Opera of the sea: Here's your guide to the G5A art fest in the city

Moments from Stories of our Sea

Shoals of fish swimming around, the gentle lapping of waves, and sunlight streaming through fishing nets loaded with fresh catch. We're not sitting by the beach; these are the fishy views unfolding inside the Black Box at G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture. For the next couple of days, the performance space at the Mahalaxmi warehouse is offering visitors the chance to see, hear and experience the sea we all know, love, and conveniently ignore, through the lens of residents of the Worli Koliwada. Titled Stories of our Sea, the immersive installation and exhibition is a part of week two of Should Art 2022, G5A's ongoing cultural festival.

Photographs and paintings by Worli Koliwada youth. Pics/Sukanya Datta

Now in its third edition, the festival is a celebration of art, technology and sustainability, with the collaborative spirit of art-making and community at its centre. For nine years now, G5A cityLAB has been working with residents of the koliwada through different architectural interventions and art-forward initiatives. Founder and artistic director Anuradha Parikh shares that it then felt right to have the community as the voice for the second week of the three-week festival. "Stories of our Sea confronts the climate crisis that we are in. I think it is Mumbai's responsibility to face it." As the original inhabitants of the city and its long shoreline, the Koli community, she stresses, must be made custodians of the conversation on climate change. "The idea is to bring the Kolis to the forefront in this whole race to protect our sea, and through that, protect our communities, too," she elaborates.

The installation and the exhibition are the results of art, music and photography workshops with youth from the koliwada. The project was co-designed by Tarun Balani and Ishan Benegal. The Black Box leads us into the narrow gullies of the koliwada. Large installations of fish, surrounded by shoals, suspend from the ceiling. Crafted out of fabric, the marine creatures turn into projection screens. The cries of seagulls, sound of waves and chatter of the neighbourhood follows us around as we soak in scenes from the koliwada - fisherfolk wading into the sea, festive parades, women haggling at the market, and heaps of waste dumped around the sea. They're punctuated by narratives of the residents and the evocative tunes of a community brass band. You're free to sit, walk around or lie down to let the waves wash over you. A long segment in the end ferries us into the sea on a boat. Hypnotised, we watch the city from the water. It reminds us that the sea is more than just about Instagrammable sunsets.

The experience is followed by an exhibition of photographs and paintings by youth from the community. They paint their symbiotic relationship with the sea, and capture the respect, awe, fear and love they harbour for their Dariya Raja. For the Kolis, the threat of climate change, gentrification and urbanisation looms large. This artistic engagement establishes the fact that the Kolis are the true custodians of the land and the sea, asserts Balani. "And their voice needs to be heard in totality. Their opinion should determine the narrative, and not an outside viewpoint. This project aims at amplifying their voice so that the decisions may be made accordingly," he adds.

Till: November 13; multiple 30-minute slots through the day
At: G-5/A, Laxmi Mills Estate, Shakti Mills Lane, Mahalaxmi West
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Cost: Rs 250 onwards

More at the festival

TM Krishna will join as the resident curator for week three, which will focus on citizenry, learning, margins and neighbourhood.

1 Listen to historian Ramachandra Guha's keynote address. Krishna will join him in a chat about India's history, its art and music, and its dreams.
On: November 17; 6.30 pm

2 Folk, carnatic and electronic music blend with city soundscapes as Chennai's Band Cooum takes the stage.
On: November 18; 6.30 pm

3 Hear the ruminations of Ramon Magsaysay Awardees Bezwada Wilson and Aruna Roy.
On: November 18 and 19; 9 pm and 6.30 pm

4 Catch fisherfolk from Chennai and Mumbai chat about navigating life in and around the sea.
On: November 19; 12 pm

5 Tune into a performance by Krishna's The Edict Project that celebrates Ashoka's edicts.
On: November 20; 5 pm onwards
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