Kala in my Moholla - Art in my Neighborhood. Rhode Island School of Design, Masters in Design Thesis Project When Saba was forced to drop out of school at the age of ten, her days went helping her mother at home and evening playing with friends. This changed, when a community art space opened near her house, a space so inviting with tables and chairs, art supplies and books–Saba got curious and went inside. That day Saba made her very first zine about her cat with the help of the didis (elder sisters). Saba continued returning to this little pocket with excitement and zeal to share a new story and create something new. The space allowed for Saba to use art and making as tool to freely express herself. At a time which would be difficult for any child of not being able to school, the space gave her the opportunity to create and feel a sense of community. The zine-making workshops were part of a 6-month community program called the Govandi Art Festival, where I met Saba and she shared her story with me.190 million children go to public schools in India, where art education and creative practice are not given any importance or priority.  The l question that I am trying to answer through this thesis is “How do we build safe spaces for free creative expression?”

This question led to a series of investigations in the city of Mumbai, where this project is based. Through the research process, I evaluated art museums and other cultural institutions, festivals, and pop-ups in the public realm to understand how each typology served different intentions. Some used spaces for seeing & spectatorship, where art was conserved and consumed visually. Some became symbols of national identity that attracted tourists more than the local population.And then some recent examples of art in public spaces were temporary spectacles, not responding to its communities and leaving them into mere selfie spots. The common critique in these examples was that they viewed their audience as passive receptors, not active participants. Rather than focusing on making, doing, or creating, the spaces positioned art on an inaccessible pedestal. As a result, they restricted art to visual representations rather than offering youth the opportunity to imagine new possibilities.

The project "Kala in my Moholla", which means "Art in my neighborhood," looks at art as a force and intends to create space for free creative expression by inserting a network of hyper-local, easy-to-build spaces for making, creating, and sharing that are designed to be accessible, participatory, and democratic. The modular design consists of basic forms and a catalog of materials that can be used for its construction. Designed to be malleable, transformable, and customizable, they can be adapted to the specific needs of the community. A co-designing game and zine are created as part of Kala in my Moholla's approach to imagine the designer as a facilitator. These tools would help the community with the opportunity to imagine possibilities, as well as the freedom to create the space they want. Each kala in moholla would look different and become a responsive and dynamic space for the community without the imposition of specific aesthetics or layout. With workshops, maker spaces, libraries, and experiments with multiple art mediums, these spaces are intended to foster creativity. Kala in my Moholla hopes to bring people together and empower them through art.

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