IIAD students collaborated with Jana Natya Manch (A Theatre Group) for their 50th Anniversary Celebration

Indian Institute of Art & Design (IIAD) recently partnered with Jana Natya Manch (Janam) to commemorate the theater group's 50th anniversary. This collaboration brought together students from IIAD's Interior Architecture & Design and Communication Design departments, who worked diligently to create a visually captivating and structurally innovative Mobile Exhibition. The exhibition was officially inaugurated on Safdar Hashmi Shahadat Divas at Sahibabad. Guided by Snehanshu Mukherjee, the Course Leader for Interior Architecture & Design, and Aarti Uberoi, the Course Leader for Communication Design, the students aimed to showcase Janam's journey and its alignment with progressive democratic movements.

Janam, also known as People's Theatre Front, is a renowned theater group that was established in 1973 and is based in New Delhi. The group has a distinctive approach of bringing theater directly to the workplaces and residences of the people, thereby bridging the gap between art and the masses.

The IIAD students undertook the task of designing a traveling exhibition that would be aesthetically pleasing, adaptable to various locations, and capable of leaving a lasting impression while projecting Janam's ideologies. The exhibit was specifically tailored to appeal to working-class audiences and ensure accessibility to the masses.

The Communication Design students, including Attreyo Roy, Kriti Aggarwal, Akshiya Duta, Rubin Stephen, Meher Kalra, Muskan Jain, and Aarushi Kapoor, were responsible for creating thought-provoking posters that aimed to initiate dialogue in the simplest of ways. Drawing inspiration from Janam's plays, the posters skillfully intertwined politics and art to directly impact the lives of people, variable spaces, and hosting organizations. The students employed photo manipulation and collage-making techniques to craft impactful posters in vibrant colors.

On the other hand, the Interior Architecture & Design students, namely Shubham Aggarwal, Anisha Bansal, Ananya Gupta, Bulbul Khurana, and Mehek Dewani, focused on designing the exhibition's structure in a manner that would seamlessly adapt to the available spaces. The exhibition units were meticulously designed to be easily placed in various locations, ranging from busy street corners to open grounds or parks. To ensure convenience, the units could be packed into transportable boxes and assembled effortlessly by sliding the panels through a rod. The students prioritized lightweight, mobile, and durable construction to account for frequent transportation requirements to different performance spaces.

The collaboration between IIAD and Janam for their 50th Anniversary Celebration proved to be an incredible and rewarding experience for the students. It brought together two distinct departments and allowed the students to enhance their creative skill sets. In today's competitive world, multidisciplinary designers are in high demand, and this project provided a platform for the students to hone their diverse skills.