Synopsis
Tue, 24 December 2024
Kicking off the Artistic Directors Academy (ADA)‘s journey in Nepal, Ujjwala Maharjan focuses on Arts/Music as Community Practice in Kathmandu and the changing roles of women in ethnic music landscapes with the case study of the Apwoh Misa project and the Tah nani Dapha programme in Nani Kirtipur.
Ujjwala has coordinated with Riddhi Maharjan, who is one of the younger female members who Pushpa Palanchoke from Tah nani Dapha programme worked closely with for 4 years. Riddhi conducts a brief presentation, also serving as aguide through the community spaces in Kirtipur.
Ujjwala’s mentors, Pranab Man Singh and Suvani Singh from Quixote’s Cove / Satori, which housed Word Warriors Poetry Collective and designed and supported the Dapha Dhuku Program, gives a presentation at Quixote’s Cove as well.
The day ends with Ujjwala’s sharing on the Apwoh Misa project.
About Ujjwala Maharjan
Ujjwala is a Kathmandu-based poet, performer and educator. She is one of the co-founders of Word Warriors, a poetry group leading the spoken word movement in Nepal. Post her Masters in Education from the University of Pennsylvania, she has been exploring arts activism and community-based education programs focusing on storytelling through varied creative mediums. Inspired by her students and colleagues, she started experimenting with rap during the pandemic. Collaborating with other artists, she blends Nepali ethnic music into the soundscape of punk, hip-hop and musical monologues and tells stories of women’s bodies, sexuality and liberation. Writing in English, Nepali and the ethnic minority language, Newari (Newah), she is interested in subverting the language and culture of misogyny in Nepal.
Situating Kathmandu Valley through the lens of indigenous Newah people and women at Bagh Bhairab Temple
Situating Kathmandu Valley through its origin story of bodhisattva Manjushri.
On disenfranchisement of Newah during Rana era through suppression of language and resource relocation.
Identifying music as community practice and the changing role of women in Newah traditional music with Riddhi Maharjan at Tah Nani Community Space
Dapha performance by Tah Nani Kirtipur Dapha Khala and sagan ritual.
Contemporary negotiation of patriarchy and development in roles of women in ethnic music landscapes through case study of Pushpa Palanchoke and Tah Nani Kirtipur Dapha Khala.
Examining arts as community practice and engagement by Pranab Man Singh and Suvani Singh of Quixote’s Cove and Satori
Politics of language in Nepal — English vis-a-vis indigenous — and ramifications to community building.
Trajectory to enable effective community engagement and involvement through the arts.
Studying urgency and significance of Apwoh Misa (“women who are too much”) project’s with context of contemporary cultural landscape in Nepal
Genealogy and development process of Apwoh Misa project.