Scholar, activist, and Carnatic vocalist TM Krishna presents a lecture on the role of arts and artists in leveraging institutional change in today’s political and cultural climate.

Krishna is a revolutionary force in Indian classical music and art as he works to release Carnatic music from its upper-caste confines, revitalizing it and making it relevant for today. By programming traditional compositions alongside new works by poets outside the Carnatic sphere, Krishna expands the genre both socially and aesthetically. Also a public intellectual, Krishna has started and is involved in many organizations whose work is spread across the whole spectrum of music and culture. He has co-authored Voices Within: Carnatic Music – Passing on an Inheritance, a book dedicated to the greats of Carnatic music.

12:15PM – Moderated discussion in Coulter Lounge with A.R. Venkatachalapathy, PhD Professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies

1:00PM   - Refreshments in Assembly Hall

1:30PM   - Public Music Workshop & Master Class with TM Krishna** and the South Asian Music Ensemble

6:00PM   - Pre-Discussion Reception with TM Krishna

7:00PM   - Lecture: The Role & Responsibility of Artists to Right-wing Nationalism & Social/Religious Conflict

**This event, co-convened with the South Asian Music Ensemble in the Department of Music, is a one-hour session open to the public, for aficionados and amateurs alike. The intimate workshop setting will allow for a hands-on discussion and demonstration of the Carnatic music tradition, and an impromptu exchange of ideas between attendees. Instruments and singing voices are enthusiastically welcomed! 

Free and open to the public with registration. Please register here.

Presented by the International House and the Global Voices Program, UChicago Presents, the University of Chicago Department of Music, Committee on Southern Asian Studies, South Asian Music Ensemble, Eye on India, UChicago South Asian Students Association, and Southern Asia at Chicago. In addition, the program is supported in part by the Birendra K. and Anila Sinha Fund for Indian Performing Arts at International House.