November 9, 2025 10:00 am - January 18, 2026 6:00 pm

Festivals of Goa – An art exhibition honouring Goa’s culture, community, and heritage

Introduction

This exhibition reiterates MOG’s commitment to bringing Goa’s stories to you by reflecting on this land’s shared histories, interfaith practices, and evolving traditions. With 4 shows, 90+ artists, and 100+ artworks, this exhibition will present the many known and unknown festivals of Goa, centering on the people and communities that bring them to life.

Festivals are the stories communities tell about themselves. Viewed anthropologically, festivals are more than celebrations—they are how communities express their values, adapt to change, and reaffirm belonging.

Goa’s festivals, shaped by the various religious regimes and regional history, do not offer a single culture but a mosaic of many. They remind us that coexistence is not just about tolerance, but about participation and continuity. Through these collective expressions, we see how Goans understand their environment, their faiths, and each other, making festivals one of the most complete reflections of Goan life itself.

French Sociologist, Emile Durkheim, sees feasts and festivals as an ‘effervescence’, the intensity of which cements the solidarity of a group, a representation of the invisible relationships between man and the laws of nature, a veritable institution whereby the bonds between the members of a society are maintained, regenerated, and reproduced.

Through photographs, collaborative installations, multimedia artworks, and a children’s art show, Festivals of Goa becomes both a mirror and a map: reflecting on the many ways through which the people of Goa negotiate modernity, memory, and identity.

Background

Established in 2015, MOG has been a platform for artistic expression and innovation, working with over 500 artists from around the world and hosting more than 600 exhibitions and events. Every year, the museum brings together approximately 70,000 visitors, including tourists and over 12,000 students from Goan schools, providing a unique opportunity for people to engage with Goa’s history and culture through art.

By building a dialogue between art, history, and community, MOG seeks to promote a deeper understanding and appreciation of Goa’s complex cultural heritage.

The ‘Festivals of Goa’ exhibition is a significant milestone in the museum’s journey, marking its 10th anniversary celebrations.

Side by Side – A Multimedia Exhibition on Festivals of Goa

The Side by Side exhibition, curated by Museum of Goa, showcases 50+ artworks created by over 40 artists across mediums. The exhibition explores artistic responses to known and unknown festivals of Goa, seeking to understand what they reveal about Goan society today by reflecting on Goa’s shared cultures.

The exhibition consists of artworks received through an open call that received over 140+ artworks from artists all over the country. It also showcases the works of 25+ invited artists from Goa, including artists who are showcasing for the first time and artists who have been a part of MOG in the last 10 years.

At a time of increasing polarization, Side by Side is both a celebration and a provocation. It asks us to stand beside one another, to view the world through another’s eyes. A call to witness, reflect, and participate in a Goan identity that is syncretic, evolving, and resilient, because it is only in the act of celebration that we discover how deeply we belong to one another.

Seen/Unseen – A Photo Exhibition on Festivals of Goa

The Seen/Unseen photo exhibition, curated by Prashant Panjiar, Indrajit Khambe, and Sharada Kerkar, is a visual exploration of how Goan festivals are perceived, remembered, and represented by centering the stories of Goa’s people. The exhibition looks past the spectacle of Festivals and towards what lies beneath—the labour, the anticipation, and the devotion that make a celebration possible.

The exhibition showcases 50 photographs from 25+ photographers from Goa and other parts of the country. The photographs were selected through an open call, which received over 100+ applications from all over the country. Due to the exceptional quality of submissions, the Museum created a photography grant, providing financial support, mentorship, and curatorial guidance to 3 grantees. Each grantee will develop a new or ongoing body of work under this programme, culminating in a group exhibition at the Museum of Goa in 2026.

The images one often sees from festivals are only the surface of moments that burst with movement and action. Beneath them lie gestures of care and contemplation. Seen/Unseen invites everyone to look again, to linger between what is visible and what can only be felt. Here, what you see depends on how long you look.

Where We Gather – Collaborative Community Projects

The collaborative community projects as a part of ‘Festivals of Goa’ feature 3 huge art installations that are an artisan-led intervention reflecting on the role of community-based art practices and their power to unite, celebrate, and transform our societies. This component explored how festivals are not simply reflections of society; they are the very means through which ‘the social’ is created, maintained, and renewed.

This show features 3 art installations of a Narakasur, a Christmas tree made of crochet, and a giant Matoli, traditional community art practices that lie at the core of Goan celebrations. Created collaboratively by groups of local artists and artisans who have been deeply involved in these traditions for years, the installations honour the shared spirit of creativity, craftsmanship, and community participation that defines Goa’s culture. Through this showcase, the Museum of Goa reaffirms its commitment to making art accessible to all by opening its space to diverse creators and by recognising the vital role that local artistic practices play in shaping our collective identity and everyday life.

‘Where we gather’ is a place that always has room for more, for dreams of what is possible to grow bigger and bigger. Every festival is a rehearsal for hope, a chance to imagine and become more than ourselves.

Festivals as Playgrounds – A Children’s Art Exhibition on Festivals of Goa

The Festivals as Playgrounds exhibition, envisioned and curated by the Children’s Art Studio of the Museum of Goa, is an exploration of creativity, community, and celebration through the eyes of children. This show provides a platform for young artists to express themselves freely and to share what they see and experience at various festivals.

By bringing their work into a museum setting, the exhibition marks an important step towards recognising children’s creativity as a legitimate artistic skill and cultural contribution. It reflects the Museum of Goa’s ongoing commitment to nurturing young talent, encouraging imagination, and creating spaces where art becomes a natural extension of play, learning, and belonging.

The exhibition features 12 paintings created during a residency program at the Children’s Art Studio (CAS), where selected young artists aged between 4 to 9 were mentored to develop their own creative responses to festivals. As part of this initiative, CAS also hosted residency sessions led by external mentors, including a clay workshop by Nataliia Marynenko and a stop-motion animation workshop by Nitin Donde, resulting in a range of artworks by different groups of children. In addition, CAS conducted workshops across various institutions, culminating in collaborative art installations that reflect how children experience community through festivals.

In this world, magic is normal, and the absurd and the impossible are best friends skipping hand in hand. Children see this world with a clarity many of us have forgotten. For them, festivals are spaces where rules can be twisted, broken, or reinvented altogether. Children, with eyes unclouded by what we call reality, remind us that imagination is not an escape from the world; it is the way we first learn to see it.

Residency Artists

Participating Institutions

Mentored by

Details

Start:: November 9 10:00 am
End:: January 18, 2026 6:00 pm
Event Category:: Exhibitions