The Blackout Festival To Take Place This Weekend
17 December 2012
On the weekend of 21-23 December a house somewhere in Mumbai will come to life with 'The Blackout Festival'.
Curated by Shazeb Arif, one of the brains behind Carnival Of eCreativity, alongside some of his long time collaborators, The Blackout Festival is a 2 day, invite only multi-genre 'festival' that aims to encompass "music, visuals, film, arts, food, talks, power games, camping, launches, workshops and even a spa all before we fade to black" on 21 December 2012, a date on which it's widely believed that the Mayan calendar predicted to be the end of the world (as we know it). And yes, it is a mere 4 days from now.
"The festival was born to celebrate that very co-incidence that my birthday falls on 21-12-2012 and that of a dear friend (on the 23rd) who happens to be in the country, also co-incidentally. The other side of the story is that we love doing this - glorifying ourselves within our circle though we know it's all a big joke. Also being a curator and knowing a bunch of interesting artists, I thought it is a great opportunity to bring all our friends together and just make a regular Mumbai house a destination of a sequence of interesting events." - Shazeb Arif
Programming highlights include various film screenings, a book launch, gaming, poker, lots of eating/drinking and of course music and multimedia performances.
"The highlights, I believe, will be the coming together of the people itself but from a programming perspective, we have a web chat show launch on Sunday following which we will shoot an entire season. Also, a friend Sachin Shetty (Antariksh) will be performing his debut space ambient album for the first time. We also have a book launch and a PS3 gaming night. Lastly, the Rickshaw-wala's brunch will see street side vendors making dishes in the party house.
"It's happening in a small house in Bombay and its compactness is what will make this chaotic yet happy. It's for friends only but these friends can recommend other friends"
A full schedule can be seen below:
DAY 0, Thursday: 20-12-12 (Press Conference: 10pm onwards)
10pm: Shazeb Arif S: A retrospective on the Black Indian Westside
10.02pm: Keynote on The Blackout Festival by Shazeb Arif S
10.30pm: Dinner & Performance (menu and lineup to be announced)
12am: Bringing in the Blackout Festival with the last Mayan day on Earth
DAY 1, Friday: 21-12-12: (Gates Open: 7pm)
7-9pm: Film Screening curated by noted film critic Aniruddha Batchu
9-10pm: Barbie-Q Dinner hosted by Romika Chawla
10pm onwards: Blockbuster of the day: 1) Book launch - Nameless yet Faceful 2) Music - Antariksh's debut performance of space ambient pieces from his self-titled album 3) Multimedia Performance - The Broth Of Hell (D&B + Live Video + Ghoulish Masks for Everyone)
DAY 2, Saturday: 22-12-12
8-11am: Open Kitchen Breakfast & Morning Music Sessions featuring Norah Jones + Fennesz + Thom Yorke + Roisin Murphy
11-1pm: Bjork DIY Jam with found material, crafts & colors
1-2pm: Lunch - Masterclass Chef Madhav presents: The Great Indian Dal Festival
2-3pm: Action & Discussion - Unveiling the New Mayan Calendar
3-5pm: Film Screening curated by noted film critic Aniruddha Batchu
5-5.30pm: High Tea & Lazy Yoga
5.30-7pm: Gaming - Deathmatches: Unreal Tournament & Orchestral Gems
7-9pm: Film Screening curated by noted film critic Aniruddha Batchu
9-10pm: DreamTrash Dinner - Interpreting dreams drunk. (Dinner menu to be announced)
10pm onwards: Blockbuster of the day: 1) Last Man Standing 2) Grand Poker Night (over totally tense music) 3) PS3 Rajah (Games will be decided impulsively)
Midnight: Toast to British Birthday Girl
DAY 3, Sunday: 23-12-12
8-11am Open Kitchen Breakfast & Morning Music Sessions (Curated by Diya Sarker)
11-3pm: Rickshaw Wala's Brunch Music: IDM Special by 3rd Thought Records. Lesiure: Beer Pong & Power Monopoly
3-3.30pm: Discussion - The Dark Future of the C'mon Man
3.30-5pm: Spa
5-5.30pm: High Tea
5.30-7pm: Gaming Ipad special
7--9pm: Film Screening curated by noted film critic Aniruddha Batchu
9-10pm: Future Feast - Dinner & Cocktails
10pm onwards: Blockbuster of the day: 1) Show Launch - unveiling a brand new web series with a webcast of the 1st episode 2) Jukebox Jungle - fight for your tracks + Live collaborative visuals
*Delhi people looking for something to do on 21-12-12 can of course attend Trapocalypse: The end of the world party', the capital's only late night dance party, taking place 25 floors above the city's centre at Ssky Lounge (above Parikrama revolving restaurant)**