“Now if they point their camera at me I will point my camera at them” - Amrita, a participant at the ‘Ladieswallah’ workshop.
The Dharavi Art Room (DAR), started by Himanshu S, DAR’s resident Chief Hi-Five Guru, began in 2005 out of a need to create a safe space for low income neighbourhoods to express and exchange creative ideas. In a community that is marginalized and painted either negatively or in a patronizing manner by the media, it provides a space for the people of Dharavi to choose how they would like to be seen and heard. Aqui Thami, Chief Hug Officer, of the DAR said “It utilizes the medium of art to empower children and women from marginalized communities. Art Room promotes a unique and fun hands-on community participatory approach which enables the community to take control of their lives.”
Despite a few initial financial constraints and a lack of a permanent space, the art room stayed a staple in the locale. They began ‘Ladieswallah’, a photography workshop for low-income women, with a series of home interviews of the women in Dharavi. “Most of these women are mothers of kids in one or more programmes at the room. We designed the photography workshop so that they could experience a safe learning environment and build a support system for themselves, as well as exchange ideas within and outside the community. It was an attempt to deconstruct the male gaze as well as the racist, casteist, and classist realities that images taken in Dharavi seem to portray. Most importantly it was a journey into understanding womanhood and reclaiming spaces,” said Aqui.
Space was given to photographic work, which involved discussions in the form of story telling and field trips to galleries where the participating women viewed the works of other professional female photographers. The initial group of women ended up enjoying the programme immensely, resulting in a massive interest of the workshop. However, the workshop is currently on hiatus while Aqui and co-founder Himanshu S save enough funds for another journey. “The women have shared that the programme was truly life altering for them, they have been interviewed by many newspapers and some magazines too; cut outs of which they treasure. They have been invited by other NGOs to share their stories of empowerment too. One of them has now started working full time at an organisation in Dharavi itself,” said Aqui.
She added, “They are thrilled to share their stories and show their artistry to the world, the bonds they build in the course of the workshop enabled them to participate in developing a safe forum where all women felt confident and secure enough to grant copyright and consent for their images and words. The fact that they reclaimed their time and came together to design something they truly wanted to do was a huge step since they never left home before.”
Here are a few quotes from the interview excerpts taken during the programme:
“It feels like I am back to being single, when I see my friends here and when in hold my camera I forget all my pain, all the bondage, feels like I am young again” - Anuradha
“Now I take time out to think and ask my kids to write it for me on my book, it feels wonderful when my family has questions about what I have learned. People in the neighborhood enquire about what we are up to, they are for the first time interested in me, it’s sometimes embarrassing but nevertheless it’s nice” - Kaveri
“I never venture out, no, not even upto the station, I am too busy to go out, this is the only place I come to, the past few weeks I’ve know peace for the first time” - Shoba
If you would like to get involved with the Dharavi Art Room, there are many ways for you to do so, either by organizing fundraising activities, buying proceeds from their sales or donating.
If you would like to donate, you must be an Indian National with a valid PAN card.
Write a cheque to ‘Art Room Foundation’ and send it to: Al’s tattoo studio, Opp. St.Peter’s Church Hill Road, Bandra West. 400050 Mumbai, Maharashtra.
If you would like to make an online transfer, contact dharaviartroom@gmail.com. It is illegal for auditing purposes for non profits to accept anonymous donations.