Children redesign landmarks, create city of their dreams

Sahid Mohammad Ibrahim, 10, painted his version of the Bombay Stock Exchange building with floral motifs and rainbow colours on Thursday.

Sahid Mohammad Ibrahim, 10, painted his version of the Bombay Stock Exchange building with floral motifs and rainbow colours on Thursday.

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Ibrahim and several children gathered at the three-day art workshop, Through My Eyes, held at Shantivan, Napean Sea Road, expressed their creativity by redesigning the buildings and structures of Mumbai.

Children from four NGOs — Nanhi Kali, The EAR Society, Mumbai Mobile Creches and Chip — were taken around the Mumbai to view structures of architectural or historical importance and capture them in photographs.

“The children studied the structure, perspective and compositions to redesign the city buildings using wild colours, textures, patterns and decorations. The cut-outs of the structures painted by them will be juxtaposed to create a city of their dreams,” said visual artist and trainer, Shital Mehta.

Children painted landmarks such as the BMC headquarters, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus building, National Centre for Performing Arts, Ambassador Hotel and Haji Ali dargah among others.

“I loved drawing and painting more than clicking photographs,” said Nisha Mishra, 9, proudly pointing at her bright replica of the Jahangir Art Gallery.
The paintings will be put up in an art exhibition at Hacienda Art Gallery on November 16.

“It is a rare occasion of NGOs coming together for a joint fund-raiser. We aim at converting this exercise into an annual event and involve more interested NGOs to expand our reach,” said Novela Corda, CEO of Chip.

The event also includes theatre performances of the adaptation of Neil Simons’s play, Sunshine Boys, by The Amateurs Performers’ Bureau.

“This is a novel attempt of a production house joining hands with a bouquet of NGOs to serve a cause and generate collective funds. While all four organisations do different work, the common thread of their work with children and education, ties them together,” said Percival Billimoria, founder of The Amateurs Performers’ Bureau.