Consciousness, Literature and the Arts

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Biographies of Contributors

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Vaneshran Arumugam is a professional actor whose credits include performing the title role of Hamlet at the opening of the RSC's Complete Works Festival in 2006, with the direction of Dame Janet Suzman, among many other theatre, film and television appearances. As a writer, his works include plays, screenplays, articles and poetry - which is yet to be published in a collection of his own. As an artist and activist, Vaneshran concerns himself with the possibility of the Performing Arts, particularly in South Africa, reflecting and stimulating social change, but also revealing and influencing an understanding of Consciousness and the forms that can take. From building a 'green' outdoor community theatre in Cape Town's beleaguered District Six to working for months in an infamous prison, facilitating storytelling with inmates, as well as more commercial projects, his various works tries to explore these forms. Vaneshran is an avid musician and readers may be able to hear how music might work with some of the poems. Vaneshran is the chairperson of a non-profit organisation devoted, during his term, to deploying the Arts for social justice.