After a 16-year-long hiatus, Mumbai-based art exhibit Tao Art Gallery is hosting the 17th edition of Monsoon Festival in association with Jaipur-based independent arts organisation Red Earth. To re-establish its engagement with the audience, this year’s edition of the festival is themed around the monsoon experience in Mumbai. Titled The Mumbai Monsoon, the show was previewed on October 8 and will continue until this Sunday.
Reviving classical expressions and commemorating contemporary sensibilities, the multi-arts festival is an ode to the diverse experiences of the most-celebrated season of the country. According to Red Earth curator Himanshu Verma, the festival explores Mumbai’s undocumented but lived monsoon experiences. It intends to create a meta-narrative of Mumbai’s love-hate relationship with the monsoons. And it does so through diverse mediums like painting, photography, poetry, printmaking, vintage ethnographic prints, and sculpture.
But what factors does one consider while deciding on such a diverse curation? “I relied on decisions around content and form, like choosing artists that depict the city and its matrix. Also, I worked with some artists whose practice I have been familiar with for years and some artists I have not worked with before, but whose work I have been following,” says Himanshu.
This diverse crop of artists includes Anjana Mehra, Debarchan Rout, Prajakta Palav, Ranjit Hoskote, and Riyas Komu. Speaking about some of the featured artworks to look out for, Tao Art Gallery gallery manager Urvi Kothari says, “The exhibition opens with a beautiful juxtaposition of a 17th-century print of the Bombay floods with a contemporary photograph by Sudharak Olwe. On the other hand, a miniature recycled wood installation by Riyas Komu rests at the centre of the gallery. However, the highlight of the exhibition is an intriguing trail created with pebbles that leads to a quiet corner featuring a montage of Prajakta Palav's paper works titled From Monsoon to Monsoon.
Ongoing till October 23. Details: 022-24918585
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