SOCIALStree was a campaign initiated by the restaurant chain SOCIAL in collaboration with Ladies, Wine and Design on the occasion of International Women’s Day in March, 2020 to raise awareness of various kinds of issues that women face even today.
The event took place in the cities of Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi comprising of panel discussions and live installation on the subject of ‘Women Safety’. For the Delhi event, Geetanjali was chosen by Ladies, Wine and Design (Gurgaon) as one of the live installation artists to come up with an interactive installation in the entrance hallway of the restaurant SOCIAL, Hauz Khas.
As the installation was to be located in a space with regular thoroughfare engaging people going upstairs to attend the panel discussion at the ANTI-SOCIAL space at the restaurant, Geetanjali designed it in the form of a self supporting U-shaped metal stand on which message cards in the shape of ‘eyes’ could be hung by the visitors using safety pins.
The installation was based on the theme of ‘Women’s safety’ with cue questions pre-hung for the people to ponder upon, write their thoughts on message cards and hang them as part of the live installation.
Carrying forward the principles outlined in Robert Kanigel’s biography on Jane Jacobs, an American – Canadian author, journalist and activist on street safety – ‘Eyes on the Street‘, the questions within the installation revolved around ‘What kind of people/ spaces make one feel safe’ in a city like Delhi?
The audience answers ranged from walking and living in areas with mixed-use activities in the form of street vendors, presence of neighbours or a community and adequate street planning with lighting especially during late hours makes them feel safe.
Collaborator : Anchal Sayal (On-ground execution support)
Dreamwoven Collective 