Arts meets wellness: Mumbai festival invites citizens to slow down and reconnect

Children participate in Dance Movement Therapy at SRCC Hospital

The Mumbai Arts & Health Festival will kick off in the city across Fort, Dadar, Bandra, Borivali, Thane, Govandi and Juhu, with the intent to provide a city-wide canvas of care. Led by festival chairperson Devika Mehta Kadam (right), the idea is to create ecosystems of care and reduce the resistance that arts is only for those who are good at it.

Musicians at a drum circle hosted at the festival. Pics courtesy/@mumbaiartsandhealthfestival

With this year's theme Pause, the festival responds to Mumbai's relentless pace, encouraging people to slow down through creative expression. Spreading across parks, hospitals, beaches and public spaces, this large and free programme, makes art and wellness accessible to all.

Devika Mehta Kadam

Log on to: @mumbaiartsandhealthfestival

The Guide's Top 4 Picks

1 Eco art and yoga

Set amid nature, this session combines yoga with eco-art, inviting participants to slow down and reconnect. Using natural materials like leaves, it turns the park into a therapeutic space. Kadam explains that the idea is to "Engage with spaces we already access, but more meaningfully."
AT Sanjay Gandhi National Park ON May 9; 8 am to 9.30 am

2 Beach clean-up

Blending action with creativity, participants clean the beach before transforming collected waste into an art installation. Open to all, it reflects the festival's participatory ethos.
AT Dadar Beach (Kirti College lane) ON May 10; 8 am onwards

3 Govandi art walk and arts for mental health panel

Youngsters paint a wall during a community mural workshop

This community-led experience pairs a panel on mental health with a guided walk through Govandi's art initiatives. It spotlights how creativity supports marginalised communities.
AT Natvar Parekh Compound, Awaaz, Govandi
ON May 9; 3 pm to 5 pm

4 Climate, care and creativity panel

A creative art session held in the run-up to the festival

This panel brings together practitioners and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board to discuss environmental health through art. Instead of repeating the climate crisis narrative, it highlights solutions. "The focus is on who's doing the work, and what can be done at an individual or community level," says Kadam.
AT NGMA Mumbai
ON May 8; 3 pm onwards