Creating a platform to make art available for all, Phoenix MarketCity and Palladium in collaboration with ‘St+Art Chennai’ organizes a first of its kind event,

Chennai, February 2020: Creating a platform to make art available for all, Phoenix MarketCity and Palladium in collaboration with ‘St+Art Chennai’ organizes a first of its kind event, ‘India Pop- an urban journey from India’s past to future through art’, on 1st March, 2020 (Sunday). Empty spaces in the mall were transformed into beau tiful canvasses with breathtaking artworks, to connect with the people of Chennai through contemporary urban art projects. The festival introduced street art in its full glory to the people of Chennai, making it accessible to everybody irrespective of their background. Adding to Phoenix MarketCity’s and Palladium’s established ethos, customers were made to experience art through compelling content, creating deeper bonds with the commu nity. The artistic creations unveiled the beautiful relationship between human beings and environment.

The launch of the art festival was followed by a panel discussion on the topic, ‘Role of public art in Indian cities’. The panelists; Dr. John Alby, Regional Deputy Commissioner, South Zone, Greater Chennai corporation, Mr. Raj Cherubal, CEO, Chennai Smart City Ltd, Ms. Vidhya Mohankumar, Founder & Principal, Urban Design Collective and Ms. Poornima Sukumar, Founder Aravani Art Project; gave insights on the importance of art in public spaces.
The project, ‘India Pop’, was conceptualized as an interactive journey through myriad facets of Indian popular cul ture, featuring four installations and a celebrative event with graffiti jam, hip hop cyphers and much more. A ‘Tra velling photo studio’, an art installation by Hanif Kureshi and Professor Jyotindra Jain, which included paintings that has been a part of art festivals like Serendipity Art Festival and Indian Art Fair have travelled 1000’s of kms was also exhibited for the people of Chennai to experience it.

In a contemporary elaboration, artists Shiva Nallaperumal and Hanif Kureshi have brought back to life – the Indo-Aryan script, ‘Saurashtra’, which was once spoken in the Saurashtra region with the installation to invite people to read the past.The onlookers were taken on a journey to the world of art through an audio-video ins tallation, ‘India Unfiltered’ by artist Marc Lee and Akshat Naurel. The immersive art created an awareness on the influence of digital accessibility and its impact on public consciousness and visual aesthetics.Nikunj, also known as Artist Do among the artistic community, has given life to the walls in the basement with his Anamorphic mural which created an intimate and interactive element for the spectators. Additionally patrons were given a hands-on experience in creating street art with a workshop titled, ‘Chennai on a Canvas – a participative street art wo rkshop’ by artist Akill.The art festival will be held for a span of 18 days with different activities that aims to enrich everyone with the knowledge of art.

Commenting on the occasion Mr.Vijay Choraria, Managing Director – Crest Ventures Limited, Co-promoter – Phoenix MarketCity and Palladium (Chennai) said: “Phoenix MarketCity has been using art as a medium to communicate with public since its inception in 2013. As a shopping mall we believe that we play an important role in connecting people of all communities and sharing creative expressions about the cultural history of the city through art.Therefore, we have always tried to bring in well-celebrated artists and exclusive art works to our mall that can carry the beauty of art, not only in the form of paintings but installations, experiential art works like the celestial art and many more.We are happy to associate with ‘St+art India’ foundation and are assured that this association will turn out to be a great success for all its good intentions. The collaboration can also drive traffic to ‘Kannagi Nagar’ where we can spread the word about the initiative.”

The information on the artists and the type of art work are given below:

            ● Hanif Kureshi works with street art and typography. He absorbs the surroundings to his  work and  evokes   a  sense of memory. His travelling photo studio in collaboration with  professor Jyothindra Jain  was inaugurated during the Serendipity Art Festival 2019 and has been exhibited in Delhi, Lodhi Art   Festival   2019. Location: Courtyard, Phoenix MarketCity
            ● Shiva Nallaperumal is a graphic designer, type designer and illustrator from Chennai. He will present  Saurashtra, a type installation. Saurashtra is an Indo-Aryan script which was once spoken in  ‘Saurashtra’ 0r poiuygf ds .0e  0.+ c ..gion and the art try to track the lost fonts and scripts. Location:  Amphitheatre
            ● Artist Do is street artist from Gujarat, India who started his street art journey with graffiti back in 2014.  Over the years, the artist has solidified his body of work using a diverse range of mediums, including  graffiti,  wall art, and illustration. Located in urban environments, Do’s works often infuse local themes  and stories in  their visual narrative, creating an intimate interactive element for their spectators. The  artist has worked  with various brands like FB, Google and Levis to create visual arts projects.” Location:  Palladium lift passage.
            ● Marc Lee and Akshat Nauriyal will feature ‘India unfiltered’, an immersive audio video installation. Locat ion: Palladium food court.

● Marc Lee is a Swiss artist who is creating n/etwork-oriented interactive art  projects: interactive  installations, media art, internet art, performance art, video art, augmented reality (AR) art, virtual  reality ( VR) art and mobile art.

          ● Akshat Nauriyal is a multi-media artist from New Delhi. He uses emerging technologies such as  Augmented reality, along with film and motion graphics to create works which critique the socio-political  realities of the world around us.

          ● Artist Do is street artist from Gujarat, India who started his street art journey with graffiti back in 2014.  Over the years, the artist has solidified his body of work using a diverse range of mediums, including  graffiti, wall art, and illustration. Located in urban environments, Do’s works often infuse local themes and  stories in their visual narrative, creating an intimate interactive element for their spectators. The artist has  worked with various brands like FB, Google and Levis to create visual arts projects.” Location: Palladium lift  passage.