That art can transform any dour streetscape has been amply proved by Start India Foundation through their various street art projects. Here is an opportunity to catch up with one of their unique projects, the Urban Art Festival - Start Delhi 2019. The art festival (on till March 15, 2019), supported by Asian Paints, promises to be a celebration of diversity, cultures and inclusivity, making art accessible to all.

Start India Foundation, an organisation that works on art projects in public spaces, in collaboration with Central Public Works Department and Swachh Bharat Mission, has transformed the walls between Khanna market and Meherchand Market into a public art gallery. 

According to the organisers, the aim is to re-invigorate the Lodhi Colony area of New Delhi and convert it into the first open-air art district in India, making it an example of how art can be democratic, accessible, and inclusive, used to uplift communities and above all, celebrate diversity.

Start Delhi 2019 will include an expansion of this flagship project &ndash The Lodhi Art District &ndash with an addition of more than 20 new murals. Here artists will produce their interpretation of social causes such as women empowerment, climate change, waste and upcycling and various other pertinent issues.  The festival will be made experiential through a focus on interactive media art pieces, which will explore the use of public space with emerging technologies.  Visitors can participate in artist-led workshops. There will be curated tours for children and adults there will be specially curated tours for the differently-abled. Besides, there will be a talent showcase from the residents, to activate a sense of ownership and community pride for the Lodhi Art District residential community.

An immersive art exhibition &ndash F(r)iction at KONA &ndash will represent the discourse on the changing nature of the relationship between Art, Nature and Technology. Site-specific installations, videos, interactive multimedia pieces and murals transform the venue of Kona &ndash in Jor Bagh Market &ndash in a parallel universe of frictions and fictions, until mid-march 2019.

The festival will see participation from over 30 creators including artists, musicians, chefs and performers.

The &lsquoPassion Meets Possibilities&rsquo project in collaboration with Singapore Tourism Board will be realized with artists from Singapore, featuring visual arts, AR projects, music and F&ampB experiences at two locations.  The Lodhi Art District will feature a special Singapore artist&rsquos lane, and F(r)iction at KONA will feature art installations by Singapore artists.

This year Start is working with the European Union too. Polish artist Nespoon is going to create a large mural and conduct a skill-learning workshop with a group of unprivileged women, which will be inaugurated on March 8 in the presence of the artist, the EU ambassador and 28 European ambassadors.