The Horses Go Virtual: All You Need To Know About Mumbai's Biggest Art Festival

The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival has collaborated with Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival this year, and they will be showcasing cinematic works, both Indian as well as International, and will also be hosting a panel of trans artists in the cinema world! India's biggest group for queer films and artists, Kashish has a promising line-up of films for you. 

Dates: February 6, 7, 8, 12, 13 and 14   

Psst: While you're enjoying these films, make sure you've stocked up on these yummy + healthy snacks as well! 

This one's the most interesting and is something you shouldn't miss out on. Kala Ghoda Spotlight features entertaining performances and talks by Leslee Lewis, TM Krishna, Rahul Mehrotra, among many biggies. 

Events To Look Forward To:

- Kommune Unlocked, an evening of spoken word and poetry ft. Priya Malik, Gaurav Tripathi, Mariyam Saigal, Amandeep Singh,  and Helly Shah, hosted by Tess Joseph

- Global Hindi by Leslee Lewis, an in-studio live concert

- Book launch of Rahul Mehrotra's 'Working In Mumbai' followed by a discussion with Kaiwan Mehta

- 'Will You Be My Wine-lentine?'- Sommelier Gargi Kothari takes you on a virtual wine-tasting workshop that's presented by Sula Wines. 

Dates: February 6, 7, 8, 12, 13

KGAF has partnered with well-known heritage walk groups like Art Deco Mumbai and Khaki Tours to take you through the city and its renowned architectural precincts. Unlocking Heritage takes you on a virtual walk around the statue of the Spirit of Kala Ghoda and other iconic places in the city. 

Events To Look Forward To:

- Bombay Buffet, a talk where heritage evangelists Sukhnandan Vohra and Pereena Lamba explore the history of a few ubiquitous Mumbai dishes and trace the cultures and communities from which they originate

- Anthony W Robins from NYC in conversation with Nityaa Lakshmi Iyer of Art Deco Mumbai Trust. 

Dates: February 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12

There's a super cool category called UpSkill that features interesting workshops across categories like music, podcasting, mental health, among others. Sign up for them and get to learn a new skill from experts in the field!

Events To Look Forward To:

- A sitar workshop by Purbayan Chatterjee

- 3-D Papercutting by Arzan (scissorhands) Khambatta

- Podcasting workshop on how to create characters for audio by the creators of Bhaskar Bose

- Unlocking Anxiety with Sonali Gupta

- Flute workshop with Rakesh Chaurasia. 

Dates: February 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13

A category called Shake a Leg features workshops with renowned international dancers such as Bea Dabrabant (for Tai Chi), Laura Kenyon (Flamenco), Tommaso Petrolo (contemporary), Naima Yazbek (Brazilian Samba) and Natya Kalari by Dr. Sreejith TR of Dancity India. Other Indian names include Ashley Lobo. Ready to chance pe dance? 

Events To Look Forward To:

- 'Body Of Sound', a body percussion workshop by Renato Epstein of the musical group Barbatuques

- Ashley Lobo's contemporary dance workshop 

Dates: February 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14

The category- Laugh Out Loud, as the title suggests, brings forth the best in the business of comedy including Atul Khatri, Aditi Mittal, Sorabh Pant, Vir Das, Rohan Joshi, Sonali Thakker and Kashyap Swaroop. 

Events To Look Forward To:

- The Biggest Liar with Kashyap Swaroop, a virtual game show that will leave you in splits

- An evening of Stand-up Comedy ft. Sonali Thakker, Aditi Mittal, Jeeya Sethi Sorabh Pant and Atul Khatri

- 22 Questions with Stand-up comics Vir Das and Rohan Joshi. 

Dates: February 9, 13, 14

Key Conversations promises engaging conversations with luminaries who share perspectives from their professional life. The talks will be engaging and you'll be enriched by the end of it all. 

Events To Look Forward To:

- Dial M For Films ft. Author/Director Tahira Kashyap in conversation with artistic director MAMI- Smriti Kiran

- 'The Aryan Horse', a talk by Devdutt Patnaik throws light on the fascinating subject of historical timelines of horse mythologies

- 'College Tunes- Darwaza Khula Hai', a musical reunion between Pankaj Udhas and Kavita Krishnamurthi

- Neena Gupta and Vikas Khanna talk to Mayank Shekar about making 'The Last Color'

- Save Our Planet- a talk by Dia Mirza

- 'The Sweet Sound Of Success', with Shilpa Rao and Anvita Dutt

Dates: February 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13

Kitchen Secrets focuses on culinary specialists demonstrating their best recipes, cooking skills, and secret kitchen tactics that you must know about. 

Events To Look Forward To:

- Baking Unlocked, a workshop with Pooja Dhingra

- Kitchen Secrets by Saransh Goila

- Food demo by Michelin Star Chef Fabio Mazzolini from Italy 

- Book reading and chocolate-making by Zeba Kohli

- Talks by Tara Deshpande

Dates: February 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14

This one's for the chotu members in your home and only for peeps in Mumbai. This includes tons of fun activities, online story telling workshops, DIY activities, museum tours and more.  

Event To Look Forward:

- The Treasure Chest with Maya brings alive the story of the Kala Ghoda for kids

- The talented team at Amar Chitra Katha shares the story behind some of their iconic characters

- DIY and storytelling workshops, and physical events like a family picnic and astronomy at the CSMVS Museum (prior registration required)

Dates: Across all days of the festival

Registrations are now open and the schedule is up on the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival website.