Introduction
The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival marked its 25th anniversary in 2025, celebrating a quarter century of bringing art, culture and creative expression into Mumbai's historic Kala Ghoda precinct.
For its Silver Jubilee edition, MeMeraki was commissioned by India Exim Bank to create a landmark installation that would embody the significance of the occasion and serve as a central visual icon for the festival.
The result was a larger-than-life horse created through the traditional Lippan Kaam of Kutch, Gujarat.
Finished in white and detailed with hundreds of reflective mirrors, the installation brought together a strong sculptural form with an intricate craft tradition. For MeMeraki, the project presented an opportunity to interpret a clear cultural brief through the lens of Indian craft, while demonstrating how traditional artistic practices can be thoughtfully adapted for contemporary public spaces.
The Brief From India Exim Bank
The brief was released by the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival team a few months before the event. With 25 years of KGAF as its defining theme, MeMeraki was invited to create a landmark installation that would embody this milestone and become a central, celebratory icon for the festival.
The brief was straightforward in its direction: the horse was to be interpreted quite literally.
For MeMeraki, the opportunity lay in determining what that horse could communicate beyond its physical form. The team began by considering the qualities that could represent a festival at its 25-year mark, as well as the relationship between the horse and the identity of Kala Ghoda itself.
This led to the concept of The Shimmering Stallion.
The Concept: The Shimmering Stallion
MeMeraki envisioned a stallion in its prime, captured mid-trot.
The choice was rooted in three distinct associations with the festival's Silver Jubilee.
- First, the stallion represented strength, grace, maturity and the confidence of being at the peak of its power. These qualities reflected the character of a festival that had grown and established itself over 25 years.
- Second, the horse's slow, confident movement reflected the way KGAF itself had evolved: steadily, purposefully and with a sense of forward momentum.
- Third, the horse was intrinsic to the spirit and identity of Kala Ghoda, making it a natural visual connection to the festival and its surroundings.
The craft language came from Kutch.
MeMeraki chose Lippan Kaam, a traditional mud and mirror craft known for its intricate surface work. Its combination of a pristine white base and reflective silver mirrors offered a natural connection to the Silver Jubilee.
White was chosen to signify peace, patience and maturity, qualities associated with a 25-year legacy. The mirrors were conceived as reflections of the creativity of everyone who visited, carrying ideas of hope and possibility. The silver, meanwhile, created a direct visual reference to the Silver Jubilee itself.
The concept therefore brought together three points of reference: the horse of Kala Ghoda, the maturity of a 25-year legacy and the visual language of silver.
Translating the Concept Into Form
The brief called for a horse, but MeMeraki approached the form as an opportunity to create an experience rather than simply fulfil a visual requirement.
The concept took shape as a larger-than-life stallion, with traditional Lippan craft defining its surface.
The entire horse was finished in shimmering silver, creating an immediate connection to the festival's Silver Anniversary. Hundreds of reflective mirrors were applied across its surface, allowing the artwork to respond to its surroundings.
During the day, sunlight moved across the mirrors as visitors passed by, creating shifting points of reflection. At night, artificial lighting transformed the surface once again, giving the stallion an almost magical presence.
The reflective surface became more than an aesthetic treatment. It served as a metaphor for 25 years of Kala Ghoda, a festival that has continued to reflect, evolve and bring together different facets of art and culture.
As MeMeraki's team expressed:
“Where the heritage of yesterday meets the silver brilliance of today - KGAF 25. We envisioned the Shimmering Stallion not just as an installation, but as a mirror to the festival's soul. May it continue to inspire, lead, and run wild through our imagination.”
Lippan Kaam: The Craft Behind the Installation
Lippan Kaam is a traditional mud and mirror art form from the Kutch region of Gujarat. Traditionally used to decorate walls and interiors, it involves creating intricate patterns using a mixture of clay, mud and other materials, followed by the application of small pieces of mirror.
