adviser in the education departmentit is clear that for independent performing artistes or anyone in the cultural realm the lack of such an empowering space hinders them logistically emotionally and also financiallyits a huge vacuum ever since epicentre shut down its been quite stressful to conceptualise performance work and to keep that balance and colour intact shares mohan a choreographer emotionally it feels overwhelming and creative work suffers as one is spending more energy on how to than what to for artistes in gurgaon the cost of mounting a performance is overbearingmoving stories danzas 2022 show was staged in a fitness studio in a basement in sector 40 just like the last before covid in 2019 because well the show must go on one cannot stop working and creating hence this is our answer she says there are artistes in gurgaon operating in their own little spaces with little impact since resources are limitedshelat agrees space for artistic expression is as important for an artist as perhaps a microphone is to a politician or a chair is for a bureaucratyet even for an event like the gurgaon utsav which has become a fixture in the city calendar popularity is no guarantee of permanence we have had to use unusual spaces like the aravalli biodiversity park to bring cultural events to the city through the gurgaon utsav several condominiums also lend their space however the city desperately needs its own cultural space that can be accessed by all says uma prakash one half of the duo that curates the utsav held over three spring evenings in an alfresco settingcan community and commerce mixsaxena says she invariably ends up going to delhi to catch shows its convenient having delhi close by so im used to travelling there she says adding gurgaon suffers from not having these spaces that can bring people together and create an artistic community gurgaon though does have untapped potential she believes there is a lot of money here and there is an audience but because we dont have these spaces and we dont have the patrons it feels like an opportunity has been lost to create something and to create artistic communities she sayscan businesses fill the gap mohan feels its important that a cultural venue is run by people who are highly experienced in the workings of such a space while also having a connect with the artistes else it becomes just another place of business which doesnt serve the purpose she argues all great cities of culture are blessed with multiple venues big as well as small ones however the options in gurgaon are not many and the vibe at the citys fb establishments is more rock gig than traditional or folk performance still saxena thinks that such spaces havent realised their full potential im not sure they know their value she saysshe also feels theres too much focus on arranging big festivals and less on shaping intimate spaces that can play host to