The Design Museum Dharavi is an innovative cultural space that will be nomadic, travelling along Dharavi. We believe that objects made in Dharavi are as valuable as those collected by design museums around the world. We want to give these objects a platform to be contemplated and appreciated by makers and locals from Dharavi and the city of Mumbai.
Despite what we might think about informal settlements, building new constructions is extremely difficult in these areas, and Dharavi is no exception. Due to the high density of the population and the informal nature of its economy, changes on the urban organisation are constant. This ‘user generated neighbourhood’ is reinventing itself on a daily basis, which constitutes one of its many peculiarities. Local neighbours know that if they want to build or modify any existing construction, it cannot look new, and it must be carried away with the biggest discretion (most of the times during the night).
This unique environment asks for a unique solution, which inspired us to create the Dharavi Design Museum. This specific approach will aim to interact with the local population in a new way, that constitutes a melting pot of crafts, skills, traditions, creativity and technology. This way the Museum won’t just be an exhibition venue, but will also be a flexible meeting point where individuals can showcase their skills, find potential clients, teach workshops to the rest of the community and take their own practice one step further. Every week for two months, the Museum will be relocated somewhere else, following its nomadic nature, bringing its activities to a different part of Dharavi. As part of these activities, the established design and art circuits from the city of Mumbai will be invited to participate and learn more about this informal settlement and the people that live in it.
