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Art should be collective and lead to a conversation. There should be more alternative venues: Parmesh Shahani

The Guide’s Wish list - 

1. More art and cultural fests
We love the buzz around cultural festivals and need more of it. Around the year and across the city. Festivals for kids would be abonus.

2. Pocket-friendly art
While we dream of owning art collections, it would help us start things off, if we were able to buy affordable art (under 10k, please!).

3. Music and dance schools
We wish there were places to learn Classical and Contemporary forms of dance and music, under one roof.

4. Power to the Indie films 
There should be more theatres that screen Indie films and better management of film festivals is needed.

5. Lower rents for venues 
We’ve heard talented artistes and producers complain about the high staging costs for shows. Here’s hoping for affordable venues.

6. Celebrate local traditions
We celebrate Halloween while missing out on the charm of local festivals. Here’s to better showcasing of our home-grown culture.

My take Parmesh Shahani, Godrej India Culture Lab

In 2012, we held the pop-up Museum of Memories showcasing people’s memories of the city. Our idea of art is to create conversations, help people interact and widen the horizon of possibilities. In 2014, I hope that cultural spaces have a mix of science, technology, sculptures, motion-based art, pop-ups, etc. As a metropolis, we are under-covered in terms of public and collaborative art. I hope the insular art world understands that there is life beyond selling and beyond the white cube of a gallery.

It is about creating a vibrant art ecosystem, stepping out of the comfort zone and celebrating art that is bolder. More power to sites like the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Space 118 (which provide studios on aa short-term basis to artists) and artists like Shilpa Gupta. There should be public sculptures that engage the public. I really loved the Kochi Biennale and I hope that we can host a Mumbai Biennale soon. I wish that alternative venues open for cultural performances and book readings. There should be more venues for alternative film screenings where audiences can come and watch diverse films. It is sad that so many cultural institutions are focussed in the pocket of South Mumbai or in an island of Bandra. While the reality is that Mumbaikars live all over the city. Space should be re-purposed as cultural spaces as we have done for our Lab. Mumbai is vast and magical and we need to widen its scope culturally and geographically. Venues are not the bastion of Mumbai’s elite. One has to re-imagine office spaces, parking lots, and factories in creative ways and re-imagine the city as a creative and inclusive space for cultural events. There should be more parks to hold events.