It’s everywhere

I wish I could visit museums but walking around nature, city architecture, wall paintings, [observing] people’s fashion, is more accessible and “bingeable”. I spend more time and effort when I visit a museum because, ‘it’s the real thing’ but I don’t find it a challenge to find art in the ordinary. I like noticing patterns in clothes, leaves, and ripples. I see art in shadows, and rays of sunlight. 

Aayushi Dash

I don’t expend too much thought or treat it [art] as a scientific checklist. I like to examine brushstrokes, mediums, guess the time period, the artists’ intent with paintings, and statues.

Aayushi Dash, 19, Dadar

Changing tides

Tvisha Jain at Nature Morte; (right) Tvisha

I don`t think art walking has ever been something I’ve done to follow a trend. It’s something I’ve been doing for years even before it became an Instagrammable thing. The only shift now is that when I go I’m a little more aware of how it might look aesthetically on a story, but that’s never the main motive.

Art walks are more about the experience rather than what I can get out of it for Instagram. I actually prefer going with someone because I need that back and forth, hearing what they see in a painting or how they interpret a sculpture. That 
exchange of perspectives almost feels like its own form of art to me.

Tvisha Jain, 19, Lower Parel

Stepping out

Chinmayee Desai photographs graffiti at Chapel Road

I engage with art not because I want it on my Instagram grid, but because I am fascinated, and want to share about it with my people (friends). I like to keep a track of the details of the paintings and the ones that I liked best. I share those artworks, so that I can have conversations about them.

Art walking is an activity that I pursue to escape the self-imposed loop of scrolling and passive consumption of content. While it is still me consuming art instead of creating it; art walking takes much more effort including travelling to the gallery, engaging with the artists, and exploring the meaning of art with my fellow walkers. It is also a fun activity to do with friends. It allows me to feel like I am exploring the world. 

Chinmayee Desai, 20, Thane

Witnessing the shift

Samia Kapadia

I’ve noticed a growing interest among Gen Z in engaging with art. Social media has played a significant role in making it more accessible. I also feel the focus can sometimes shift from the emotional and aesthetic experience of a work towards its digital share-ability. I observed this during my recent installation at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, where engagement often began through virtual documentation but occasionally evolved into deeper interactions. 

Information courtesy: Samia Kapadia, artist

Walk the art walk

Kapadia’s Kala Ghoda exhibition

» Pause and absorb the nuances of the artwork.

» It’s important to go beyond what meets the eye and engage with the piece more critically. Try to understand what the artist might be conveying while allowing space for your own interpretation.

» Art walking is more fulfilling when you stay curious, observe details, and respond emotionally rather arriving at a fixed meaning.