MUMBAI: ‘Museum of Memories’- a unique confluence of art, culture and music was held on 15 December at Godrej’s Vikhroli Campus. It was a first ever pop-up tribute to Mumbai and the irony of the location was that the 60,000 square feet Godrej warehouse in Vikhroli.was demolished the next day (16 December).
Godrej India Culture Lab head and ideator of the event Parmesh Shahani said, “The first time I saw the warehouse, I was amazed by its beauty and its character. When I learnt that it was soon to be demolished, I thought of capturing some of its beauty by organizing an event at the warehouse that would be filled with memories. The warehouse would go, but the memories would remain. This is how the idea of a one day only pop-up museum came to my mind. I was inspired by the Sydney Biennale, which I went to two years ago, which was organized in old factories and have tried to create the same feeling in Vikhroli. Through this event we have tried bring together many different artists and performers to connect with each other and share with each other the spirit of togetherness.”
Organized collectively by Godrej India Culture Lab along with other organizations like Junoon, Visual Disobedience, Brown Paper Bag and the myriad performers, artists and musicians of the city, the fest saw thumri and opera, Urdu poetry and fusion dance. The day-long cultural event witnessed music, theater, live art, graffiti, videos, dance, robots, alternate reality games and more. It featured performances by musicians such as singer Geetu Hinduja, Gaurang Shetty, Jahnvi Shrimankar, Trance and rock band Beginner’s Luck.
Besides music, city artists like Aditi Singh and Sharmistha Ray created live painting installations at the venue along with video art created for the location by artists like Meera Devidayal and Aalika Mahindra, to name a few. Visitors got a chance to ride in racing cars created by the students of RIIDL – KJ Somaiya innovation cell and alternate reality games, tea ceremonies, yoga demonstrations etc.
On asked about the next edition, Shahani said that he might very well come up with it again.He added, “Mumbai has incredible spirit; you just have to tap it.”