School’s Out! #42 with Rohan Shivkumar

School’s Out! #42

For the next School’s Out! on Friday 31 May, we’ve invited architect, urban designer and filmmaker Rohan Shivkumar. The talk will explore the intertwined histories of image making and the evolution of the city of Mumbai. 

Mumbai is often more myth than place. Every street and square is haunted by images – from the past and the future. These images shape the way we see who we are, and what we are going to be. They come from the world of cinema, television, poetry, urban design and architecture and promise the unfettered freedom of modernity on the streets, but also its inverse- the dark dungeon of crime filled alleys. These are intertwined with the everyday life of its inhabitants and affects the way the city grows. This has been particularly true across the twentieth century during which both its population and its role as the centre for the Hindi film industry grew rapidly.

Rohan Shivkumar is an architect, urban designer and filmmaker practicing in Mumbai. He is the Dean of Architecture at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies. He also a principal of the architectural and urban practice the ‘Collaborative Design Studio’ and is  a member of CRIT- an urban research collective based in Mumbai. His work ranges from architecture, urban research and consultancy projects to works in film and visual art. He is interested in issues concerning housing, public space and in exploring ways of reading and representing the city. 

Programme

18:00 Doors open, drinks bites and tunes

19:00 – 20:30 Talk by Rohan Shivkumar + Q&A

20:30 – 22:00 Drinks bites and tunes

About Rohan Shivkumar
Rohan Shivkumar is an architect, urban designer and filmmaker practicing in Mumbai. He is the Dean of Architecture at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies. He also a principal of the architectural and urban practice the ‘Collaborative Design Studio’ and is  a member of CRIT- an urban research collective based in Mumbai. His work ranges from architecture, urban research and consultancy projects to works in film and visual art. He is interested in issues concerning housing, public space and in exploring ways of reading and representing the city. 

His work has engaged with governmental and non governmental organisations with urban design projects like the Churchgate Revival Project and the Tourist District Project. At KRVIA he has led the Research and Design Cell and has worked on projects in Dharavi, access to infrastructure in the forest in Mumbai, and on the spaces of Dr Ambedkar in Mumbai. Rohan is the co-editor of the publication on an interdisciplinary research and art collaboration- ‘Project Cinema City’. He also curates film programmes and writes on cinema, architecture and urban issues. His films on art, architecture and urbanism include ’Nostalgia for the future’, ‘Lovely Villa’, and ‘Squeeze Lime in Your Eye’. His work has been featured in many events including the Chicago Architecture biennale, the Sharjah Architecture Triennale, the Seoul Architecture biennale, the World Social Forum, the Dhaka Art Fair and Documenta.