The exhibition looked at the lives of people in Mumbai and the relationship they have with the city and their ancestral villages in Ratnagiri, 300 kilometers south of the metropolis. The exhibition looked at how technology has bridged urban and rural lives, at the synergies between the two lives and how people adapt different living cultures into each lifestyle. The exhibition is based on research conducted by Matias Echanove and Rahul Srivastava, co-founders and directors of urbz.

“Mumbai Return” included an art installation made by a Dahanu based folk artist from the Warli tribal community, architectural drawings and an interactive map installation as well as models of homes made by artisans of Dharavi in Mumbai, considered to be one of the largest slums of Mumbai.

During the exhibition, urbz organized special walk-throughs, Warli art sessions for children and workshops for students of architecture, media and the general public. Around 500 - 600 participants took part in these guided sessions. 5000 visitors saw the exhibition in Mumbai.

A reception was held on July 21st presided over by the Consul General of Switzerland in Mumbai, Mr. Martin Bienz, which included a panel discussion with Mr. Abhay Sardesai, the editor of Art India Magazine and Prof. Yehuda Safran architectural theorist based at Columbia University, New York.

The 70 Years of Swiss-Indian Friendship initiative of the Embassy of Switzerland in India, the Consulate General of Switzerland in Mumbai and the Forum for Mobile Lives, a Paris based think-tank, supported the exhibition.

Find more pictures from the exhibition.