Immerse in this 15-day fest in Mumbai exploring art and Mumbai's iconic artists

A city is a living legacy of its history and culture and the idea behind this festival is that art is all around usrdquo muses Ashish Anand CEO and managing director at art gallery DAG as he introduces The City as a Museummdasha 15day festival being held at historic sites across Mumbai Celebrating art and its integral connection to the histories of each site the festival will make audiences travel across the citymdash exploring the lives of its iconic modern artists as well as experience its layered and complex histories anewThe festival will take place across different iconic sites in the city from JJ School of Art to Elephanta caves where the rockcut caves inspired this painting by English painter Thomas Daniell Pics courtesyDAGWhile the festival has been an annual feature in Kolkata since 2021 Anand describes the heart of Mumbairsquos debut edition as ldquothe peoplemdashartists architects scholarsmdashwho know the city inside out Our first step was to rediscover the city through their diverse perspectives multiple conversations and lots of walksrdquoldquoThis led us to unexpected places and histories such as the connection between Tyeb Mehta and a cinema hall like Alfred Talkies Along the way the one historic site that we knew would be essential was the Sir JJ School of Artrdquo he addsMuch of the art on display shows how the city has served as a muse for British artists such as Charles Gerrard whose painting here depicts the garden at the JJ School of Art directorrsquos residenceAs a centre of trade and commerce Mumbairsquos cosmopolitanism has influenced its artists through centuries ldquobe it the early Indian students of the JJ School who blended their myths and fables with a mastery of European academic painting styles the colonial administrators who were inspired by local architecture and customs or the artists at the cusp of Independence who epitomised secular ideals while also embracing the influence of eacutemigreacute artists like Austrian artist Walter Langhammer who inspired a search for a new visual languagerdquo shares AnandMF HusainAlongside the cityrsquos urban landscape its cave temples were also featured in several artistic views Art historian and senior vice president at the DAG Giles Tillotson will lead a tour to the Elephanta Caves where ldquowe will look at images of paintings photographs and sketches made by British artists from the late 18th century onwards to explore the reasons why these caves served as a source of fascination and inspirationrdquoThe exhibition will feature works by the cityrsquos modern artists such as this untitled painting by NR Sardesai that shows an artist studying a monumentThe festival held jointly with Sir JJ School of Art Architecture and Design will also take visitors into the classrooms and studios of the schoolrsquos early years exploring how foundational methods of art education were shaped For budding artists this offers a rare opportunity to trace the lineage of artistic pedagogy providing insights into why we are taught to draw the way we are in schools and colleges todayldquoThere are so many more chapters in this cityrsquos rich cultural history left to explore so we are looking forward to being back with many more editionsrdquo hopes Ashish AnandArt and cinemaTyeb MehtaA discussion titled Places Of Imagination Part 1 Tyeb Husain And Their World Of Moving Pictures explores how Tyeb Mehta and MF Husainrsquos cinematic influences shaped their painting practicesgtgtgtWHEN March 22 11 am to 1 pmWHERE Alfred Talkies Grant RoadWalk with Tyeb Mehta and MF HusainMohammedi ManzilThe closing event is a walk titled Places Of Imagination Part 2 Tyeb Husain And Their City through the historic neighbourhood of Mohammed Ali Road which has deep links to Tyeb Mehta and MF Husain The walk ends at Mohammedi Manzil offering a view of the city from a terrace opposite Lehri House where Mehta once livedgtgtgtWHEN March 23 730 pm to 9 pmWHERE Mohammedi Manzil Mohammed Ali RoadDrawing from lifeArtists Snehal Pradhan and Soumava Das lead this workshop reexamining the practice of life drawing through archival materials from colonialera art schoolsgtgtgtWHEN March 18 to 19 11 am to 4 pmWHERE Sir JJ School of Art Architecture and DesignNew directionsA roundtable discussion on the role of research in contemporary artistic practice highlighting the significance of archives in shaping new perspectives on Mumbairsquos artistic historygtgtgtWHEN March 19 5 pm to 630 pmWHERE Sir JJ School of Art Architecture and DesignEvolution of art educationThe fortnightlong exhibition The Shifting Visions Teaching Modern Art At The Bombay School traces the transformation of art education at Sir JJ School of Artmdashwith rare artworks and photosmdashfrom its early years to the emergence of the Bombay Group in 1941gtgtgtWHEN On till March 23 10 am to 6 pm closed on March 14 and 15 for HoliWHERE Sir JJ School of Art of Art Architecture and DesignWhy museums are importantJoin museum directors Tasneem Zakaria Mehta and Kaiwan Mehta for a discussion and workshop at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum The session will examine how museums archives and cultural institutions can reshape public engagement with Mumbairsquos artistic and architectural historygtgtgtWHEN March 20 2 pm to 6 pmWHERE Dr Bhau Daji Lad MuseumThe school and the cityArchitects Mustansir Dalvi and Vikas Dilawari take audiences on a walk through Sir JJ School of Art and its neighbouring heritage landmarks including the iconic BMC building The discussion will examine how the Schoolrsquos students and faculty shaped the cityrsquos architectural landscapegtgtgtWHEN March 17 4 pm to 7 pmWHERE Starting from Sir JJ School of Art Architecture and DesignThe Festival at a glanceThe muralistsJoin artist and head of the painting department Dr Douglas John on a walkthrough of the historic murals at Sir JJ School of Art This session explores how mural painting became a foundational pillar in the cityrsquos artistic landscapegtgtgtWHEN March 11 5 pm to 630 pmWHERE Sir JJ School of Art Architecture and DesignViews from ElephantaArt historian Dr Giles Tillotson leads an immersive visit to the Elephanta Caves Through paintings photographs and archival sketches this session explores how these ancient rockcut caves inspired artists for centuriesgtgtgtWHEN March 13 2 pm to 630 pmWHERE Starting from the Gateway of IndiaTo register dagworldcomeventsprogrammes