What is the role of arts festivals in a community? What role did you envision for the KGAF?
I was at the time working to get the Fort area in Mumbai recognized as a conservation zone and identified what might potentially be the engines that would drive the process of conservation in this area – what were the interests that we could align with to make conservation happen on the ground. The Kala Ghoda area – the arts district – started kicking off the fastest largely because cultural institutions are often more spontaneous in reacting than other functions and institutions. Once this area organized itself as an association we began identifying spaces that could be used for art to expand the potential for the area to be identified as an art district. I identified buildings like the Army & Navy building that required restoration.
The festival was really a form of activism to get the city to recognize Kala Ghoda as an arts district. After two or three years of running the festival we had raised enough money for restoration of the buildings we had identified and wanted to demonstrate how buildings could be revived. Today, I believe the festival has become too much of a mela (social gathering or event) and lost its focus on promoting art . I personally think this should become the centre of the agenda of the association because now that part of the physical restoration has occurred and its has developed an identity as an art district the arts in general could gain a great deal with some rigorous curation to make this a hub of a serious art festival that could gain national importance. The district then would play a crucial role for Mumbai as a art district in the national imagination!
In what historical context does your festival operate?
Art festivals are an urban, Western notion. When the KGAF was initiated, we unfortunately hadn’t defined the parameters for curation – it was a spontaneous reaction to mobilize people and resources to conserve the buildings and public spaces in the area. At least my personal efforts were focused not so much content, but to show another use of public space.
We conducted a survey with six galleries in the area and realised that a festival could be a contemporary engine that could transform this space. So I lobbied the galleries for their support. Though my aim was the physical transformation of the area, I still had art in the centre of my own imagination and realised that the galleries needed a forum for collective identity.
Why do you think there is now a sudden spurt of activity in art festival-making in India? How important are such events in a developing/transforming/globalising society?
There is a vested financial interest in festival-making. Festivals are part of a global culture by elite who have the power to influence. Festivals tend to feed a frenzy – it is like going to a shopping mall, but good things also come out of it. Festivals are an outlet for creativity, an opportunity to network and bring recognition for artists.
With respect to globalization – festivals prepare the terrain for global capital to land. It is of course an alter-global model and also a form of resistance to globalization - by default festivals provide a forum and avenue for local arts.
Do you think arts festivals are more accessible to their audiences, than other fixed arts organisations? Why?
Festivals offer a critical mass. In the case of the Kala Ghoda festival in its first year, we decided one month before the festival actually happened that we wanted such an event. I basically went from gallery to gallery and listed was happening, made a poster with all that was already happening and then added a couple public events in the evenings to mobilize public space use. This synergy created a festival with little investment.
What according to you are the key components that make up an arts festival?
Integrity. Festivals need an identity and purpose. They can bring allied forms of art together and create dialogues, but there needs to be an agenda.
How are India’s art festivals likely to evolve or grow in the future?
The festivals in India will get more specialized. As younger generations form interests around specific genres, festivals will also grow to meet these niche audience needs. Artists meanwhile are getting increasingly multi-disciplinary, so festivals must too.
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