Anoushka Shankar-track inspired participatory installation to be shown in Mumbai
The artwork will feature in an exhibition, where part of the proceeds from the sale of other artworks will be directed to charity
The work will be part of 'HeartWorks 2026', an exhibition initiated by Falguni Sheth-Kapadia, founder of My Open Muse (HeartWorks) Ahead of musician and sitarist Anoushka Shankar’s India tour later this month, a participatory art installation inspired by her track New Dawn — from the album Chapter II: How Dark it is Before Dawn — will debut in India. Created by Howareyoufeeling.studio (comprising duo Doyel Joshi and Neil Ghose Balser) in collaboration with Shankar, the work titled New Dawn 2 was created through workshops with partner NGOs, where children were asked to respond to the prompt “a new dawn” and several of their works became part of the installation.
The work will be part of ‘HeartWorks 2026’, an exhibition initiated by Falguni Sheth-Kapadia, founder of My Open Muse. To be showcased at IFBE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai, on January 16-17, while New Dawn 2 is not on sale, over 100 other artworks that form part of the showcase “HeartWorks 2026” will be available for purchase, with a portion of the proceeds directed to NGOs supporting diverse causes.
Seema Kohli artwork (HeartWorks)
Referring to an earlier iteration of the installation at Brighton Festival 2025 in England, in a social media post last year Shankar had stated, “Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined, back when I was titling the closing track of ‘How Dark It Is Before Dawn,’ that this simplest of phrases could take on another life in this way… This experience with @brightonfestival has only served to deepen my belief that this is true — that no matter how dark the night gets, sunrise will come. We must only turn our faces towards its rays.”
Featuring works across several mediums and genres, including photographs and tribal and folk practices, the exhibition itself will include works by the likes of artists Jagannath Panda, Seema Kohli, Ankon Mitra, Manish Pushkale, Jangarh Singh Shyam and Lado Bai. “This collection came together through a collaboration with Iram Art and curator Satyajit Dave. We curated over 250 artworks from 75-plus talented artists and photographers, who graciously contributed their pieces to amplify HeartWorks’ mission of compassion and change. Their expertise, combined with the artists’ generosity, helped weave this diverse, powerful body of work which spans masters and contemporary art, tribal and folk art as well as photography,” notes Sheth-Kapadia.
Children were asked to respond to the prompt “a new dawn” and several of their works became part of the installation (HeartWorks)
Rachana Darda, co-founder, HeartWorks, adds, “When Falguni first shared the idea of My Open Muse and HeartWorks with me, I felt something shift. It was as if all my years as an artist, photographer, and all the community work I’ve poured my heart into were leading me to this moment, a way to give back on a larger, more meaningful scale.”
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