Alumni Update: Praveen Maripelly
Praveen Maripelly is a recipient of the 2012 Inlaks Fine Art Award. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD (Practice as Research) in Performance Studies at the University of California, Davis, USA. In October 2021, during his MFA program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he established a long-term, practice-based social art project called Prayogillu: An Interdisciplinary Place in a small village called Vellulla in Telangana, India. He restored his ancestral house after it collapsed, as a community place, and is now running it as a Practice as Research (PaR) project for his PhD. His anticipated research focus is ‘Emerging Socially Engaged Art in India: Collaborations, Re-Imagining Public Spaces and Documentation’.
Read on to know more about the project and his future plans.
What is Prayogillu all about, and what inspired you to build it?
Prayogillu embraces the idea that art can be a living and participatory experience, intimately connected with human interactions and interwoven into the fabric of daily life.
Prayogillu is a social art project, which is a community-based performance site located in my small village in Telangana, India. My ancestral house, which collapsed due to heavy rains in June 2021, has been restored as this interdisciplinary performance space. Prayogillu is a combination of two words: ‘Prayog’ - a Hindi word that means ‘experiment’, and ‘Illu’ - a Telugu word that means ‘house’. This house, more than a hundred years old, saw five generations, including myself, and witnessed the loss of my parents. I believe that art is the way to heal and transform my unpleasant memories. After leaving home to pursue higher education, the house remained empty for years. During this time, I turned to yoga as a means of rebuilding myself. Through my mountain yoga performances and dedicated mindful practice, yoga has played a significant role in shaping the person I am today. It has also enabled me to address societal issues through art-based approaches. These experiences have profoundly influenced my understanding of self-care, caring for local communities, and care for humanity across the globe.
My mixed experiences with this house drove me to transform the space into a collaborative, cultural, and social performative place. In part, it also aimed at healing the unpleasant memories embedded here. As a result, the house evolved from being a personal loss to a community place, where people come together and celebrate each moment of their life as a community, regardless of caste, gender, age, ethnicity or class. Prayogillu serves to connect rural, urban, and global audiences, fostering a global community ethos rooted in ‘Vasudaiva Kutumbakam’, a Sanskrit verse that means ‘The world is one family’.
What are the kinds of events and activities hosted at Prayogillu? What is thinking behind introducing them?
Prayogillu’s unique daily approach to community building addresses the question of how a place can be reimagined and harnessed with various social, cultural and educational programs.
Inter-human interaction, digital conversations, multi/cross-cultural exchange, workshops, social and cultural performances, community based-artist residencies, sustainable employment initiatives, foodways, everyday life activities, remote Prayogillu, traditional/regional games, and informal education are an integral part of Prayogillu.
It serves as a shared space, focusing on interconnectedness, collectiveness, and togetherness. Community performance lies at its core, where participants become active participants, subjects and co-producers, contributing their voices, perspectives, and diverse ideas.
What role does Prayogillu play in the lives of the community?
Prayogillu challenges the fixed identity of place. This house changes its dynamics and perspectives according to the season.
Prayogillu transcends its physical form and becomes more than just a structure. It represents a sense of home, connections, belonging and friendships. It serves as a venue for sharing stories, with its walls embedded with the tales of past generations. Prayogillu has evolved into a central point in the village, organising community programs, social gatherings, cultural celebrations, and shared food that bring the community together in fellowship and camaraderie. It is not merely a place to live, but a place for social interactions and connections within the village, as well as on a global scale. Engaging with Prayogillu, active participants grasp its deeper significance beyond its physicality. It is a site for the history and culture of the village, influencing community and surroundings through social interactions for a better society. Prayogillu play a vital role in the village, shaping individual perceptions and experiences through which participants comprehend the world around them. It embodies a sense of community, connections, village history, culture and belonging that profoundly resonates with all.
Can you share some interesting examples at Prayogillu which convey its effect on the community?
Prayogillu has been reintroducing, evaluating, and reshaping indigenous cultures, embracing cross-cultural influences, and focusing on concepts such as multiculturalism, co-existence, and the third space (hybridity) through social performances.
There are many examples that demonstrate how Prayogillu has connected across cultures and built connections between rural, urban, and global audiences for positive social change.
For instance, the Maggam & Embroidery summer workshop we held in the month of May, and culminated in an exhibition, provided a platform for rural women and girls to learn valuable skills, foster creativity, and potentially earn a livelihood through their artwork.
Then there’s the V2 Project - a transformative cross-cultural exchange program connecting the city of Vadodara in Gujarat with the village of Vellulla in Telangana, situated in the southern part of the country. This initiative seeks to foster a profound understanding between both communities and break down negative stereotypes and personal biases, regardless of race, gender, or caste. Three exchanges have taken place since 2022, and the project has generated cross-cultural knowledge that is transformative and inclusive in a positive manner for its participants.
There’s also remote Prayogillu, a dynamic extension of the physical space which ingeniously utilizes various settings worldwide, including museums, galleries, community centres, historical buildings, public spaces, and even abandoned places, to establish virtual connections with its core location. The network will serve as a conduit for cultural exchange, enabling interactions between disparate local cultures and fostering a globally connected Prayogillu community.
On the individual front, there’s the inspiring example of Sri Latha, a resident of the village and also its first yoga instructor. Despite discontinuing her education in the 10th grade and dedicating years to family responsibilities, Sri Latha's passion for yoga drove her to pursue a certified yoga instructor qualification, which requires a 12th-grade education. After a gap of 22 years in her education, she decided to pursue studies again. After a year of determined effort, she successfully passed her intermediate exams, becoming the first woman certified yoga instructor in the village. Her journey is a touching example of how such a space can transform the narratives of individuals in rural areas, enabling them to carve out self-sustaining paths in life.
In today’s world of digitization and polarisation, a space where communities can connect and find common ground for growth is promising. What is your vision for this project? How do you see it continuing to evolve?
Prayogillu's post-community concept focuses on reimagining social interactions within the realm of digital media interfaces to cultivate community building and transcend geographical boundaries, fostering multicultural dialogues.
Prayogillu's Digital Conversations is a transformative digital media interface and storytelling platform that transcends geographical boundaries, connecting disparate cultural communities. Mediated technology plays a crucial role in shaping our understanding of global communication dynamics. This dynamic platform turns virtual space into a vibrant arena for knowledge sharing, where users actively engage in discussions, exchange ideas, and contribute unique perspectives. In this collective journey, the platform becomes a potent catalyst, fostering empathy among communities worldwide. Beyond serving as a medium, Prayogillu's Digital Conversations is a cultural nexus that seamlessly blends technology, storytelling, and human connection. It breaks down barriers and weaves a tapestry of shared narratives transcending borders, nurturing a profound sense of global community.
What have been the lessons you’ve gleaned from this undertaking, so far?
In the realm of placemaking, specifically within the context of socially engaged art practices at Prayogillu, an ongoing dialogue and collaboration between artists and community are essential to seamlessly integrate art and life into the space through daily social, cultural, educational activities, while negotiating power imbalances. This requires a sustained and dedicated commitment to the community, fostering lasting connections and revitalizing a profound sense of belonging.
To know more about Prayogillu, visit its website.