Its visual vocabulary includes floral, geometric and nature-inspired motifs, with patterns also drawing inspiration from the embroidery traditions of Kutch.
The craft has historically been part of the domestic architecture of the region, particularly within communities where women created decorative and symbolic wall surfaces using locally available materials.
For The Shimmering Stallion, this established craft language was translated onto a large-scale sculptural form.
The Lippan work used a combination of local clay, paper pulp and natural glue extract, alongside the characteristic mirror work. The resulting surface brought the earthy materiality of the craft together with the reflective quality required by the concept.
The Artist Behind The Stallion
The Lippan work was led by Nalemitha Bapubhai Mutva, also known as Mitha bhai, a master Lippan artist from Kutch with more than 20 years of experience.
Nalemitha ji learnt the craft from Mahmood bhai, who played an important role in transforming Lippan work into art created for display.
The practice has deep roots within the Mutwa community, where women traditionally decorated the walls of their homes with mud and mirrors, creating intricate patterns that carried both decorative and symbolic meaning.
Nalemitha ji has continued to develop this knowledge through contemporary applications, taking Lippan beyond its traditional architectural context while retaining the essence of the practice.
For this project, he worked alongside Mansoor Ali Mutva, bringing their knowledge of Lippan into a sculptural format at a scale significantly different from its conventional application.
From Traditional Walls to a Life-Size Sculpture
One of the defining aspects of the project was the shift in scale and application.
Lippan Kaam has traditionally been associated with walls and architectural surfaces. The Shimmering Stallion required the craft to be adapted to a three-dimensional form, where every pattern had to respond to the curves and proportions of the horse.
This required the craft to retain its handmade quality while functioning as part of a larger sculptural artwork.
The process also created a new way for audiences to experience the craft. Rather than encountering Lippan as part of a traditional interior, visitors at Kala Ghoda could walk around the artwork, observe its details from different angles and see how the mirrors interacted with the surrounding light.
The project demonstrates how traditional craft can be translated into contemporary spatial and public art without separating the finished work from the knowledge of the artisan who created it.
The complete project, from initial confirmation through to final installation, was developed over approximately two months.
The Production Process
Bringing the installation to life required coordination across MeMeraki's project team, master artisans and specialist production teams. The process moved through structural fabrication, sculptural development, Lippan application, finishing and installation.
Project Timeline
Production began on 25 December 2024 and concluded on 15 January 2025.
The broader project, spanning initial confirmation through final installation, was executed over approximately two months.
Building the Form
The first stage involved developing the structural form of the stallion.
A team of 4–5 artisans worked on the main structure. The process included welding the base metal armature, sculpting the form with clay, layering fibre sheets with resin to create the mould, and completing the surface with POP finishing.
The fibre and structural casting work was undertaken by Kamlesh Nagvadia and Ajay Chauhan.
This stage established the sculptural foundation on which the Lippan work would eventually be applied.
Applying the Lippan
Once the structure was ready, the surface was developed through the traditional Lippan process.
Nalemitha Bapubhai Mutva and Mansoor Ali Mutva led the Lippan work, alongside Vishakha Agrahari from the MeMeraki team.
A dedicated group of three artisans worked on the Lippan application, building the intricate patterns and mirror detailing across the sculptural surface.
The process required careful adaptation of the craft to the contours of the horse, ensuring that the traditional visual language remained legible while working within the demands of a three-dimensional form.
Supporting Production
The project was supported by two carpenters and one electrician.
The carpenters assisted with structural support, while the electrician worked on lighting and branding integration.
Across the different stages, the creation of the installation involved a dedicated team of approximately 9–10 artisans, supported by MeMeraki's core project team.
The Team Behind The Project
The project brought together MeMeraki's creative and project teams with master artisans and specialist fabricators.
