City to transform into playground for 10 days

Over the next 10 days, you can play tug-of-war at Juhu beach, hop onto red swings on busy south Mumbai streets and even learn how to levitate, as two art organisations turn the city into a public playground.

Over the next 10 days, you can play tug-of-war at Juhu beach, hop onto red swings on busy south Mumbai streets and even learn how to levitate, as two art organisations turn the city into a public playground.

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From January 11 to 20, ArtOxygen and Asia Art Projects - independent forums that curate art events - will organise 'powerPLAY', the fourth edition of ArtOxygen's annual public art project, called [en]counters.

The project will feature interactive exhibitions and workshops by 17 artists from India, Germany, Australia, Italy and Hong Kong, to be held in four locations in the city.

"The aim of [en]counters is to challenge artists and people of the city to meet and engage with each other," said Claudio Maffioletti, founder, ArtOxygen. "The theme of 'power play' refers not just to the energy and electricity of the city but also to the connections between its people."

One of the installations to be featured at Fort's Horniman Circle is a 'levitation device' designed by German artist Tobias Megerle, who was inspired by Indian yogis.

Australian art collective Performance Video Intervention will organise bouts of tug-of-war between artists and citizens at Juhu beach, symbolic of the public's fight against civic and political issues. Mumbai artist Saurav Biswas will set up 10 red wooden swings around Horniman Circle. "Playing on swings makes people forget their worries for a while," he said.