2022
rivers of life
climate festival
A journey through India’s rivers
CREATIVE DIRECTION · CURATION ·
EXHIBITION DESIGN · PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The Rivers of Life symposium was a 16-day educational event that was the first in the Climate Awareness series, held at Azim Premji University (APU), Bengaluru, India. The festival depicted the splendour of our rivers, lakes, ponds, and wetlands through the perspectives of 48 young students and practitioners, along with artists, musicians and teachers who came together to form a multi-layered narrative of the river over 16 days, from 2 to 16 November 2022.
Alongside a team of professors and students from APU, Debanshu Bhaumik, and Saksham Singh, we developed an immersive educational experience for students and community members to learn about rivers in India. The photography exhibition was organized to tell the narrative of the changing relationship between humans and riverine environments from symbiotic to harmful and then to restorative. Over 10,000 visitors came to the event over the course of its duration from all over the country and it was featured in local and national news.
“Meandering” — a coded animation of the movement of rivers as they traverse landscapes
by Simran Kaur
Students exploring the photography exhibition
Exhibition Design
In collaboration with Debanshu Bhaumik and Saksham Singh + APU Professors and Students
The exhibition featured work from 48 students who each created a photo story about a river near and dear to them. Some chose rivers near their hometown, others desired to travel to a specific river due to the story it presented on pollution, culture, or its environment. Additionally, the team curated work from well-known photographers and scholars telling stories on the relationship between humans and the natural environment in which they reside.
The flow of the design brought visitors through an introduction on rivers, key terminology, then through a more symbiotic relationship to a more manipulated relationship then to a story of restoration through citizen action. The visitors were encouraged to participate in conversation on the changing relationship with rivers and think through how might they become involved locally.
