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ARTPORT_making waves
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Here is a shout out to a citizen-artist movement from a small region on the West coast of India!
AMCHE MOLLEM (MY MOLLEM) GOA
The Amche Mollem citizen’s movement, since 2020, is driven by citizen action, positions art and culture right alongside scientific and legal strategies against 3 mega-infrastructure projects - a high tension electricity transmission line, the doubling of a railway track, and highway expansion; cutting through the sensitive biodiverse Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary & Mollem National Park, Goa (Western India). Through community work, it focuses on protecting the integrity of the 150-million-year-old Western Ghats. It has created spaces for Goans from all walks of life to express their relationship to the natural world through art. Crucial to a changing world that is gripped by a zoonotic virus and climate change, the Amche Mollem artists of this campaign are citizens first and work in collaboration with multiple stakeholders. Through visual storytelling they unravel complex scientific research, legal concepts, and explain systems of governance.
The ongoing campaign has led to positive reinforcements in citizen participation and conclusive legal outcomes. The transmission line was successfully realigned and the railway environmental clearance was revoked by the Supreme Court. Citizens still await the highway expansion verdict.
Among the varied public engagements that they have led, ‘The Case of the Missing Species’ was an interactive public art installation that stemmed from absent science-based facts that are used to make decisions detrimental to Goa’s future. It brought large scale sculptural depictions of these creatures that were omitted from the EIAs (environmental impact assessment), to Goa’s capital city. Through the act of sharing and collaboration, and the use of postcards as tools of communication, this installation was completed over the duration of the Serendipity Arts Festival 2022 by citizens and visitors alike.
All images courtesy of Amche Mollem Goa.
This post is part of the South Asia series for ARTPORT_making waves, compiled by Lina Vincent, curator, India"
#amchemollem #mymollem #mollemforest #goa #saf22 #westernghats #indiabiodiversity #environmentalart #ARTPORT_mw #citizensmovement #creativeaction
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