T MINUS ONE WEEK

A week from today, I will be headed to Vancouver with my family and my buddy Zac B, where we will fly to Mumbai, India for a wee adventure!

Why India?

India, specifically Mumbai, is where my friends, Shree Joglekar and Jui Mhatre went to art school. The idea for this project was collaboratively engineered by four very different minds. My partner, Kelly, and I were hosting Jui and Shree for the weekend, as they were the Featured Artists at “The Time Tea” which took place in Vancouver on October 31, 2009. We found ourselves discussing how we could use the extra hour during the upcoming Midnight Tea event (it was the night the clocks turn back an hour), and we ended up talking about how time is experienced in India. We imagined together that a tea in Mumbai would have to be an exponential version of the current project—12 hours in duration with 12 artists to work alongside participating guests to create a one-of-a-kind art ritual.

And so now it's happening.

I'm really lucky to be working with some incredible people in Mumbai who have been instrumental in getting the project to where it is:

Namrata Bhawnani (Visual Disobedience) is awesome-- professional, communicative, and supremely connected in Mumbai. She's an ex-journalist with ties to artists of all kinds, from animators to dancers and musicians. She's the real thing! Read more about her here.  

 Shelly Jyoti is a poet, artist, fashion designer, mother, and maker of beautiful things! We both are connected to Seattle's amazing ArtXchange Gallery in historic Pioneer Square. Shelly's work on the indigo farmers in rural India opened up many interesting discussions about legacy and aesthetics. Visit her website.

Snigdha Binjola is a tea sommelier, whose company TeaTrunk.com combines with skillfully crafted blends of carefully selected teas with the ambiance created by narrative and storytelling. In Mumbai, she will be serving tea during the Water Cycle at the Tao Art Gallery.

Arshiya Lokhandwala, the director of the Lakeeren Gallery, creates space for innovative concepts-- providing a much-needed impetus for showcasing new, avant-garde contemporary art in India. 

To find out more about the Midnight Tea in Mumbai, visit us on Facebook, or online at www.mikokuro.com. All guests must RSVP to attend.