aim to promote art and culture in the city and encourage artistes in the field of street performance and theatre, launched a fellowship programme for street performers here on Friday, January 03, 2020.
Manish Sisodia, deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, on the occasion of launching the programme at Dilli Haat in Janakpuri, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said, “This is not a commercial move. If we bring the street art on the roads, it will become a movement. This movement is an effort to soften the edges in people’s lives… Let’s aim to achieve a vibrant environment in our city, by filling it up with street performances. I will again be the Art and Culture Minister if everything goes well after the elections… Everyone should feel happy about the art and culture programmes happening across the city. We should not take it as a hobby, but as a mission.”
According to the officials, applications were invited from individuals working in the field of acting, direction, script-writing, dance, music and other forms of street performance. These fellows will be divided into 100 groups. Each group will have a maximum of 10 artistes. Each artiste will get Rs 5,000 a month for a year under the fellowship, as reported by the Indian Express.
Richa, a first-year LLB student at Delhi University’s Law Centre, was awarded the fellowship for her acting skills. A part of her college’s theatre group, she registered for the programme after finding out about the initiative on social media. She wants to be a lawyer and feels the programme will help her talk about important social issues.
“The fellowship will address social issues which several artistes have been talking about. We will be more confident about raising these issues and spreading awareness about them. Being an artiste will help me in my pursuit of law,” she said.
Krishna Raj, another fellow and student of Delhi University, said the programme will help him pursue acting. He had acted on ‘Ethical voting’ during the auditions, which had taken place on December 30.