St+art India Foundation‘s latest project in Hyderabad has converted the M S Maqtha area into a popular open art district. Go for a photo-walk to capture interesting murals. By Radhika Sikaria
Opposite the popular People’s Plaza and the Hussein Sagar Lake, Maqtha is a neighbourbood that houses narrow lanes and modest houses. The streets here have no names. During the first art drive in 2016 in collaboration with Art@telangana and Krishnakriti Foundaiton, St+art worked with artists to create a navigation system based on colours. The green, pink, yellow, and turquoise gullies of Maqtha soon became landmarks for the residents. The second edition in December 2018, saw the artists create more detailed wall art that engaged the residents.
The artists involved in the transformation of the district are Delphine Delas (France), SadduX (Nepal), Raghav Balla (Bangalore, India), Swathi VIjai (Hyderabad, India), Hoozinc (Hyderabad, India), Varun Vedavyas (Hyderabad, India), Harit Puram (Hyderabad, India). St+art also organises workshops and street-walks in the area.
“Through this public art project, we hope to uplift the neighbourhood and create an impact in everyone’s lives. I’d like to add that art also activates new dynamics in areas by bringing people from different sectors of society together and in this sense, the public art project in Hyderabad is going to break boundaries through the medium of art.” Giulia Ambrogi, Co-Founder & Festival Curator, St+art India Foundation remarked.
Over the past three years, the foundation has brought around an urban art movement in India, by organising six St+art festivals and public art projects in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. It aims to make art accessible to all without caging it in four walls and embedding it in the cityscape.
