J  O  H  N    D  E  V  A  R  A  J

Born to Royan Anthony Devaraj and Jayamma Thomas

36/44 first main road, chamarajpet, Bangalore 560018 India

Mo 09886306366   johndevaraj@gmail.com www.bornfreeart.org

Formal Education in Civil Engineering

Practicing Sculptor, Painter, Architect, Cinema and stage Art Director, Musician, Film Maker, Photographer, play Wright, Actor, Puppeteer Facilitator and Consultant for culture, youth and children’s organization and events.

Sculptor, Painter

Created sculptures and art action, workshops in Austria, Hungary, Germany Czech republic, Norway, Netherlands, Yugoslavia, France, USA, UK, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Italy,

Lectured and held art exhibitions extensively in the US, Netherlands,

Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary Including carving of a 25feet tall antifascist monument in Murzsteg, Austria. along with refugee children from Yugoslavia.

Created a mural with earth and water brought from 60 countries in the UN, New York in 1999 with child soldiers, Young voices in the UN, for the study and presentation of Garcia Machel

~ The Impact of Armed conflict on children.

Created 18 public monumental sculptures in the city of Bangalore, and Mumbai.

Held over a 1000 exhibitions all over the world many on the streets of south India, in an effort to take Art to the people.

Created public monumental sculptures with thousands of people especially children participating to create symbols of peace, friendship, freedom, education through collective actions..

Created the worlds largest painting  350ft X 280 ft to the children of Pakistan , which read Dear Children of Pakistan let us join hearts in friendship to create a new world, signed by one million children in India and Pakistan.

Endeavoring to build cost effective housing and develop Child Architecture. Specializing

In Mud and stone Architecture.

Designed and built the Born Free School in Bangalore rural along with over a thousand Children and youth from 25 schools and colleges and 15 countries. Researching and developing the idea of a Mudgloo house {a house of mud} Based on the traditional Indian akadas ~wrestling academy

Cinema and stage Art Director,

Created sets and stage for major theatrical performances, dance and music events

Art director for Malgudi Days popular Television Serial of RK Narayan for its 56 episodes, shot on 35mm film format,{ English and Hindi}

Art director for feature films all of which received National Awards, Kubbi matthu Iyala {Kannada}, Mane {Hindi}, Muthina hara{Kannada}, Harikeya kuri{Kanada},

Hagalu Vesha{Kannada}, Nakkala Rajakumari{Kannada, Children’s Movie}hagalu Vesha {kannada} iyerkai{ Tamil}

Made a 19 minute film on mime A day in a workers life 1992

Made  Documentary film The Writing on the wall 57minutes received special mention in the International Documentary film festival in Trivandrum, in 1993

Made a six minute silent film Basha the lion heart for the Lahore International film festival in 2001.

Made a documentary film of the ballet Spartacus returns.

Made Comedy film Che ~ Che the ragged dancer.

Made documentary History Expedition bicycling 4040kms in Karnataka, Goa and Tamil Nadu

Musician

Lyricist, composed played and made four music albumsAnthem of the ants, Born in Gondwanaland Spartacus returns. Many hearts one soul

Photographer,

Created over 25 000 pictures and held exhibitions in Austria, Hungary, Germany, USA, UK,  Yugoslavia and India.

Conceptualized the OLAL ~Of Legacies and Legends a photographic project to create

Child Historians and to record dreams and aspirations of Working and street children.

Through 100 workshops in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Lokomanya Tilak Express 2004 August, a photographic exhibition of children on the train from Bangalore to Mumbai.

Playwright, Actor, Puppeteer

With a motive of Education through Entertainment and entertainment through education,

Created fantasy puppet dance dramas,

Gondwana Gondwana involving gigantic moving dinosaurs stilt walkers,40 minutes

Children of Gondwanaland on the issue of Working and street children and Literacy.45 minutes

Krishnappa lives again on the acceptance of AIDS afflicted people in society.25 minutes

The Crucifixion of the Mahathma, a short play on the killing of Graham Staines

Lion and the Hunter pantomime on the history of people 7 minutes.

Dharma Pantomime dance using Kalari folk form on religious wars and what is Peace. 12 minutes.

Take my wings and Fly on hunger and freedom 5 minutes

The kite a mime dance on Freedom 12 minutes

The Star on the issue of Materialism and Humanism  mime 10 minutes.

The Peasant mime on the question of Suicides Farmers in India 10 minutes.

Black and white dance on the issue of peace and violence two faces of the same coin

Spartacus returns a grand musical spectacle on the issue of the liberation of the Modern Slavery

~ the working and street children.120 minutes involving `140 actors.

Facilitator and consultant for culture, youth and children’s organization and events

Founder and Artistic Director of Janothsava a peoples cultural organization from 1983

Made up of professionals, Students, Youth and children, with a special composition of street and working children. Performed hundreds of shows to more than a million people face to face,

The Aesthetic philosophy  of the Theater of the Ragi ball eaters{ a millet from south India} is to create not white not black but the beautiful brown color of all the people of the world to create a humane egalitarian society free of hunger and strife. To take up the cause of education and literacy through Art.

Organized the Oceans of Joy a festival of peace, which takes place every year in December.

The stage is made available to all those who would like to make an artistic statement on peace.

Led a 50 member performing group to create Gondwanaland and staged 30 shows across Austria, Hungary and Germany. Head Organizer of the United Games of Nations In India whose theme is

“If man can Create conditions for war he is also capable of creating conditions for peace” It is an annual children’s and youth exchange to build bridges of trust and friendship through non competitive games and dialogue.

Conducted workshops in Bangalore for Korean, Italian,Japanese. Singaporean, Youth delegations.

Artistic Facilitator for the first Millennium congress of Youth in Hawaii wherein 1000 youth from 250 countries met in 1999.

Facilitator with a performer at the first Global Congress of Child Laborers held at Florence from

the 10^th to 13^th May 2004 in which 1500 children from 55 countries participated.

Founder Director of  Artists United, a professional Art action collective.

Founder, Artistic Director of Bornfree Art School Internatinal, Bangalore, teaching sculptures, drawing, painting, theater, music, dance, photography and videography. August 2005~

Peaceboat, a cruising peace mission. Conducted Art workshops, on the 56^th and 59^th voyage for a 1000 passengers and lectured in the Global university on board. Ref  www.peaceboat.org.

Peacebycycle : Led a team of 30 children cyclists from Bangalore to Lahore on the theme From Bangalore to Lahore one ore one heart for Peace and friendship with the people of Pakistan covering a distance of 2800kms.

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