From January 3: Watercolours in Wonderland by Raghava K.K. (at Ashvita).

Artist Raghava K.K.’s watercolour painting at Ashvita.

January 7-31: Confluence, an art exhibition of the work of a few senior artists of Chennai whose creations in open spaces reflect the various moods of our city through contemporary art. The show includes paintings, photo installation, and art in various media (at DakshinaChitra Art Gallery).

Till January 10: Festival of the Northeast. Highlights of the festival: Priti Patel, a popular dancer from Manipur, will bring her troupe Anjika and it will perform during the day. Northeast handicrafts – bamboo baskets, dry flowers, textiles, beaded jewellery and black pottery – will be on sale during the festival (at DakshinaChitra).

January 12: Mayakkam-Oxymore: An artistic and cultural merging of traditional art and new technologies of dance, painting and music from France and India. Each artist develops and validates his or her own craft, creating a show both visual and acoustic, where digital technologies become an extension of the performers, their movements and their gestures. The three artists are Sangeeta Isvaran, Bharata Natyam dancer and choreographer, Cyrille Brissot, computer musician, and Marko-93, a graffiti artist pioneer in the development of light-painting in real time video. Mayakkam Oxymore is a fusion of the traditional Tamil dance and modern technology (at Museum Theatre at 7.30 p.m.).

January 14: Blues, Jazz, Rock, Hip Hop Concert: China Moses and Raphael Lemonnier.

An MTV host, singer, author, songwriter and producer, China Moses is the quintessential eclectic artiste who embodies the American idea of an entertainer. She combines a soul repertoire in French and English, with shades of rock and blues. Raphael Lemonnier creates music on the piano and an emotive China responds to him (at Taj Coromandel, by invitation only).

January 15: The Giraffes, an animal operetta: An extravagant street show brings alive a monumental parade mixing opera, circus, burlesque along with gigantic giraffes and other circus characters (at Venkatnarayan Road at 6  p.m.).

January 16: Blues Jazz Concert by AWEK. Awek’s Blues is popular music, open to improvisation and interaction with the public. There is also an important visual aspect to their show, following the Blues tradition of artistes enacting the themes of the songs (at Mowbray’s Hall, Sheraton Park, by invitation only).

January 17-20: Dialogues & Debates – Architecture. Eminent French and Indian architects and city planners will discuss issues of sustainable architectural practices concerning both countries (at The Raintree Hotel and Anna University).

January 18-20: A French Festival of Letters featuring readings and interactions with eminent French language authors and their Indian counterparts (at Courtyard by Marriott, Tulika Publishers, Alliance Francaise, Full Circle Bookstores and Madras University).

January 18: Western Classical Opera featuring Marion Baglan, accompanied by Francois Juskowiak.

Marion Baglan is a soprano who turned to a solo career after her debut in 1998 (at Music Academy, 7.15 p.m. By invitation only).

Till Janaury 18: True Fiction, a photography exhibition by Bernard Faucon. This is an eclectic journey through the first five series of Faucon’s works: Summer holidays, The probable evolution of Time, The chambers of love, The golden chambers, and Idols and sacrifices. This is one of the first exhibitions where Faucon, who has from the beginning remained loyal to an old photographic process named Fresson printing, now exhibits his images in the form of large format digital prints (at Apparao Galleries).

January 21-24:

– A 100-minute dance drama presented by 50 young dancers.

– Two nights of therukoothu by one of the best koothu troupes from the Cheyyar area.

– A dance dramatisation which retells the stories of a couple who walked from George Town to Mylapore for the Panguni fest and recorded all that they saw and heard.

– A special audio-video presentation on M.K. Thayagaraja Bhagavathar on the occasion of his centenary.

– Two street theatre plays presented by university students.

– A grand concert of vintage Tamil film music.

At least 30 fringe events will also take place (at Sannidhi Square, Mylapore).