A new festival takes the art out of South Mumbai, brings it closer to home, and breaks the notion that it has to be intimidating and inflexible
Alti Palti
Alti Palti doesn’t want you to travel two hours for art. Instead, it’s bringing art to you all through April. This is the first, and perhaps the biggest, event yet by Alt Shows, which is known to host programmes around the alternative arts.
The month-long festival, co-founded by Michaela Talwar and produced by Anisha Sharma, flips the city’s cultural map. Think hip hop in Fort, visual art in Kandivli, theatre in living rooms, and installations in unexpected studios. Or, as Talwar puts it, “We want to turn the city upside down… bringing visual art into the north… and \ into Fort.”
A SoBo gallery gets reimagined with dance, rap, and theatre in improv piece: Don’t Think, Just Dance
The idea is simple: Mumbai has always been an art city, but its audiences are scattered, siloed, and often tired. “If I want to go to an art night, I have to leave work by 5 [pm]. It’s so much planning,” Sharma says. Alti Palti steps in as a fix; it’s making art hyper local and easy to access.
So, each weekend, the festival pops up in a different neighbourhood of Mumbai. From South Mumbai to Bandra, Kandivli, Goregaon, and Versova. You will find venues like Mad O Wot salon in Khar, Fulcrum in Fort, The Yellow Door in Kandivli, Harkat Studios in Versova, The Go-Go House in Walkeshwar.
A piece from The Ladies’ Compartment, a watercolour exhibition revolving around women
But the bigger idea is cultural overlap. Alti Palti is a chance for theatre audiences to meet music lovers, for visual art to turn into performance, and more. “We don’t want it to be so boxed in,” says Sharma. “There’s so much overlap… this is where true creativity comes out.” At its core, Alti Palti is building an ecosystem where artistes collaborate, audiences cross-pollinate, and the city finally feels connected. All the participating artistes are from Mumbai, barring one or two from Pune and beyond.
WHEN: All weekends of April
PRICE: Rs 750 for a weekend pass (pick any one weekend) Rs 1200 festival pass (access to all weekends)
TO BOOK: altshows.com
Don’t Think, Just Dance
Artists: Leah Curtis, Sugandh Lamba, and others
A South Mumbai gallery gets reimagined with dance, rap, and theatre. Expect an improv dance piece where the audience directs movement in real time, alongside performances that challenge the traditional white cube format.
WHEN: April 4
Hip Hop Night
Artiste: Siddhesh
A closing act that brings together Marathi rapper Siddhesh, Goa-based crew Koot 3, and rapper Kanti Nari. It’s local, loud, and showcases the city’s evolving hip hop scene.
WHEN: April 25
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