Sunaparanta-Goa Centre for the Arts is a non-profit arts education initiative of Dattaraj V. Salgaocar. It has the following broad aims and objectives: to preserve the artistic and legacies of Goa, to encourage, sponsor and promote innovative work in the visual arts, to serve as a bridge between the Goan art community and the national and international art communities and, most importantly, to provide resource support to art students and others interested in art.

Sunaparanta is conveniently located in the picturesque Altinho hills of Panjim where residents and visitors to Goa can benefit from a year-long schedule of arts activities and exhibitions. The centre houses several exhibition galleries, a large multi-functional space for workshops and lectures, studios, two residency rooms for visiting scholars, artists and faculty, an open-air amphitheatre, an outdoor courtyard that houses the Café Al Fresco and a gallery for emerging artists.  An art resource library is being set up for art students.

Regular weekly programmes run throughout the year and include the Sketch Club, Film for Thought (documentary and art films), the Mango Tree after-school visual art class for children, a children’s Theatre Club, Open Studio - a full time ceramics studio and an ongoing programme of varied workshops, activities and events in creative arts.
We have collaborated with the Gulbenkian Foundation to screen Portuguese film and recently joined hands with leading writer, Anil Dharker of Lit Live! Mumbai to bring the best talent from the Literary world  to Goa. Recently added to our programme are the Art Salons hosted by Siddharth Shanghvi which offer insights into the minds and processes of outstanding creative artists through dialogue and conversation..

Sunaparanta also promotes special one-off collaborative projects, our most recent being the inspiring prison art initiative that we seed funded with Blue Shores in 2010 and which resulted in a second exhibition in November 2012, titled Things We Lost in the Fire.

The Printmaking Workshop (October 7 to 21, 2012 ) brought together some of the best printmakers in the country in a highly successful collaboration to produce Sunaparanta’s Annual Show, Look At This Land  that celebrated the power and beauty of the printed image. We plan to tour the exhibition in India and internationally in 2013-14.

Liz Kemp is currently working as Project Director for the Centre and is busy developing a number of outreach and education initiatives to expand and grow the audience for the arts in Goa. Current projects include conducting an 8-week Drawing Course designed to teach people how THEY draw, Professional Practice seminars for creative arts practitioners, visual art skills training for school, special needs teachers and other vocational staff, guided educational workshops for school and other groups to give practical insight into Sunaparanta’s exhibitions and art works and a new-to-Goa training event, the Arts Skills Mela in February.

Sunaparanta intends to continue to be a strong advocate for the arts in Goa. It will provide working and exhibition space, assistance with exchange and grant funding initiatives, infrastructural and creative support for special co-operative projects and networking with state, national and international organizations.