St+art Urban Art Festival takes over the Mahim (E) Art District, Mumbai 2017

Posted by Donna on 14th December, 2017
Filed under: From the Street

Having seen an incredible response from visitors at the Sassoon Dock Art Project, St+art India Foundation with support from Asian Paints, announces the beginning of the Mahim (E) Art District as part of the St+art Mumbai 2017 Urban Art Festival.

Starting from the facades which are facing the tracks of the Western Railway, St+art India Foundation has collaborated with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to invite people to discover the area of Mahim and Shahu Nagar.

The city of Mumbai as we know it today was only formed in 1854. Up until then this region constituted 7 islands of Bombay, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Worli, Colaba and Little Colaba. The reclamation of this land was followed by the construction of roadways and the railways, which is now the lifeline of the city. Mahim East covers within its territory, the Matunga Labour Camp, Dharavi slums and Shahu Nagar. This entire region is often identified as Dharavi with the slums, labour camp and Shahu Nagar lying within it. Dharavi is a land of immense resources and in terms of entrepreneurial skill-sets as well as materials, which are daily recycled and produced here. Showcasing this richness and activating local resources in and for their own spaces is one of the primary intents of the public art intervention in Mahim (E).

Guido Van Helten, Mahim (E) Art District, St+art Urban Art Festival, Mumbai 2017. Photo Credit Akshat Nauriyal

Artist line up for Mahim (E) Art District include Avinash Kumar, Guido Van Helten, Locopopo, Pragyesh Parmar and Sajid Wajid.

Guido Van Helten, Mahim (E) Art District, St+art Urban Art Festival, Mumbai 2017. Photo Credit Akshat Nauriyal

Australian street artist Guido Van Helten has now finished his wall on the Panchsheel Building at Matunga Labour Camp, after being interrupted by Cyclone Okchiresumed passing through Mumbai.

Guido Van Helten, Mahim (E) Art District, St+art Urban Art Festival, Mumbai 2017. Photo Credit Akshat Nauriyal

Having met Aku from the SlumGods crew – a hip-hop collective empowering children through teaching them the elements of hip-hop in Dharavi, during the #sassoondockartproject, Guido spent sometime in Dharavi, making photographs, and understanding more about the space through the eyes of Aku and his friends who gave him a first hand sense of the vibrant street culture of Dharavi.