Chennai’s got a new art district and here’s why you must visit 

Chennai’s Kannagi Nagar at first glance is a clear grid of rectangular apartment blocks, and just as your eyes are easing over the mundane uniformity, flashes of colour beam through street corners. The vibrant geometrics of sunny palms and familiar patterns of Spanish artist Antonyo Marest’s mural titled New Door. The hyper-real portrait titled Sisters sees two little girls stare right at you with the brightest of smiles, made poignant in monochrome by local artist A-Kill. And then a burst of the sheer power of womanhood with Delhi-based artist Osheen Siva’s Protectors & Providers. Every block or two, a new mural greets you. Locals throng around the cranes holding cans of paint and sweaty artists whose works are still in progress, the real and imaginary are traded in words and gestures between artist and community. A street later, and there’s a rangoli competition between the women of the community, another and kids are busy painting a wall, even as their writing and drawings from previous workshops are tacked onto makeshift notice boards. The recently launched, Kannagi Art District, a presentation by Asian Paints and St+art India Foundation, is as much about engaging the community through art as it is about artists getting to flex their artistry across public spaces. 

Co-founder and curator of the St+art India Foundation Guilia Ambrogi, guides me along street by street, mural by mural, peppering our walk with a bit of recent history about why this became the perfect choice for a community-based art project. “First, the facades are beautiful. Second, there are so many that it has the potential for us to create the largest art district in the country. And finally, before this project started if you google Kannagi Nagar you have pages and pages of news reports on crime, people getting stabbed, dismal poverty levels, and violence of some kind or the other. Unemployment is exploding here, and when people from the area apply for jobs they’re rejected because of the reputation of their address. It’s a vicious cycle. So in our own way, we’re hoping to help change the public image of this locality.” 

A “resettled” area in Chennai, Kannagi Nagar is today a diverse mix of over 80,000 marginalised residents. The first wave hit in 2000, where people from slums across Chennai were moved here, and then in 2010 when Tsunami hit families and victims were packed off here. The abject poverty has led to rising crime levels, thenewsminute.com reports more than 150 listed criminals in the area. The licks of paint may not be able to change the crime rate but it is definitely helping transform Kannagi Nagar, into a socially acceptable space. The kids disrupt their game of tag, to chat with us as we walk around their streets. The men and women are more house-proud, inviting us into their buildings to show the kolam decorating the doorways to their homes. Ambrogi explains, “On the one hand there is the facelift we give a neighbourhood and that’s a very tangible impact of the work we do. On the other hand, many cities are now understanding that public art should be part of the scheme to help improve the quality of life of a city. It creates community spaces and cultural spaces, that are as important to develop a city today as is infrastructure.” 

Having established art districts across the country from Lodhi Art District in Delhi to Mahim Art District in Mumbai, these street art projects are helping democratise art and use art to help build communities across the country. COO of Asian Paints, Amit Syngle concludes, “You have to start engaging with people to encourage the appreciation of art and culture. And it isn’t practical to expect them all to visit museums and galleries, it’s why we decided to explore exterior spaces. And yes, there’s a regional element where we tap into art from the region, be it style or colours, but it’s also about bringing international artists to India. To assist a cross cultural and vibrant dialogue. And when you see how people respond, you realise that public art works!” 

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