Bandra-Kurla Complex to get its own arts festival

Art lovers in suburban Mumbai can rejoice as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will hold the first Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) Art Fest

Art lovers in suburban Mumbai can rejoice as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will hold the first Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) Art Fest in December 2020. Ideating along the lines of the popular Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in south Mumbai held every February, the week-long event will include art exhibitions, music, and dance shows, theatre, shopping stalls, and street food.

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MMRDA is yet to finalise the location and dates for the festival. “BKC will be well-connected via the various transit nodes that are being developed. It also has a lot of space. Apart from being a commercial hub, we want BKC to also be an arts centre,” said RA Rajeev, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA.

Over the next couple of years, BKC will be connected via the fully-underground Metro-3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz), Metro-2B (DN Nagar-Mandale), and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor. It is already connected via the BKC-Chunabhatti corridor and the Santacruz-Chembur link road (SCLR). MMRDA has also undertaken the work of extending SCLR.

While the suburbs have various art fests through the year, Mumbai’s two major festivals – Kala Ghoda Art Festival and the Ballard Estate Festival are held in the island city. “There should be a fest for suburban Mumbaiites which is easily accessible too,” said a senior official from MMRDA.

Anita Garware, chairperson of the Indian Heritage Society (IHS), however, said, “It is a very good idea to hold a festival in the suburbs but I don’t think BKC will be the right place as of today. There is a cultural fest in Bandra, which could also be expanded.”

Apart from an art fest, MMRDA is also considering placing art installations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region as part of its plan to renew urban spaces. “We have invited proposals from consultants to create a master plan with which we can identify the spaces,” Rajeev said.