Art in the Park

When artist-researcher Sreejata Roy looked at a garbage-strewn, dusty park with just a solitary tree at Dakshinpuri8217;s J block, she envisioned a mural, sound booth, amphitheatre, bioscope, fibre glass benches and park amenities like a see-saw.

8220;A park is a space designated for mobile interaction. When I first came here, this was a garbage dumping ground and cleaned only when somebody was hosting a wedding party,8221; says Roy, project associate with Ankur Society for Alternatives in Education, a Delhi-based NGO that conducts non-formal education for children. Roy joined Ankur in 2007 and since then has been handling localities such as Dakshinpuri, Shashi Garden and Nandnagari in East Delhi and guides her colleagues in Ankur on ways of utilising content through new media. Now Roy has received a grant by the Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art FICA, a Delhi-based NGO that seeks to broaden dialogue between arts and citizens through active participation in public art projects. So on Saturday evening, Roy unveiled the first phase of the park, with a 30-minute play put together by the Ankur Bal Club children in the age group of 9-14. The play emphasised the value of public spaces.

So, while Uttam Srivastava, a Bal club member recounted the experience of 49-year-old Dayachand in the play and his kabaddi-playing days in the park when it was 8220;cleaner8221;, another member spoke about 35-year-old Mehra8217;s days spent at the Dakshinpuri bus stop looking at the tyres of vehicles. 8220;As a kid I loved to play with tyres,8221; reminisced Aniket, a Bal club member. Meanwhile, a 40 x 9 wall in the park was converted into a cheery mural with building blocks, populated by cyclists, yellow auto-rickshaws and white vans. The project will be completed in August.nbsp;The art is in place; now for some trees.