MUMBAI: stayIN aLIVE launched on 16 May 2020 with a tremendous start! Over 100 artists, 12 collectives and 300k viewers from across the globe came together to share experiences, engage with each other, and entertain with never seen performances and collaborations!

The launch kickstarted with a session about Creators x Fitness and the role physical wellbeing plays in every artists’ life. It flowed into an insightful discussion about artists maintaining and working towards mental health and dealing with the highs and lows of a public-facing life. Through the day, artists touched upon subjects that have not been covered so far on such a level. Topics such as Self Motivation vs Validation, Passion vs Pay Cheque, Finding you own Path, Importance of Networking, Role of Mentors and Lockdown Learnings were discussed at length by leading names including the likes of Shruti Haasan, Vishal Dadlani, Uday Benegal, Tanmay Bhat, Bosco Martis, Priya Malik, Dualist Inquiry, Nikhil D’souza, Tejas, Nikhita Gandhi, Neeti Palta, Ankur Tewari, Rahul Vaidya, Shankar Chugani and Roshan Abbas.

The evening then took a turn to collaborations, performances and some enthusiastic online jam sessions. Dramatic Readings saw industry stalwarts such as Imtiaz Ali, Faye Dsouza, Sandhya Mridul, Cyrus Sahukar, Danish Hussain, Kausar Munir, Amol Parashar and Sainee Raj. This was followed with representation from the Indian folk music field in a session called ‘Back to the Roots’ by Kavita Seth, Divya Kumar, Kanishk Seth and Dhruv Sangari. The final session of the day ‘Collaboration Central’ was a befitting end with some enthusiastic and power packed interactions between Ashish Shakya & Palash Sen, Su Real and Karan Kanchan, Bhuvan Bam & Roshan Abbas and Amit Tandon & Gursimran Khamba!

Nakash Aziz, Indian composer and singer, spoke about his association with stayIN Alive, “It's really hard for younger artists in the music industry and I'm so happy that initiatives like stayIN aLIVE are helping artists to be more aware, find like-minded people and build a community - something that's missing in our ecosystem.”

Amit Tandon, stand-up comedian quoted, “In the toughest of times, it is art that keeps people in high spirits. It is good to see someone decided to do something for the artist community as well because they were the first ones to lose livelihood and will be among the last to get back on feet once things go back to normal.”

Nikhita Gandhi, singer and performer shared, “As artists in these times, we really need to talk about mental health since it can really take a toll on you! I'm really glad to be a part of stayINaLIVE and hope to do more to be able to support artists who are finding their feet in the industry!

Gaurav Wadhwa, Founder, Big Bang Music shared, “The idea behind the festival was to announce the foundation and the artist relief fund and through a fresh approach to programming we hope to inspire, educate and celebrate artists, who are grappling with the realities of this new world. I'm glad that so many partners from the industry came together for a common vision - to make the world a better place for the artist! We can't wait to dial-up our efforts to do more for the community”.

The stayIN Alive Artist Emergency Fund (SAAEF) has been formed in collaboration with GiveIndia, India’s leading not for profit organization. The fund is intended to help artists in the short run via a ‘personal emergency fund’ aimed at addressing specific financial challenges and as a stop-gap measure. The type of grants will range from small cash grants, reimbursement for a certain class of urgent expenses (such as rent, important bills) and utility payments to third parties. Interested patrons can continue to donate here - https://stayinalive.giveindia.org/

StayIN aLIVE continues to prepare for its next round of artist interactions which will happen on a regular basis, encouraging the community to come together stronger than ever before.