IF.BE is set to launch their new experimental architecture and art space in a re-fashioned and conserved Ice Factory on 17 April 2022. Situated in Mumbai’s oldest dockyards in Ballard Estate, IF.BE has been revamped into a space that blends its past and the future by Malik Architecture. The space will house exhibition spaces, a library, a restaurant, a cafe and a performance venue. The space will launch with a two week exhibition titled Refraction: The (Re)Making of the Ice Factory. The launch festival would be curated by Arjun Malik and Parul Thacker. The exhibition will feature the past and present architecture of the Ice Factory.

Alongside the exhibition, the launch night program would include items such as Introduction and Welcome Note by Mrinalini Ghadiok, Agni Stotram and Adana Tarana: Inaugural performances by Ankh Dance Collective, Time Lapse: a performance by Ankh Dance Collective, Open: The Conservation Through Generations: Possibilities, a conversation between Architects Sen Kapadia and Sameep Padora and Blurring Boundaries: Transcending Disciplines, conversation with Rajeev Sethi moderated by Mrinalini Ghadiok. The Finale would include a performance by Ankh Dance Collective.

IF.BE has also invited eminent filmmakers, sound artists and performance artists over the course of the exhibition. A movement performance by Elise Ruth, a Norway based architect would take place at 6:30PMon the 17th April. Film screenings of Nainsukh by Amit Dutta would take place from 6PM to 7:30PM on19th April. Film Screening of Chitrashala by Amit Dutta would take place from 6PM to 6:30PM, 7PM to 7:30PM, 8PM to 8:30PM on the 20th April. Sound performances by Isaac Sullivan would take place at 8PM on 22nd & 23rd April. A Rudra Veena performance by Bahauddin Dagar would take place at 6:45PM on the 24th April. A talk by Udayan Vajpeyi of the Raza Foundation would take place at 6:30 PM followed by a film screening of Amit Dutta’s Wittgenstein Plays Chess at 7:30PM, 8PM and 8:30PM on the 25th April. Opium of Time, An analog photo exhibition by Sunhil Sippy would take place from 6:30PM at 26th April. A Performance by Ramya (Soundspace) would take place at 7:30 PM on the 30th April.

Partners Kamal Malik, Abhijit Mehta and Amardeep Tony Singh hope that this initiative will enable them to preserve Ballard Estate’s industrial heritage by offering glimpses of the building's past, be it ice freezing apparatus preserved under glass at the entrance or maintaining the building’s functioning overhead crane. IF.BE, designed by architects Arjun and Kamal Malik, will be made up of 5 spaces. The Substation will be used as a reading room for art, architecture and design material; The Cathedral will function as an exhibition space; The Banyan Tree Cafe situated under the shade of an ancient banyan tree is an all day cafe committed to wholesome and healthy eating; Native Bombay, a restaurant and bar, will offer a contemporary spin on regional Indian cuisine and The Ice Factory (pictured below) will be a performance venue which will be used for architecture-led exhibitions, film screenings and performances to conferences, workshops and private events. IF.BE has been designed to be fluid so the spaces can be easily reconfigured depending on the nature of the event or performance.

Kamal Malik says, “The acronym IF.BE was coined to pay homage to the location's rich heritage. It also alludes to the independent words ‘IF’ [suggestive of endless possibilities and a sense of wonder] and ‘BE’ [a counterweight that provides balance and (re)solutions.] IF.BE represents: a platform where existing behaviours and perceptions are challenged, where open dialogue moves from the currently trending to the truly relevant, where pluralism, self-expression and innovation abound, where architecture, design and the arts finally move beyond their own aesthetically bound definition to becoming instruments that drive holistic and enduring change.”

For more information on the foundation please visit http://ifbe.space/ or follow them on social media on ifbe.space

Address: 10-12, Calicut Road, Ballard Estate, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 400001
Hours: 10AM - 7PM

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