The curtain raiser

It's that time of the year when culture gets off its high horse and literally takes to the streets. In the form of Artfest 2000, held at t...

It8217;s that time of the year when culture gets off its high horse and literally takes to the streets. In the form of Artfest 2000, held at the city8217;s most precious heritage precinct, Kala Ghoda. This year8217;s festival features 80 events in a span of just 14 days 8212; an impressive follow-up of the first festival, Kala Ghoda 8217;99.

This time the association had Sanjna Kapoor, Rahul Mehrotra, Rashmi Uday Singh and others from the culture fraternity ideate for almost a year before the final list of events was drawn up on behalf of festival director Sangeeta Jindal. The result: an interesting mix of popular and high-brow. Here are five categories that combine work and play in equal measure:

FILMS:
Given the urban spectacle that Kala Ghoda is, Mid-Day has sponsored the filming of four short films on Kala Ghoda. Bollywood Lyrics, compiled by Amrit Gangar, takes a look at the beautiful and the ugly of Mumbai invoked in Hindi film songs. In another category, filmmakers like Imtiaz Dharker,Dilip Ghosh and Prahlad Kakar have been invited to shoot the city as they see it. Then there8217;s Millennium Kala Ghoda 8212; a chance for amateurs and veterans to shoot what they like about the area and to make short films on candid camera. Discussions with the filmmakers will follow the film screenings to be held at the Kala Ghoda parking lot.

MUSIC:
From Rajasthani folk to alternative rock, Artfest 2000 is about foot-tapping stuff. The Langa Bandhu group from Rajasthan will invoke the stark beauty of the deserts, while youth from all over the city will come together for a fusion of alternative, rock and pop 8212; Limestock II. Besides, morning ragas by Ajay Chakravarty, Madhudusudan Kumar8217;s sitar strings and a western music recital could well be the magic potion for tired nerves.

EXHIBITIONS:
Among the large number exhibitions to be held at galleries in and around the area, Kala Ghoda 8212; A Meeting Place sure tries to break new grounds. Four architect-artist pairswill look at an aspect of the area and conceptualise a new idea for it. The joint vision would then be translated into an exhibition of installations and masquettes. Colour Ghoda, on the other hand, will invite artists from all over the country to paint and sculpt horses which would then be displayed. The Potter8217;s Tea Party goes back to chai as various artists, including Ray Meeker, interpret the teapot in ceramics.

WORKSHOPS AND ENCOUNTERS:
Here8217;s a chance to unmask the artist8217;s mind and soul. An Intimate Encounter is an attempt at dispelling myths built around the persona of artists. A time to sit back, to talk it out on art, life, kings and cabbages with one8217;s favourite artists open only for those geniunely interested in art. Among the artists who will be present are Astad Deboo and Laxman Shreshtha. The INTACH-sponsored Ways of Reading is again a series of readings by artists who are also writers. The workshop on digital technology for imaging takes digital buffs to aworld of SFX and computer graphics 8212; a chance to reproduce every crazy idea the mind conceives.

For information on registration and passes, call the Information Desk, Kala Ghoda Association at: 284 2520 / 282 1151.