The Project Cinema City show

An innovative project presented by National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in Mumbai is an interface between arts, cinema, architecture, urban study and cultural studies.The present show marks 100 years of Indian Cinema. Here are its highlights:

• Among the artists who form part of the venture are Atul Dodiya, Anant Joshi, Apurva Parikh, Archana Hande, Design Cell- KRVIA, Kausik Mukhopadhay, Paroma Sadhana, Paromita Vohra, Pushpamala N, Rohan Shivkumar, Shikha Pandey, Shreyas Karle and many others. They have all designed the calendars. Filmmakers who feature in the creative collaboration are Avijit Mukul Kishore, Hansa Thapliyal, Madhavi Tangella, Mamta Murthy, Rafeeq Ellias, Renu Savant, Richa Hushing, Rrivu Laha, Shrikant Agawane. The opening of the show was followed by a seminar on ‘Archiving the Contemporary’.
• An accompanying note elaborates: “Cities and cinema are the twins of 20th century. Though in the first half of the century the west primarily developed and produced cinema, since the ‘50s the Asian cinema has slowly developed a distinct identity. The post colonial cities, the vast metropolises and the moving people of the region have evolved a certain discipline which is as much about city narratives as about a distinct cinematic representation.
• Both (city and cinema) are sites of aspiration that shape, reflect and even alter each other. This relationship throws up important and diverse questions. How deeply is the economic, political, social and cultural logic of the city related to its cinema? How the imagination of the city in its cinema influence the imagination of the nation and its aspirations? Can it be measured / determined / analysed by studying urban (re) configurations i.e. spaces within the city?
• The interdisciplinary project engages with issues of labor, imagination, desire, access, spacing and locations, iconization, materiality, language hybridity, moving people, viewing conventions, hidden processes and so on. The show will be on till 29th June (Monday and national holidays closed) and ten Cinema City short films will be screened at NGMA auditorium every Saturday-Sunday 1-5 pm starting from 26th May. The project is initiated by Majlis, in collaboration with KRVIA (Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture).