Mumbai Gallery Weekend Just Kicked Off, Here’s What You Shouldn’t Miss

Whether you’re an enthusiast, admirer, collector or newcomer, art is and should be for everyone. It has the power to transform, trigger movements, start uncomfortable conversations and simply soothe your soul. One of the most wonderful times of the year is upon us – art festivals. With the India Art Fair rearing to kick-off at the national capital, Mumbai has a lot to look forward to as well, including the Kala Ghoda Art Festival, and what we’re most excited about, the Mumbai Gallery Weekend (MGW), which started yesterday. MGW started in 2012 as a unique artistic experience that shook up the city’s art scene, an initiative in that prominent contemporary art galleries across town collaborated on. It has grown bigger and better over the years, making it a cultural weekend to remember.

The 2018 edition runs from January 31 to February 4 across over 30 galleries and studio spaces. Immerse yourself in video and light installations, interact with artists and their work at residencies, attend performances and panel discussions – the 5-day event will leave you enriched. Some of South Asia’s leading artists will be showcasing their work over the weekend along with hosting gallery walkthroughs themselves. What you definitely do not want to miss are Hetain Patel film ‘Don’t Look at the Finger’ at Chatterjee & Lal [trailer] and ‘Ragmala - Songs of Anthropocene’ by Sanjeev Khandekar and Vaishali Narkar that forces you to contemplate the effects of climate change using embroidery as a tool to assess the disastrous impact humans have had our natural surroundings.

We highly recommend that you head to Gallery Odyssey for ‘India Re-Worlded: Seventy Years of Investigating a Nation’, curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala, that serves as a homage to the last 70 years of India’s independence. 70 artists were invited to interpret one year of their choice through art to highlight key moments of our history as seen through a post-colonial, modern artistic lens. You should also register for the discussion regarding the same, moderated by Arshiya Lokhandwala, that will take place at Gallery Odyssey on February 3. It will include a few of the artists that have participated in the exhibition to discuss the role and use of art in social and political discussions – “when does art represent what is political and when does art, itself, become political?”

Mumbai Gallery Weekend is taking place from January 31 to February 4. You can visit their website for more information and view the entire event schedule here.

Feature photograph credit: Ilan Zarantonello

Courtesy: the artist and Chatterjee & Lal and Galleria Continua via Artsy