Financial Express-The rise of street art and urban placemaking: Transforming India’s public spaces into cultural experiences
Till about a few years ago, the Sassoon Docks in Mumbai used to be a picture of neglect —the nauseating stench of fish matching the crumbling infrastructure at one of the oldest fishing harbours of the country. However, in 2017, all of this changed when 30 artists from across India and abroad, under the aegis of Start India Foundation, brought art into the lives of the local fishermen’s community. The result was the transformation of the 142-year-old historic dockyard into a vibrant street art exhibition space.
The makeover not only captures the lives of the resident communities like the Kolis, the Banjaras and the Hindu Marathas through installations, photo stories, graffiti and art exhibitions, but also shines a spotlight on ‘placemaking’, an approach to urban design and city architecture that prioritises people over infrastructure and creates public spaces for social interactions and cultural exchanges.
