The much awaited art and culture festival of Mumbai, the Kala Ghoda Art Festival ended yesterday. This year, I have not been able to pay frequent visits to the festival like I do every year due to prior commitments. Over the years, I have seen the KGAF grow, evolve and transform into very popular and iconic event that defines the core character of this beautiful city of Mumbai, through its various hues.
Each year, the KGAF, packs immensely creative activities for all the age groups, be it music, dance, visual arts, literature, theatre, food, films, pottery, photography, street art, heritage walks or a number of workshops on several topics. No matter how hard one tries, it is difficult to participate in all activities as so much happens there every single day! This quintessentially Mumbai cultural event provides space for everybody; the elites, the kitschy, the eccentrics, the commoners and the unconventional ones...all feel absolutely welcome and at home here as there is something for everyone and therein lies its appeal!
This year though, I was utterly disappointed with restrictions on playing loud music and live performances near the stalls at Kala Ghoda. The open air performance by the artist has always been one of my favourite activities at KGAF area as those performances add to the scintillating energy of the festival!
The quality of visitors at KGAF is interesting mix and not necessarily only art loving folks. I was shocked to find many people abusing art installations by climbing/sitting on them or holding some part of the installations and getting too close for sake of getting a good shot! When reminded, that they were not supposed to cross the line drawn around the art installations, many people were found shockingly rude and I was told to "mind my own business". I cringed to see so many beautiful art installations broken due to mishandling of visitors.
I believe that for art to meet its purpose, it should reach out to every person on the street and not be restricted to only elites. In India, unfortunately, we fail to understand that sense of responsibility expected from viewers to respect art and the artists. Most of the times, in my observation, people don't even bother to read about the work of art at display to understand its nuances or interact with the artists present at KGAF. They are more interested to get that "perfect shot" even if that means shoving and pushing others! I hope the KGFA organizers take a serious note of this and address these issues from next year.
Art is an important part of our core identity. It is our moral obligation as viewers to respect our heritage and culture.
Each year, the KGAF, packs immensely creative activities for all the age groups, be it music, dance, visual arts, literature, theatre, food, films, pottery, photography, street art, heritage walks or a number of workshops on several topics. No matter how hard one tries, it is difficult to participate in all activities as so much happens there every single day! This quintessentially Mumbai cultural event provides space for everybody; the elites, the kitschy, the eccentrics, the commoners and the unconventional ones...all feel absolutely welcome and at home here as there is something for everyone and therein lies its appeal!
This year though, I was utterly disappointed with restrictions on playing loud music and live performances near the stalls at Kala Ghoda. The open air performance by the artist has always been one of my favourite activities at KGAF area as those performances add to the scintillating energy of the festival!
The quality of visitors at KGAF is interesting mix and not necessarily only art loving folks. I was shocked to find many people abusing art installations by climbing/sitting on them or holding some part of the installations and getting too close for sake of getting a good shot! When reminded, that they were not supposed to cross the line drawn around the art installations, many people were found shockingly rude and I was told to "mind my own business". I cringed to see so many beautiful art installations broken due to mishandling of visitors.
I believe that for art to meet its purpose, it should reach out to every person on the street and not be restricted to only elites. In India, unfortunately, we fail to understand that sense of responsibility expected from viewers to respect art and the artists. Most of the times, in my observation, people don't even bother to read about the work of art at display to understand its nuances or interact with the artists present at KGAF. They are more interested to get that "perfect shot" even if that means shoving and pushing others! I hope the KGFA organizers take a serious note of this and address these issues from next year.
Art is an important part of our core identity. It is our moral obligation as viewers to respect our heritage and culture.
