EyeMyth Festival 2019 in Mumbai to examine the convergence of art and technology

In a world of constant updates and upgrades, it’s not just our smartphones that race to keep up with the times. Our lives are infiltrated with new channels of information every day, and the languages we use to communicate are perpetually evolving. Simultaneously, the way we view and consume art is rapidly changing as well. From medium to media, the future of art is building itself in front of our eyes. In recognition of this growing culture, Quicksand Design Studio is launching the fifth edition of EyeMyth Media Arts Festival - a three-day long festival set to take place across multiple venues in Mumbai, Maharashtra, in November 2019.

EyeMyth is more than just a showcase of cutting-edge technology combined with jaw-dropping visuals. It also creates a harbour for artists, creators, and visionaries who have one foot in the present and another in the future. The festival brings an exciting and engaging programme to the table, curating a conference, workshop, showcase and performances into one riveting event.

While the organisers are dedicated to celebrating new media art, their vision for this festival extends beyond - creating a safe and open space for radical ideas, new collaborations, and most importantly for creators to learn, unlearn and discover while building a community for new media artists in India. EyeMyth Festival started off in 2011 as part of UnBox Festival. After realising the significant gap in the new media art sector in India, EyeMyth Festival has been cultivated into something bigger than itself. The festival is one of the few in the world and the only one in India to establish a platform dedicated purely to new media arts.

Avinash Kumar, co-founder of Quicksand and Creative Director of EyeMyth, says, “The Indian digital arts scene is at the cusp of becoming exponentially more potent and diverse. The next decade of Indian creativity will hopefully create a distinct and powerful identity for its creators and their work globally. EyeMyth sees the need for entities like itself to articulate and expand on the emerging discourse around these new currents. There are very few safe spaces for these new communities to express their practice as well as build new creative networks.”

At its inception, EyeMyth was a ‘visual music festival’, which combined visual elements to create surreal audio-visual (AV) experiences. Today the festival is teaming with events that are sure to ignite your curiosity, both intellectual and artistic. The conference will feature over 50 panelists, representing new media spaces from Australia, Switzerland, the UK and of course, India. Another exciting feature on the itinerary is Bhavishya Bhojanalaya - a futuristic brunch curated by India’s leading food provocateur and chef Gresham Fernandes, served alongside some low-fidelity music curated by indie label Skip-A-Beat.

The showcase is set to feature a diverse line up of artists displaying their latest projects from VR (virtual reality) films to indie video games, generative art and more. Finally, every day will be finished with what EyeMyth does best - a thrilling AV performance after party. EyeMyth Festival is truly pushing the boundaries of art, performance and new media, while creating a unique space to build networks and communities.

Curated from start to finish, the festival is set to take place from November 29 to December 1, 2019, at the following venues - Deepak Cinema (Matterden / Lower Parel); AntiSocial (Lower Parel); Flea Bazaar Cafe (Lower Parel); ISDI (Lower Parel), Mumbai. Step in, join this one-of-a-kind experiential festival, and be a part of the creative community of the future.