10 July,2023 06:44 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Satej Shinde
A girl poses for a picture on the Marine Drive promenade at Nariman Point.
Artists in the city have been heading to Colaba since Saturday. Apre Art House has put out a 36-hour open call for artists to submit their artworks at the gallery. The call is inspired by gallerist Walter Hopps' 1978 exhibition, 36 Hours, at the Museum of Temporary Art. Gallery founder Prerna Jain noted, "The exhibition pays homage to Hopps, a pivotal figure in elevating post-war Los Angeles artists during the 1960s who redefined global curatorial installation practices." The call follows a first-come, first-serve format and will display these works as part of the upcoming exhibition Interim-II. "This section [of the exhibition] imposes minimal restrictions. We expect that it will promote ideas of experimentation and play, beyond conventional norms," Jain remarked. Artists might want to hurry as the call ends tonight.
City-based graffiti artists Siddhesh Sapte (@nme_graffiti) and Prithviraj Shinde (@elmacation) celebrated their recent trip to the Himalayas by leaving a special gift on the walls of their homestay in Himachal Pradesh. "There were a lot of buildings around the village with graffiti. But they had a recurring psychedelic theme. We decided to do something different on the walls of our homestay and dedicate the graffitis to nature," Sapte told this diarist. The owners were only happy to comply after seeing the duo's previous work, "We also gave them a clear idea of the design we had planned." Both the artworks - a typography of NME with a flower and bird painting, and two snow leopards - include monochromatic colours. "Shinde is colour-blind. So, we not only played with colours, but also added a touch of grey to it," he added.
Leave it to a chef to celebrate World Chocolate Day (July 7) the right way. Over the weekend, chef Sanjana Patel (inset), creative director and executive chef, La Folie, installed a tree with cacao pods made of chocolate at Phoenix Palladium in Lower Parel. The chef also held a masterclass exploring the creation of brookies and cocoa nib praline sourdough tartine. She said, "We will be donating the masterclass proceeds to NGO Trishul, which works towards women's empowerment."
The journey to the top is never easy. Ramesh Yadav aka B-boy began the month by becoming the only Indian to make it to the top 16 pre-selection stage in breaking at the 2023 Asian Breaking Championship in Hangzhou, China. Facing travel delays, Yadav reached just a few hours before the battle. "I spent 60 hours travelling after facing issues at Kolkata airport. Finally, Arvind Kumar [president, All India Dance Sport Federation] booked a new ticket for me. But B-girl Sushma Satish Aithal who was travelling with me had to head back home after she fell sick," the 25-year-old shared. The struggle felt justified when Yadav was named among the top 16 competitors. "My body was tired because I had not slept or eaten enough. I thought I would not be able to compete well but later saw my name in the top 16," he recalled. While Yadav made it to the top, his peers, B-girl Simran Ranga and Shreya Dunna finished at rank 21 and 24.
Delhi's Nu Misra, a trans-non-binary disabled individual and founding editor of Revival Disability India, is heading to Rwanda to voice their experiences and those of the queer disabled community. They have been invited to be part of a panel discussion at the Women Deliver Conference 2023 from July 17 to July 20 that aims to advance gender equality. About the panel titled Dismantling Ableism While Advancing SRHR [sexual and reproductive health and rights], Nu explained, "We will talk [from the point of view] of women with disabilities, and bring in queer perspectives as well." They added, "The focus of the panel is towards democratising SRHR, ways to make resources and quality healthcare available to queer disabled folks, how disabled bodies in an able-bodied world are looked at as having no agency or autonomy, and abortion laws in India, among other things."
