About JLF Houston
In January 2023, the 16th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival took place in the Pink City of Jaipur, Rajasthan. It was a resounding success, highlighting the power of words and ideas through a remarkable lineup of speakers. The festival's inspiring atmosphere reached our audience, both digitally and in-person.
Get ready for the exhilarating return of the Jaipur Festival to Houston! The 6th edition of JLF Houston will be taking place from September 15th-17th, 2023.
In 2020 and 2021, Teamwork Arts, the producer of the Jaipur Literature Festival, embraced the digital realm by hosting international editions of JLF online. These editions seamlessly merged the rich multilingual literary traditions of South Asia with the unique essence of the host regions. By fostering dialogue and the exchange of ideas, the virtual version of JLF kept the spirit of creative conversations alive. Writers, thinkers, poets, artists, and filmmakers engaged in captivating discussions.
In 2022, we successfully held the first hybrid edition of JLF Houston, following two successful virtual editions in collaboration with the Consulate General of India, Houston, Asia Society Texas Center, and Inprint.
Join us this year as we celebrate the distinct culture, vibrant diversity, and dynamic energy of the Bayou City. We will once again bring forth our signature camaraderie, a caravan of ideas, and the enchanting flow of conversations that make our festival truly incredible!
Advisors
CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI
is an award-winning and bestselling novelist, poet, activist, and teacher of writing. She has won many awards, including the American Book Award and the Premio Scanno. Her work has been published in over 100 magazines and anthologies while her books have been translated into 29 languages. She teaches at the internationally acclaimed writing program at the University of Houston.
HARI AGRAWAL
is CEO of CNA Metals Group, a multi-national brokerage company that specializes in ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal, paper, and plastics. Agrawal’s expertise is in international business development, finance, turnarounds, and commercial real estate.
DURGA & SUSHILA AGRAWAL
are an Indian-American couple. Dr. Agrawal is a member of the UH System Board of Regents and serves as chair on the UH’s endowment management committee. He is the founder of Piping Technology & Products Inc. The University of Houston renamed an engineering building after Agrawal and his wife, Sushila.
JITEN AGARWAL
is founding CEO and President of Expedien, a data and business analytic company that was awarded the fastest growing firm in America by Inc: 5000 and Houston Business Journal. The company was also recognized as one of the largest software employer in Greater Houston area by Houston Business Journal in 2010 and top 50 fastest growing companies by American Express Open.
KRUPA PARIKH
has been with Inprint, a Houston based non-profit literary arts organization, for 20 years and now serves as the organization’s Associate Director. Among her many community activities, she has served as president of the Houston chapter of Amnesty International and a commissioner for the Houston Commission on Disabilities under Mayor Annise Parker.
DR. MARIE GORADIA
is a former President of Pratham USA’s Houston chapter and is on the Board of Directors of Pratham USA. Dr. Goradia is also the co-founder of Pratham Houston Young Professionals. An active community volunteer, she serves on the boards of the Asia Society and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
MEDHA & SHASHANK KARVE
have resided in the Houston area for nearly 40 years. They are strong supporters of the arts. Medha has been a docent at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston for more than a decade. Being an avid reader, Medha believes that literary culture, such as what the Jaipur Literature Festival promotes, has an important place in the community.
SHAZMA MATIN
is currently a co-Chair of the Muslim Series at Asia Society, a Board member of Daya, a non-profit that works with South Asian survivors of domestic violence, and a member of the Arts of the Islamic World Subcommittee at MFAH.
RICH LEVY
is a poet and, since 1995, executive director of Inprint, a literary organization in Houston, Texas. His collections include Why Me? and the letterpress chapbook One or Two Lights, and his poems have appeared in various publications, including Boulevard,Callaloo, The Florida Review, Gulf Coast, The Hopkins Review, Pool, The Texas Observer, and more.
STEPHANIE TODD WONG
is the Director of Performing Arts and Culture at Asia Society Texas Center. Prior to this position, she served as the Executive Director of Dance Source Houston and Director of Dance Metro DC. She holds a holds a BA in Dance from Mercyhurst College and an MFA in Dance from George Mason University.
Teamwork Arts
From Concept to Curation and Design to Production
Teamwork Arts is a highly versatile production company with roots in the performing arts, knowledge-creation, social action and the corporate world. For over 30 years, Teamwork Arts has taken India to the world and brought the world to India, presenting the finest of Indian performers, writers, change-makers and visual artists in the knowledge and arts space in India and abroad. The arts of India are unrivaled in their depth, diversity and mystery and showcasing India to global audiences requires a deep understanding of her culture, an acute sense of relevance in programming, an unflinching attention to detail and above all, love and respect for the artist. Our expertise spans the sphere of entertainment and knowledge, and includes making of documentary and feature films, conceptualizing and developing visual, performing arts and literary festivals around the world which embody both a classical and contemporary India, and nurturing new talent across all art forms.
Every year, we produce over 33 festivals in 42 cities and 17 countries in the fields of performing & visual arts and literature; our venues include Australia, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, the UK and USA as well as many eclectic festivals across India. We produce the world’s largest literary gathering: the annual Jaipur Literature Festival; JLF international now travels to the US, UK, Canada and Australia and the Maldives and Spain!
We produce acclaimed festivals across India such as the Ishara International Puppet Festival, the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META), festivals of magical music -the Mahindra Kabira in Varanasi, the Sacred in Pushkar, the Jazz India Circuit in Goa and the National Capital Region, the Jaipur Music Stage in Jaipur and the monthly Under the Banyan Tree which happens on a “Full Moon” night in Delhi.
Our international festivals include India by the Nile in Egypt, India by the Bay in Hong Kong, Confluence - A Festival of India in Australia, India in the Sunshine City in Zimbabwe , India by the Bosphorus in Turkey, India in the Alps in Switzerland and many more. Our musical extravaganza, Bollywood Love Story - A Musical, continues to tour the world with sold-out shows everywhere it is held.
Even amidst the upheaval and unsettling times of 2020 and through 2021, Teamwork Arts successfully launched the digital series, ‘JLF Brave New World’ and ‘Words Are Bridges’, which were viewed by over 4.8 million people in their first season. Through its digital avatar, the Jaipur Literature Festival reached over 27 million viewers in January 2021 and brought together the world’s leading commentators and writers. Amidst the pandemic, Teamwork Arts also created ‘Art Matters’ - an initiative empowering artistes across India to collaborate across genres by commissioning them to create new works. It has since then raised awareness, actioned change, developed support channels and inspired the community to contribute to the cause in various direct and indirect ways. The digital series ‘Be Inspired’ was launched in 2021 – a series that crystal-gazes into the future with conversations on science, technology, innovation, environment and more.
More information at: www.teamworkarts.com
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