In Dharavi, art finds some space

In a multimedia art exhibition in Dharavi recently, participating artists displayed their works inspired by this bustling slum and its myriad people. But how does Dharavi itself make sense of such art interventions? DNA finds out.

Over the past three months, American artist Alex Mazzarella, American photographer Casey Nolan and Holland-based photographer Arne de Knegt have tried to figure out what makes Dharavi tick through an intercultural art initiative called Artefacting Mumbai. The culmination of their explorations was The 13th Compound, a multimedia art exhibition held last Saturday that attempted to momentarily transform the physical space of a Dharavi lane into an art gallery, temporarily bridging the gap between the viewer and the viewed.

That intention, however, was lost on most visitors, who gingerly navigated the alleyways to look at the installations, but avoided eye contact with the locals who gathered to see what all the fuss was about. The residents of Dharavi, on their part, seem to have developed an air of fond patience for their pale-skinned artist guests. Right from deigning to have their warehouses and shops painted over to partially shutting down businesses to aid the exhibition, they have also offered their services for free, given away scrap material and always make it a point to say hello when they pass by.

“These boys have put in a lot of hard work, so they will definitely do well. That’s how it works,” said local businessman Rafiq, alluding to Dharavi’s legendary business ethos — work to survive, work harder to succeed. Warehouse owner Ram Kumar voices a
similar sentiment when he said, “Dharavi exists to fill everyone’s stomachs, whether it’s mine or theirs. Money comes here easy and that’s why people come here. We are doing our job, they are doing theirs.”