5-day fest to celebrate spirit, resilience of Mumbai’s Govandi suburb
5-day fest
Performing and visual artists from around the world will gather in the Mumbai suburb of Govandi on Wednesday for a five-day festival honouring the community’s strength and determination. The gala intends to have an inclusive framework based on the arts that promotes the growth and dissemination of talent among underrepresented groups. It’s a small but important step towards recognising the Govandi area and giving local artists more opportunities to show their work and exercise their autonomy.
The India/UK Together, Season of Culture includes the inaugural Govandi Arts Festival as part of the celebration of India’s 75th anniversary and expansion of the British Council’s mission to create opportunities between the two countries through the arts, English, and education.
Festivalgoers can expect to see photography exhibits, rap performances, film screenings with subsequent panel discussions, printmaking and makeup workshops, workshops where community members and festivalgoers can make lanterns together, and performances of plays.
45 young people from Govandi will spend the months of August 2022 through February 2022 collaborating with artists based in Mumbai.
Lamplighters Arts CIC (UK) will construct their world-famous lantern parade in India for the festival for the first time ever by working with locals. The celebration will also mark the first public showing of works created in response to recent art commissions and through the mentorship programme.
“The Govandi Arts Festival is one of the standout projects of the India/UK Together Season of Culture and a shining example of inclusion in the creative sectors, and of the arts and artists connecting the community of Govandi in Mumbai with Bristol in the UK,” said Jonathan Kennedy, director (Arts India) at the British Council.
He went on to say that he was particularly looking forward to Lamplighter Arts, a company based in the United Kingdom, bringing their famous lantern parade to India.
Kennedy noted that the festival serves as a hub for the British Council’s larger arts work in India to educate and train future professionals in the festival industry in India.
“Alumni from our festival programmes’ contributions to the Govandi Arts Festival’s growth have made it a shining example of the kind of community-focused cultural celebrations we hope to see more of in the future. This festival, held in the suburbs of Mumbai, promises to be truly global in scope “His words.
Community Design Agency (CDA), Lamplighter Arts CIC, and Streets Reimagined (UK) have collaborated to produce a festival in the streets of Mumbai to help the neighborhood’s residents connect, create, and celebrate the past year of artistic development.
The CDA has teamed up with two organisations from Bristol, UK, Streets Reimagined and Lamplighter Arts, thanks to the British Council. Both organisations use the arts to motivate placemaking and bring people together.
Co-creator of Lamplighters Arts CIC Dee Moxon said: “The Lamplighters as a whole have been absolutely floored by the level of excitement, energy, and talent we have witnessed during our time in residence at Govandi. At the Govandi Arts Festival, poetry, music, and art of all kinds come together in harmony.”
