Church Street has transformed into a pedestrian-friendly, chic space. Cycle stands that line the pavements add more colour and style, rendering an international look. Artand, a six-month start up by Susheel Nair and Diwakar Jagadeesh, with the support of KT Nagaraj, chief engineer BBMP, and Citizens for Sustainability (CiFoS), has constructed the stands created by artistes Vishwas Singh, Rangaraj and Mahesh Pattar.
“We are an art and design consulting firm and are essentially an art first company,” says Susheel. “We want that art permeate every part of life and find relevance in mainstream living.” The cycle stands seamlessly combine art and engineering. “We let our artistes come up with ideas and not box them within parameters,” adds Diwakar. Once they came up with the designs, a team of engineers put the technology in place. “The gauge is four mm which makes the stands very sturdy. We have used paint-powder coated structured finish, the highest technology available,” says Susheel. In a bid to promote cycling as an alternative, eco-friendly mode of transport, Church Street takes inspiration from other international cities and offers locking options for cycles on either side of the stands.
Susheel lists out the six unique designs of the stands: “Rock paper scissors, Infinity loop, theme of vintage cycles, cycle frames modified enough to be a stand, sunken skateboards, and a chess theme in which there is no king, but the queen, which stands out with a different colour from the other pawns — this theme is to signify that except for the unfortunate event in which women were harassed on Church Street a couple of years ago, Bengaluru has always been a safe place for women,” says Susheel, who has worked in the field of corporate management in the fashion industry for 18 years.
Diwakar too comes from a design and art background. The duo says they will continue to be committed to broadening the interactivity with art in the city.