JOIN USMOD Institute, an interdisciplinary urban action and research institute based in Berlin and Bangalore, is all set to open shop on Church Street this month, with its new initiative - the MOD Arts Programme (MAP). The initiative seeks to facilitate cross-disciplinary engagement by artists and cultural practitioners in and around the city, and will act as a space that will constantly house works in progress.
The Bangalore branch of MOD Institute was started by Naresh Narasimhan in 2010 to join the gap that is created by the Western and Southern dichotomy of urban planning discourses and to identify suitable solutions. Srajana Kaikini, the consultant curator for MOD Institute, says that the initiative is not to be termed a gallery. “We aren’t going to be selling of the works of art. We are just a think-tank and a facilitator — we are a testing ground for artwork,” she adds.
MAP does not want to closet itself to one form of art. In an attempt to be as inclusive as possible, they will have a different cultural practitioner showcasing their work every month. Srajana says they use the term ‘cultural practitioner’ because it is open to more possibilities. At the moment, the works of art are being handpicked by the curators but they hope to receive entries once the idea catches on.
The focus of the initiative is on urban research and how the artists work with the idea creatively. Srajana says it is to see how people artistically present the urban view and showcase their relationship with an urban space. The first artist to showcase their work will be A Naveen Kumar, who will explore the delicate aesthetics of an intimate narrative, in a work titled ‘Magical Stories’. The work brings new engagement of the social through the personal. The MOD Arts Programme is located on 46/1, Church Street, opposite Empire’s.