One of the prime spaces for showcasing young talent and raising awareness, the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF), has been one of Mumbai’s most awaited events. This year round , artists, theatre persons and short filmmakers will be pitching in to give the city a go green message. Artists Brinda Chudasama Miller and Krsna Mehta have decided to pool their talents to raise an installation — a monument to water. They satirically call it ‘the eighth wonder of the world’ since water is a natural resource that is fast becoming extinct.

“The environment is an important part of our lives which is why we are dedicating the entire festival to it. Interestingly many artists and theatre persons wanted to work with environment as their theme,” says Chudasama Miller whose 40-foot water monument consists of three sides— one that is a pyramid of taps, the other is made of buckets and the third an assortment of Bisleri bottles. The interior is illuminated with subtle lighting so that the structure glows at night.

“We have invested money here since we are going to use it every year, changing the elements a little. Next year we may have an assemblage dedicated to air pollution,” she adds.

A puppet show, The Little Blue Planet, brings to life the wonders of planets and our solar system. The story goes that invention of machines sends the gentle rhythm of the sun, the moon and the earth out of whack and nature’s fine balance is upset—almost to the point of no return. “The show is geared toward both children and adults touching upon our responsibilities as members of the earth to curb carbon emissions and save the world,” says Anurupa Roy, renowned puppeteer who has designed the shadow- play sets for the performance. Roy has worked along with puppeteers and puppet makers from the Karnataka Puppet Arts Trust. Performances by Pawan Wagmare, Shameem, Anand and Umesh Kumar and Neelam Roy will lighten up the heavy theme that underlies this drama.

Another collaborative installation/ sculpture by a group of artists who go by the name Grey and Black, bemoans the overcrowding of the city through scrap metal evocations.

A large scorpion made out of scrap metal raises its sting and is titled Mumbai, while a tree sprouting loudspeakers instead of leaves, is monikered Scream. “We are eating into our plant faster than it can reproduce its resources and this is leading to its untimely death. The metaphor of the scorpion with its babies on its back eating its juices stands for how we drain the city,” says Yuvraj Shahane a member of Grey and Black.

Lastly, catch the photography exhibition at Hacienda Gallery, a three-person travelogue show that chronicles their observations of the city around them—Naples, London or Mumbai.