Mumbai Art Street: Bright hues offer respite for commuters at Worli’s Annie Besant Road

Until November 2021, the exposed drains of the Love Grove waste treatment facility had been the source of stench and inconvenience for the daily commuters. The broken pathways weren’t pedestrian-friendly, rendering them unusable for the disabled. However, the face of the street has all but changed, post the makeover project by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) that was inaugurated by Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray on January 23, 2022.

Today, the walls are painted in bright hues infusing the bustling street with yet more life. Amidst the faces of Mumbaikars, one can also peep into the iconic BEST bus, Mumbai’s ‘kaali peeli’ taxis and the Sea Link. Thanish Thomas, co-founder of St+art India Foundation commented that while the art direction for these murals was given by St+art Foundation, the eventual painting and execution were carried out by Aravani Art Project, an art collective led by trans women and cis women.

Even the seemingly mundane brass lion and crane structures have more to them than what meets the eye. Careful inspection reveals that they have been assembled using bike scraps. The street also serves as a safe haven for colourful fish installations.

A senior BMC officer said, “The space where the crane and the fish installations now stand was earlier an exposed drain. BMC has now not only covered the drain but also beautifully transformed it into a well-lit walking space for the local residents.”

What’s more is that both sides of the street are now flanked by panels serenading the pedestrians back into the Bombay of the 1790s. Curated by Khaki Labs and implemented by BMC, these panels exhibit paintings by Scottish artist James Wales who sketched the landscapes from various vantage points across Mumbai, some 230 years ago.

“Art should be for everybody and as such the idea of bringing our exhibition to the streets of Mumbai was to bring the locals closer to their city’s history. The panels describe Mumbai’s iconic landscapes in lucid English as well as Marathi, to ensure greater accessibility,” said Bharat Gothoskar, founder of Khaki Labs. Never mind the chaos of the street, a stroll under the canopy by these panels, is sure to whisk one away into a realm of the bygones.