MeMeraki Core Team
- Vishakha Agrahari, Project Lead
- Kirti Bharadwaj
- Debobarni Das, Tote Bag Graphics
Master Artisans
- Nalemitha Bapubhai Mutva, Lippan Art
- Mansoor Ali Mutva, Lippan Art
- Kamlesh Nagvadia, Fibre & Structure Casting
- Ajay Chauhan, Fibre & Structure Casting
The collaboration brought together traditional craft expertise and specialised fabrication capabilities, allowing the installation to retain its handmade character while meeting the requirements of a large-scale public artwork.
The Installation at Kala Ghoda
The completed stallion was installed as a landmark artwork for the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival's Silver Jubilee edition.
Its material treatment was designed to respond to the changing environment around it. In daylight, the hundreds of mirrors caught and reflected sunlight, creating movement across the surface. After dark, artificial lighting gave the stallion a distinct visual presence.
This changing quality reinforced one of the central ideas behind the installation: the artwork was designed to reflect its surroundings while becoming part of the experience of the festival itself.
A Collaboration Between MeMeraki and India Exim Bank
The Shimmering Stallion was commissioned by India Exim Bank as part of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival's 25th anniversary edition.
India Exim Bank is a premier financial institution owned by the Government of India, with the objective of financing, facilitating and promoting India's international trade. The Bank also supports India's handicrafts and creative industries through initiatives such as Grassroots Initiatives for Development and Marketing Advisory Services.
Its programmes support artisans, master craftsmen, weavers, clusters, self-help groups, NGOs, grassroots organisations and micro enterprises through capacity building, participation in trade fairs and exhibitions, and opportunities to access wider markets.
The Kala Ghoda collaboration provided a public platform through which this commitment to India's creative and craft communities could intersect with contemporary cultural programming.
For MeMeraki, the partnership also reflects the potential of institutional collaborations to create meaningful platforms for traditional artisans and craft practices.
The Impact on Traditional Craft
The project offered Lippan Kaam a new context without removing it from its traditional roots.
A craft historically experienced on architectural surfaces became the defining material language of a large-scale public sculpture. This shift created a different way for audiences to encounter the practice, while giving the artisans an opportunity to apply their knowledge to an unconventional format.
For MeMeraki, this distinction is important. Contemporary applications of craft need not replace traditional ones. They can exist alongside them, creating additional opportunities for artisans to practise, present and develop their knowledge.
The Shimmering Stallion therefore became both a celebration of Lippan and an example of how traditional craft can participate in contemporary design and spatial projects.
Public Response and Festival Presence
As a landmark installation created for the Silver Jubilee edition, The Shimmering Stallion was designed to command attention within the festival environment while inviting closer engagement with its craft details.
Its larger-than-life scale created an immediate visual presence, while the hundreds of mirrors made the installation particularly responsive to movement and light.
Visitors could experience the artwork differently throughout the day, as sunlight and artificial lighting changed the appearance of its reflective surface.
What This Project Demonstrates About MeMeraki's Collaborative Model
MeMeraki is a culture-tech platform that connects India's traditional art and craft with contemporary spaces and audiences. Working with 500+ master artists across 300+ artforms, MeMeraki creates artworks, installations and experiences for cultural, hospitality, corporate and public spaces, bringing together artisan knowledge, design and technology.
The Shimmering Stallion reflects this model in practice, bringing together master Lippan artisans, structural fabricators and MeMeraki's creative team to take a traditional craft into a large-scale public setting. By connecting the right craft expertise with contemporary design and project execution, MeMeraki enables traditional practices to respond to new briefs, formats and audiences while retaining the knowledge and character of the craft..
Ending Note
The Shimmering Stallion reflects what can emerge when a cultural brief is approached with both creative intent and respect for the traditions behind it.
For MeMeraki, the project was an opportunity to create meaningful public artwork while opening a new context for a traditional craft and the artisans who carry it forward. It reinforces a larger belief at the heart of MeMeraki's work: that Indian heritage can remain rooted in its origins while finding relevance in contemporary spaces, collaborations and experiences.
The installation stands as a reminder that when craft is given the right platform, it can do more than preserve a tradition. It can give that tradition a new audience, a new context and a continued place in the present.
