Readings
Young and usually unpublished writers are invited to read and discuss their plays, stories and poems, sometimes paired with an experienced writer. Our rehearsed play readings enable emerging playwrights to test their material on a live audience. A platform is also provided for writers working in other Indian languages.
Workshops
Workshops to help hone the skills of young artists are held largely in the fields of writing and theatre. The workshops have covered subjects like scenography, solo performance, voice work, character building and writing for children. We have also held workshops on music composition and scriptwriting for films.
The theatre workshops have been facilitated by, among others, Jaimini Pathak, Dr Shekhar Seshadhri, Anmol Vellani, Veenapani Chawla, and Abhishek Majumdar. The writing workshops (poetry, fiction and non-fiction) have been conducted by such well- known poets and writers as Keki Daruwalla, Anjum Hasan, Arundhathi Subramaniam, Gieve Patel, Jerry Pinto, Sampurna Chattarji and Shobha Viswanath. Workshops on music, and scriptwriting for films have been conducted by Anurag Shanker and Namit Das, and Irawati Karnik.
Creative Journeys
This series provides a platform for writers, filmmakers, performing artists and visual artists to tell their stories, particularly touching upon the influences, impulses, processes and thinking that have shaped the art they produce.
Speakers have included Susmit Sen, former band member of the iconic Indian Ocean, visual artist Jitish Kallat, theatre director Sunil Shanbag, Neel Chaudhury and the Tadpole Repertory, choreographer and dancer Surupa Sen, and writer Jayant Kaikini.
New Voices in Indian Cinema
This series features screenings of the work of newer fiction, documentary and experimental filmmakers – Srijit Mukherjee, Jaideep Varma, Ramchandra PN and Mohit Takalkar among others – followed by discussions with the directors. The series has also included filmmakers who have won or been longlisted for the TOTO for Short Film. Festivals of their work have also been organised in Bangalore and elsewhere in India.
Night of the Nominee
Musicians shortlisted for the TOTO for Music are featured in a concert in Bangalore on the eve of the TOTO Awards function. Music lovers get to hear some fresh sounds and try to guess who will win the following evening!
TFA Adda
Guided conversations are organised for an intimate group on a topic related to the arts. These addas are usually held in someone’s home. We have had a poetry adda with Mani Rao and Aditi Machado, we’ve debated whether English has ruined Indian literature, discussed the upheavals in the 1970s Bombay theatre, and reflected on the arts in the Age of #MeToo.
TOTO-Sangam Residency Fellowship
Since 2014, in collaboration with Sangam House, we have been offering a Toto Sangam Residency Fellowship to writers who have been longlisted for the TOTO Awards for Creative Writing in English.
TOTO Awards
The TOTO is given to encourage and recognise potential in young artists between the ages of 18 and 29. Beginning in 2005 with a solo award for Music, we now give 10 annual awards covering Music, Creative Writing in Kannada and English, Photography, Short Film and Digital Art.