One of the most awaited multicultural festivals of the country ‘The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival’ (KGAF) is kicking off this weekend in Mumbai. Kala Ghoda Festival 2023 is scheduled from 3rd – 12th February 2023 and will be held across the Kala Ghoda area in South Mumbai. It’s the 23th edition of much awaited festival.
Kala Ghoda Festival 2023 Theme
The theme of the Kala Ghoda Festival 2022 was “Udaan”. This year’s theme is yet for be declared.
Kala Ghoda Festival 2023 Schedule
You can find the Official Kala Ghoda Arts Festival Schedule on the official website of Kala Ghoda.
Display of Art & Culture
The festival has a beautiful display of art and culture from across India. KGAF has stalls that sell beautiful art, craft, handicraft products by local artisans. The stalls are lined up along both sides of the Kala Ghoda road and the space outside the Jehangir Art Gallery.
KGAF is peppered with beautiful art installations and that’s a major attraction amongst visitors! All the installations are totally Instagram worthy so take your cameras and keep your phones charged to capture all the beautiful visual art.
Workshops
There are workshops held all through the nine-day festival and the workshops are for children as well as adults.
About 77 workshops are spread across various segments such as theatre, dance, music, films, food, art & craft and more. The workshops have free entry and are on a first-come-first-serve basis.
These workshops will be held at Artists’s Centre, Artisans’ and Somaiya Centre for Lifelong Learning, Max Muller Bhavan.
The workshops and activities for children will be organized at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS). The literary events for children will be held at Somaiya Bhavan and Kitab Khana. Prior registration is required for the literary event.
Screening of Movies & Documentaries
There will be several movie and documentary screenings, workshops and discussions happening at KGAF and it will be held in Coomaraswamy Hall and Visitors’ Centre at CSMVS.
Various films and documentaries will be presented in Visitor’s Center and Coomaraswamy Hall which turn into a cinephile’s abode during the festivals. Many iconic and influential films will also be screened at KGAF this year.
Theatre
There will be about 35 plays in English, Hindi, Marathi, and Gujarati that will be performed at KGAF. They will be held at Horniman Circle Gardens, MC Ghia Hall (Kala Ghoda) and the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA).
Stand-up Comedy
There will be several prominent stand-up comedians will be putting up there acts at the Irish House at K Dubash Marg this year.
And of-course you can read more about the Famous Indian Stand-up Comedians HERE
Dance
From classical Indian to contemporary western- you’ll find all kinds of dancers performing at this festival. The dance performances will be happening at the Cross Maidan, Churchgate.
Musical Performances
There will be an amazing line up of music performances by artists which will range from classical to contemporary and from Indian Folk to International. Some of the key musical performers this year will be of
- Jonita Gandhi
- Lydian Nadhaswaram
- Shilpa Rao
- Mugdha Hasabnis
- Taufiq Qureshi
- Nikhil Patwardhan
- Sahar Zaman
All of the musical events will be held at Cross Maidan and some of them will be held at the Asiatic Library Steps.
Literary Events
There will be several literary events such as book launches, poetry sessions, workshops, and discussions with well-known authors which will happen at David Sassoon Library. Some of the main topics of Kala Ghoda 2023 include:
- A Tryst with Democracy
- Clear Lens on the City
- Seeing Ourselves
- India’s Place in the New World Dis-Order
Heritage Walks
The popular heritage walks will be held this year as well which will give you an insight into the beautiful heritage places across town. The heritage bus tours will happen on the weekends only.
The spots for heritage walks and bus rides are limited, you need to collect passes for it an hour prior to the scheduled event from the ‘Heritage Help Desk’. This year’s event is organized by Bharat Gothoskar.
The timings for KGAF are 10 AM – 10 PM and the entry is free! All the workshops, interactions, and activities have intake on a first come first serve basis so make sure you reach before time to attend it.
Go visit KGAF from 4st – 12th Feb 2023 and explore the amazing lineup of events and beautiful display of art and culture!
