IF.BE — Ice Factory Ballard Estate — is one of South Asia's oldest ice factories, now reborn as a thriving space for architecture, design, and the arts. Located in Mumbai's historic Ballard Estate, the 145-year-old structure is believed to be India’s first steam-powered ice factory. Once central to the region's rail and maritime trade networks, the long-abandoned building was reimagined in 2022 by architect Kamal Malik and engineer Abhijeet Mitra.
On Saturday, July 5, IF.BE becomes The Palace — a one-night-only pop-up nightclub presented by Homegrown and Chivas Luxe Collective Perfumes. Expect lush Chivas XV cocktails, immersive art, and genre-defying DJ sets by Masha Vincent, all set in an unforgettable industrial setting.
But if you can't make it to Mumbai this weekend, don't feel too bad. Here's what else is happening this week:
Viraj Khanna Takes On The Great Indian Wedding
In ‘Why Did I Say Yes?’ Viraj Khanna reconstructs personal and social narratives about the Great Indian Wedding, mapping them onto larger concerns of identity and erasure in an age of mega-consumption. Through exquisite textile craftsmanship, he builds a new visual vocabulary that both honours and critiques this globalised, performative ritual. What emerges is a deeply personal, globally resonant take on how we love, celebrate, and present ourselves today.
Learn more about the exhibition here.
A Rare & Radical Portrait Of Feminine Grief
In Subhadra Mahajan's debut film, 'Second Chance', the unexplored terrain of feminine grief finally sees the light of day. Centered around the intimate portrayal of a young woman’s pain, the film addresses the labour that goes into surviving a crisis of the soul before any healing can take place. "Like a sad song that ends up comforting a broken heart more than any of our failed attempts to 'cheer up', Second Chance alchemises an incredibly life-affirming response from a portrait of mourning and despair," Disha writes here.
Angad Berar's New Album Reimagines Psychedelia For The Quiet Hours
Angad Berar's latest album, 'Sundae', is a modern meditation on timeless psychedelia. "Drawing from 60s and 70s psychedelic rock, krautrock, and Hindustani classical traditions, Sundae is a distilled, contemporary contemplation on psychedelic rock’s core: exploration, minimalism, and emotional resonance," Disha writes here.
India's First Truly Homegrown Sake
Chef Maia Laifungbam is India's first certified sake brewer, exploring North-East Indian rice varieties to create a sake rooted in Japanese tradition and Indian flavours. Read Manasvini's article about Chef Maia's sake making practice here.
A Homegrown x Chivas Luxe Pop-Up Nightclub At IF.BE
Mumbai's nightlife is getting a new address just for one night. Step into The Palace, a pop-up nightclub experience by Homegrown and Chivas Luxe Collective Perfumes. It's set against the dramatic backdrop of Ballard Estate's historic IF.BE. On this night, we turn an old ice factory into a furnace of sound, light, and art. Anahita has all the details here.
A Linocut Block Printmaking Workshop At Tarq Mumbai
Discover the fundamentals of printmaking in this immersive workshop by Kuchbhi Studio at Tarq Mumbai focused on relief techniques using linocut blocks. Learn how to design, carve, and print your own stamps and blocks, or experiment with a selection of pre-made designs. Perfect for beginners, artists, and the creatively curious, this session offers a step-by-step introduction to the tools, materials, and methods of relief printing. By the end of the workshop, you’ll take home a set of your own prints, your carved linoblocks, and a practical understanding of the process.
Learn more here.
If you enjoyed reading this, here's more from Homegrown:
Whether It's Kartik Research Or Sampling History, Lapgan Is Reshaping South Asian Sound
The Bombay Fornicator: The Surprisingly Vanilla History Of India’s Most Mischievous Chair
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