St+art India Foundation and Asian Paints come together to launch the 3-month long Mumbai Urban Art Festival (MUAF). MUAF will take on a city scale endeavour which will include landmark murals, experiential exhibitions, immersive installations and public programming across key venues.
Since 2014, St+art India and Asian Paints have collaborated to make art accessible to diverse audiences while contributing to urban regeneration and the cultural landscape at large. This has included areas such as Mahim East, Sassoon Dock, and Bandra, as well as iconic sites such as Churchgate Station and Jindal Mansion.
MUAF therefore continues to engage with Mumbai through a long-standing effort of contributing to the contemporary public art heritage. Every two years, the festival will bring together a plethora of artists and diverse practitioners to create interdisciplinary projects. MUAF will explore different areas of the city, in an attempt to offer opportunities of rediscovering lesser-known paths and forgotten narratives. From the suburbs to the center, and from marginalized neighbourhoods to heritage locations, the aim of MUAF is to look at the city as an interconnected organism where inclusivity through creativity becomes a foundation for action in the public realm.
The first edition of the festival will traverse the idea of “city in flux”, where the city, like water, is porous, regenerating, and fluid. A city of contrasts and coexistence where there is always room for imagination, beauty, darkness and most of all – complexities. A maximum city, which continues to embody versatility and mobility in its character of being a port city, where every inch of space and engagement is often seemingly transactional.
Encouraging the public to engage and experience the art, MUAF brings together a wide range of audiences in unexpected spots thanks to the work of over 60 local and international artists.
