Building on seven years of arts-led community engagement in Govandi and the transformative impact of our first edition in 2023, we are proud to return with the second edition of the Govandi Arts Festival this December! Govandi Arts Festival is a community-led arts and culture movement that reclaims, transforms and celebrates the socio-spatial narrative of marginalised neighbourhoods in Mumbai’s Govandi.We use arts as a medium to develop an alternate lens and pedagogy of engagement for Govandi which celebrates resilience and creativity at a local and global scale rather than reductionary exposure as a place of have-nots.This edition of the festival brings together a collective of over 100 youth, women and transgender artists from Govandi; a passionate cohort of 25+ mentors, artist residents and collaborators who have embedded themselves in the neighbourhood; 10+ art forms, from game design to textile arts, theatre, filmmaking and more; a lantern procession weaving through the gullies of Govandi; and 5 days full of workshops, screenings, performances, exhibitions and games – explored and grounded in themes of collective care, friendship, migration, natural and built environments and gender identity.This festival is organised and curated by Natasha Sharma and Parveen Shaikh, alongside a festival co-ordinating team of Mansi Bhalerao, Tayyaba Darvesh , Sana Shaikh, Archana Jadhav, Muskan Khan, Kulsum Sayyed, Saba Shaikh, Zaibun Shaikh, Sakina Khan, Nishna Mehta and Mugdha Shejale.This festival is made possible by IMC Trading Charity Foundation and UNESCO x SEVENTEEN’s Going Together Grant Scheme 2025. Proudly co-hosted by the community of Natwar Parekh Colony and Community Design Agency.
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