Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Toy Story

A little boy leans on his mini four-wheeler in Sion.

Music across boundaries

Ara Olamuyiwa and Manasi Prasad

Ahead of this World Music Day, a virtual session hosted by the Indian Music Experience Museum will bring together talents from three continents and genres - troubadour Eliezer Cohen Botzer from Israel, flamenco guitarist Carlos Blanco from Spain, and talking drummer Ara Olamuyiwa from Nigeria. "The true power of music is felt when it is made a shared experience. World Music Day celebrates this universal language which draws people together irrespective of which part of the world they belong to. We're excited to put together this special tribute; the artistes will perform in genres which aren't common to our part of the world. It's our little way of sharing the language of music," said its director Manasi Prasad. Head to @Indian music experience on Facebook on June 20 to tune into this global exchange.

Queer panorama

A still from Surviving The Silence

The inaugural edition of the One World International Queer Film Festival is being organised by The Humsafar Trust, in collaboration with Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival. This year, the three-day festival will be conducted virtually. "The festival will focus on the legal and social aspects of the struggle for LGBTQiA+ rights in different countries.

We are starting with the USA. We have curated a selection of award-winning films and have two panel discussions. The films address diverse issues such as acceptance, religion and politics, and intersectionality between disability and queerness. We hope the films are a harbinger of change," said Sridhar Rangayan, festival director of Kashish.

Art through a crypto lens

Bibi XVII

Blockchain-powered platform Terrain.art has announced an exhibition featuring artworks of Bengal-born artist, Lalu Prasad Shaw (inset), which have certified using Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs).

Babu & Bibi II

Aparajita Jain, its founder, said, "As one of the first platforms in India to register artworks using NFTs, we seek to provide a transparent method of buying, selling and securing art."

Lalu Prasad Shaw

About the collection, Shaw added, "This collection celebrates the multiple facets of everyday life and is inspired by my formative years. It is the culmination of local styles of Kalighat pats and traditional handicrafts of Bengal." The exhibition can be viewed online on Terrain.Art until July 31.

Books for a cause

Barefoot Foundation is encouraging students to donate their old textbooks to those who cannot afford them. "We are requesting donation of books for the SSC curriculum, from Class 1 to 10. We are offering to pick up the books from donors who reside between Mahim and Worli," shared Mukesh Chapa, who is conducting the drive. Books are being collected until July 1. The Juhu-based SeaBuzz Bakers community has also announced a donation drive to buy new books. If you'd like to donate, call 7977235416.

A (virtual) artistic splash for kids

The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art is conducting an online arts-based summer camp for kids. This year, the camp will focus on the history of arts movements, combining interesting historical tidbits with DIY activities and crafts. "We will explore various arts movements such as Renaissance, Impressionism, Cubism and contemporary art, and much more. Each episode will feature an arts project inspired by an artist from that particular movement. In addition to getting introduced to art history, children will also learn to use elements of the style discussed to create their own homemade interpretations," said Kiran Nadar, its chairperson. The 10-day camp begins on June 19 and all episodes will be available for viewing on the KNMA website and its social media handles.