Artists Rediscover Gaming To Find Solutions To Societal Issues

NEW DELHI: Five artists have come together to make art more playful, by developing video and board games that explore aspects of how people engage with society, while simultaneously expanding the notion of art practice.

While one artist has developed a game based on a court case dating back to the pre-Independence era, another artist uses a busy street model to develop a board game that aims to garner new insights into complex urban systemic issues like traffic woes, water and sanitation etc.

The artists - Mohini Dutta, Shradha Jain, Zuleikha Chaudhary, Krishnarjun Bhattacharya and Vinit Nikumbh had taken part in a gaming residency co-curated by Prayas Abhinav at the Khoj International Artists' Association studio here six weeks ago. Beginning September 4, an exhibition of the developed games is scheduled to be held at the studio for three days.

Architect Vinit Nikumbh, who is currently working on a mobile application that gamifies urban planning has researched issues of pedestrian access to important nodal transportation junctions in the Mumbai.

At the Khoj residency Nikumbh, has developed a game where the player can have the immersive experience of programming his walk through a busy street engaging with factors like weddings, festivals, the use of rickshaws etc.

"Collecting the responses of the participants to the procedure of the game and layering them can create newer insights about the way we can think of answers to complex urban systemic issues," says Nikumbh.

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