The Independence Project: How Ballard Estate-based IF.BE wants people to explore the idea of freedom

A photograph from the exhibition Freedom looks good on you by The Dharavi Art Room

Independence by definition, believes Sarita Vijayan, the programme director at Ballard Estate-based IF.BE, should be an easy, light word. But today, there's so much angst associated with it, and it constantly infringes on something else. "Independence is actually a feeling, and not something external; it's a journey of exploration and decluttering that begins from within. It's time we make a personal revisit to the word and take some time to define, or redefine it," shares Vijayan, ahead of The Independence Project that will unravel at the art, architecture and design space housed in a 140-year-old ice factory. Kicking off on August 15, the project will nudge both the audience and the participating artistes to introspect what freedom means to them.

A moment from Aaeen by The Company Theatre

The six-day initiative will celebrate the "open mind" through exhibitions, photography, films, dance and movement, music, theatre and workshops, which will be a mix of free and ticketed events. The celebration will open with a photography exhibition - Freedom looks good on you - by artist Aqui Thami and The Dharavi Art Room. It will feature a series of specially commissioned photographs made by seven young artistes from the neighbourhood - the first ones in their families to go to college and experience Mumbai outside of Dharavi everyday. "The photographs are a collective exploration of how they are experiencing freedom, and how they articulate it. The series captures their journey of leaving the familiar and slowly moving to the rest of the city and making that home as well," Thami explains.

Aqui Thami

Another exhibition, a film installation by The Citizen's Archive of India, will also be on display from August 15. Vijayan tells us that it will introduce viewers to the stories of common citizens on the day Independence was declared in 1947. Meanwhile, poet, singer and songwriter Kavish Seth will present an interdisciplinary musical performance titled, Swavidhan: Hum Log. Seth shares that the piece brings together music, poetry and participatory activities. "The most important thing in our lives is how we lead our lives. Everything else is shaped around this idea. That is swavidhan," he elaborates. The performance will dive into how adarsh or ideals decide the trajectory of our lives, how fear creates boundaries, and how one's swavidhan is created around this. "We can only understand the collective samvidhan [The Constitution Of India] when we understand swavidhan," he notes.

Kavish Seth

The next few days will include A Paradigm Shift, curated by Khushboo Ranka of India Docs. Contemporary films such as An Insignificant Man by Ranka and Vinay Shukla, About Love by Archana Phadke and Cities of Sleep by Shaunak Sen, among others will be screened, followed by discussions. There will also be a breath workshop led by Dr Shailendra Chaubey, who will explore how stories are lodged in our breath.

Dance, and how it aids freedom, too, will take the stage at IF.BE, with an eclectic blend of traditional and contemporary performances curated by Gauri Sharma Tripathi and Aaron Fernandes, and a movement workshop by artiste Diya Naidu. The last two days will feature theatre-maker Atul Kumar's play, Aaeen, a take on the Constitution through five interesting stories. "Through the six days, it's a journey from your own definition of independence to its external definition. We hope that it triggers something in people or at least makes them pause," Vijayan signs off.

From: August 15 to 20; 6 pm onwards on opening day; 10 am to 7 pm
At: Calicut Road, Ballard Estate, Fort
Log on to: insider.in for ticketed events; @ifbe.space