Gwalior
About the Creative City:
Gwalior, one of the main cultural centres of the state of Madhya Pradesh, is the birthplace of the traditional Gharana Hindustani music forms of Dhrupad and Khayal. These styles are still very much alive, and the city is an essential meeting place and training ground for their performers, and those of Hindustani music in general.
The Creative City is committed to showcasing this cultural wealth, guaranteeing greater visibility for its artists and ensuring the economic vitality of the music sector. Up to 4,000 to 5,000 people a day attend the Tansen Sangeet Samaroh Festival. Gwalior takes a cross-sectoral approach to culture to enrich the potential and expand the opportunities of its creative industries, as demonstrated by the city’s participation in the "Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat" initiative and its hosting of a festival associated with the programme in 2018.
Gwalior is striving to make its music industry accessible to all and to highlight its transformative potential. The city has taken action to lower the cost of shows and to make them systematically free; it also awards study grants to promising underprivileged students. Furthermore, Gwalior is tapping into music as a means of empowering women through the "Dream Hatcher" initiative, which provides assistance to music projects and ventures led by women.
Added value:
As a Creative City of Music, Gwalior is dedicated to:
Revitalizing the city's historic districts through the music sector notably by involving local artists;
Improving educational provision to encourage a taste for music, creativity and cultural entrepreneurship, particularly among young people;
Ensuring greater visibility and recognition for artists and musicians by organizing international festivals and establishing collaborations with radio stations and online media platforms; and
Strengthening collaboration within the Network, in particular by hosting an international conference on the role of the creative sectors in urban planning, recognizing creativity as a vector for sustainable development.
