UCL collaborates on a festival of art, science and recycling in Mumbai

The Alley Galli Biennale, taking place in one of the world's best-known informal settlements, is the culmination of two years of conversations about urban health and has four themes: art, health, recycling and vitality.

The project has been organised by the Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action (SNEHA), an NGO working to improve the health of women and children in Mumbai.

The artwork development process was shaped around workshops in which local people, artists, artisans and health researchers debated topics such as nutrition, mental health, resistant tuberculosis, violence against women, occupational hazards, transmission of infection and the immune system.

"The project has enabled Dharavi residents to meet, learn new skills, educate themselves on urban health and produce locally resonant artworks that are authentic, honest and relevant," said Dr Nayreen Daruwalla, leader of the Biennale.

Recycled materials were used where possible in the development of the artworks, which include traditional block prints, used to create images concerning anxiety and depression, a quilted map of violence in public places, and a depiction of the immune system made from recycled plastic waste.

"These urban health concerns often feature at conferences, but they are rarely discussed with the people that are affected most - this project marks a change in emphasis," said Professor David Osrin (UCL Institute of Global Health), co-director of the project under a Wellcome Trust International Engagement award.

To find out more, visit the Dharavi Biennale website.

Links:

Dharavi Biennale blog

Dharavi Biennale on Facebook

Dharavi Biennale on Twitter