bridging art, culture & society
Gandiva MediArts believes in the power of Arts and Culture to play a crucial role in this changing world.
We offer pluridisciplinary, intercultural, sustainable services to artists, creatives and cultural organisations looking into the future.
The story of Gandiva
in Hindu Mythology
The esteemed Pandava warrior-prince Arjuna is renowned for his remarkable archery skills, creativity and profound wisdom. His enlightening dialogues with Krishna on the moral and metaphysical aspects of creation and destruction, before entering the battlefield in the Mahabharata's Bhagavad Gita verses, are paramount to Hindu Mythology.
To thank him for protecting the sacred balance of the universe, the Gods bestowed upon him knowledge, powers, and the celestial Gandiva bow. Gifted by Varuna, the God of the Seas and crafted by Brahma, the Creator, this indestructible bow possesses unparalleled power and grants its wielder precision, unwavering self-belief and profound self-knowledge.
Building on this inspiring myth as a powerful metaphor,
Gandiva MediArts seeks to unleash the power of the Arts through tailor-made, multidisciplinary services to the cultural sector.
About the founder
Arjuna Hiffler-Mani (M.A.)
Born in India to a South-Indian mother and South-French father, I was raised in the world. From an early age I was fascinated by how art and culture bring societies to life, allow them to tell their stories and hear others’. I studied Culture, Media and Intercultural Communication. Throughout my life, I practiced theatre, played and sang in bands, wrote and engaged in art projects. As a college student, I worked every summer as a team supervisor at the fantastic Festival d’Avignon.
After allying my interests with my passion to independently create and manage my first cultural project working with suburban youth and local artists and associations in 2017 in Avignon (Visages et Vérités), I went on to work for 4 years as International Media and Culture Programme Officer at the DOEN Foundation in Amsterdam. In this role, I gained invaluable experience and knowledge working internationally with all types of innovative artists, activists, collectives, institutions, foundations, festivals...
My passion and common sense brought me to my next step. Equipped with an in-depth knowledge of technical, managerial, financial and philosophical elements of international cultural projects and with my deeply interdisciplinary and intercultural profile I decided to launch Gandiva Mediarts Consulting.
I like to consider myself a Philosopher-Artist-Manager, on a misson to facilitate impactful cultural projects, support artists and creatives in learning to draw their own bow, identify their targets and reach them… together finding ways of meaningfully re-connecting culture and society, in a world in crisis.