The clean-up and restoration of the Cooum, the polluted waterway of Chennai, still eludes a comprehensive solution. Though government agencies are involved in chalking out and implementing ambitious projects, the fate of the waterway largely remains the same.
People seem to have turned away from the river. They need to be brought back to confront the waterway and accept it. The DAMned Art project is one of the initiatives of Goethe Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan to encourage citizens’ dialogue on the river and showcase the potential of art to bring in social change.
As part of its continuing efforts to raise awareness among people through its ‘Embrace Our Rivers’ initiative, the Goethe Institut is rolling out several programmes this year. Clean-up programmes carried out for a short period cannot help to return the river to its more natural state. Sustained and holistic efforts are needed to restore the polluted waterway, said the Institut’s director Helmut Schippert.
The art exhibition, to be organised at the Lalit Kala Akademi between February 2 and March 4, will be one of the major events.
“We wanted to organise a public art festival, which is relatively a new concept in Chennai, along the Cooum. We spent two years seeking permission for the site and finally had to change the venue,” said Mr. Schippert. The exhibition will be a platform to visualise what art in public spaces could be in the city.
Recalling river art festivals along the Emscher in Germany, a waterway that shares woes similar to the Cooum, Mr. Schippert said art festivals played a significant role in citizens’ participation in the restoration of the river there. Similar festivals are planned to be replicated in Chennai.
“We wanted to bring meaningful, visible art into the public sphere. Thirteen artworks of 20 artistes from six countries will be showcased at the DAMned Art project,” he said.
In what could be a prelude to the exhibition, a live concert on the theme ‘Weather and Forces of Nature’ will be performed by the National Youth Orchestra of Germany on January 25. The orchestra will play pieces penned on rivers.
Interaction with artistes
Florian Matzner, who curated the Emscher river festival, and Ravi Agarwal, director, Toxic Links, will be the curators of the exhibition, which will also include many exciting events during the weekends, including a play and a concert dedicated to nature. Visitors will also get to interact with artistes and environmentalists at the workshops.
One such artiste is Chennai-based Parvathi Nayar, whose installation is planned around the traditional art of ‘ Kolam’. To be created using garbage picked up along the river, the artwork will be a reminder of the degradation of the waterway.
Anna Witt, an artist from Germany, will involve school children and the local community in the artistic process of recycling.
One of the plans is to involve participants to embroider different forms of garbage found in the river in 60 metres of cloth.
The exhibition will be open between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. for like-minded people to connect, interact and act collectively to rejuvenate the waterway.
