Why art should move out of the gallery, says Krsna Mehta

I've always believed that Mumbai has a lot to offer from corner-to-corner, whether it is the convoluted streets and bazaars, crowded streets, or its cathedrals that have been a huge part of my life. These are such romantic places in architecture, home furnishings, and all things lifestyle, and they represent a lot of glamour, beauty and flavour of colours.

People are always talking about making Mumbai beautiful, but I feel that we can only add to the beauty of this already gorgeous city. So much of architecture exists around us - the old and the new - from places like the Haji Ali dargah to the Babulnath Temple.

Mumbai is the city of love, charm and oodles of art. As an artist, albeit one, who creates designs from the India we see every day, the popular motifs that people can easily connect with. From a yellow-and-black taxi to the Mughals who were great contributors of eclectic architecture in India, India Circus brings it all to you.

As humans, we create art for we love the visuals and the aesthetics; it adds to our imagination a beauty, unparallel by anything else. For me, personally, art has given me the opportunity to be who I am, unabashedly. It is what I believe can change the way we look at the world.

It keeps me going, day after day. My work has been my greatest passion, unrivalled by anything else. Mumbai has been my favourite, most enchanting canvas, while India is, perhaps, my greatest inspiration. The education system in our city is fairly good. Over the years, we have seen a great change in the way the component of art as a subject has changed.

There's so much space to explore, so much space to fly. So many institutions have also given these geniuses the chance to jump into honing their creative skills immediately after they finish high school. Though, I'd say, we need more specialisations in the fields of creativity, more post-graduation degrees for these visionaries, in the field of design, architecture, art history, music, landscaping, interiors and the like. We want them made in India. We want them for India.

Krsna Mahta

Design and art is the way to communicate with the world. Creativity makes your brain go full throttle. Hence, art has never been about winning accolades but more about the growth of individuals, of the self and the expression. What I have noticed is that Mumbai as a city, so rich in human diversity, has a lot more to offer to people of all genres, which, it does, begrudgingly.

A Jehangir Art Gallery is accessible to all, but, how many people do really visit? Art should be made available to public spaces, people need to be able to see it, appreciate it, not just in galleries, where the common man may hesitate to enter and where others may not visit, for various reasons. Why not have more of art displayed at places where it can be viewed by one and all? Why not give the budding artists a chance to display their talent, and not just in the narrow lanes of an art gallery?

This age of globalisation has opened many a door to the world, so, how is creativity going to save the world? Because, art and creativity brings people together as nothing else does. Art says love, even if the world says war. This city can accommodate so many new beautiful structures, with many nice views.

What we need at the end of each day is the need to be able to be in that space which we love, where we feel comfortable, where we can be vulnerable, where we love to see the maximum beauty. This is where I got inspired to start with a range of home décor, which to this day, is my best selling range of products.

Our world is a beautiful place, which we appreciate; now's the time to appreciate those who make it beautiful - each structure, each minaret, each carving and each artist's individuality. All we need from our administrators is to give them a chance to be appreciated, and keep their work alive and beautiful.

- Krsna Mehta, Design Director, India Circus

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