Social Art in the Public Realm

Letter to the MD of BMTC Seeking Permission to use the Shivajinagar Subway

Summary:
We seek permission to host a video and audio art display inside the Shivajinagar Metro Station on the 27th of January from 6 pm to 9 pm.

Proposal:
We are a collaborative effort of professional Bangalore artists, Shristi art students and international artists who are keen to explore creative and constructive ways to begin a dialog with the city and the residents. As a culmination of our research and efforts, we would like to host a public art interaction on Thursday the 28th of January from 6 pm to 9 pm at the Shivajinagar Metro Station.

This interaction involves 2 audio artists and I as a video artist, who will together create, mix and project live sounds and video footage at this public venue. We hope to create an awareness of the space and its significance to the city and its people through our efforts.

In doing this interaction we do not intend to call or invite an audience, but in fact hope to initiate a dialog with the pedestrians present there. The whole process from setting-up to shutting-down will approximately last 3 hours.

We seek your support in allowing us to conduct this interaction inside the newly constructed Shivajinagar Subway. It is a symbol of the city’s growth, progress and developmental change. Additionally, many other major cities such as New York, Paris and Tokyo routinely host art activities in public venues like transportation hubs and we hope that a tradition of such activities in Bangalore could add to the stature of the city.

In closing, I would like to reiterate that this is not a commercial venture. It is the creative efforts of 3 artists to communicate and interact with the city and its people in a peaceful and constructive way. This project will in no way destroy, disrespect or cause an obstruction to public property and to the people.

It would be a pleasure for us to work with you towards creating a friendly, creative and artistic Bangalore.

Best Regards,
Archana Prasad

Project Affiliations:
Shrishti School of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore, Karnataka.Dept. of Media and Communication Studies at Malmo, Sweden
Maraa Media Collective, Bangalore, Karnataka.

Members:

Archana Prasad
Performance Video Artist
Master of Fine Arts in Art History, CKP, Bangalore
Post- Graduate Diploma in Animation, NID, Ahmedabad
www.archanaprasad.com

Richard Widenberg
Sonic Artist, Sweden
Faculty, Media and Communication Studies. Sweden

Jutin Vidyarthi
Sonic Artist, Banglaore

Zeenath Hasan
PhD Candidate in Media and Communication Studies at Malmo, SwedenMS Communications, Manipal Inst. Of Communications, Manipal Karnataka
www.zeeniac.net