Work. play. repeat
BENGALURU: Where does one usually go when they want to see a band perform, watch a play, a dance recital or catch a movie?
Well, the usual answers may be a pub, a bar, a theater and so on. How about one of the many co-working or co-living spaces in the city?
Yes, you got that right, a place where a number of starry-eyed entrepreneurs and startups get together to brainstorm and work, have gradually become parallel platforms for artistic events and hub for people to meet and enjoy.
Call it a way to bring in the crowd and drive up the publicity for a place or as a means to provide entrepreneurs with a rounded experience, each of these places have their own approach.
Ice-breaker
Malathi Krishnan, Manager at Numa, a popular co-working space in Church Street says “It’s a good way to break the ice. Such events also prove a good way to network.” The place hosts one or another event on any given day and has had bands like Swarathma, Oorali, and ISRO perform. They also regulary host book launches, talks and panel discussions. “Many a times we have organised movie screenings in our mini-amphitheatre. People can just come grab a beer and unwind and then get back to work," says Malathi.
Great Potential
Swarathma’s bassist Jishnu Dasgupta, points that such co-working spaces have a great scope of becoming cultural hotspots. The band recently launched a music video at Numa. Jishnu however said that one could not compare such venues with a Blue Frog or The Humming Tree.
“These are in itself performance venues where people come to have a drink or two, have dinner and enjoy. Personally I like venues where you have the undivided attention of the audience like in Numa,” he says.
Art + Tech
One of the first co-working spaces to have started in the city in 2009, Jaaga takes it up a notch. This co-working space was a hotbed of events according to its founder Archana Prasad. “On an average we used to organise at least two events per day and we relied a lot on them,” she says. These included art exhibitions, dance recitals, poetry slams, Ted Talks. “Author and musician, Jeet Thayil was here and he played a set as well.
We also have a very strong poetry community that regularly organises events,” she says. Since 2013, Jaaga has toned down a bit compared to previous years. Events are not as frequent and art and tech are hosted at two different campuses. “We felt that such events were a little bit of a distraction for the startups,” says Archana. The organization now has a campus in Malleshwaram where artists can come and conceptualise their performances.
Karan Bahadur, co-founder of Construkt Startup Hostels set out to disrupt the way startups organized events. He held startup events in conjunction with activities like flea markets, drum jam sessions, culinary designs. “The idea to get all these experiences work and play together,” he says.
‘The Open Show’
Roy Sinai, a photographer and actor organized a photography initiative along with Jaaga which called out photographers from everywhere to share their work. “The show received participation from photographers across the city. The thing about places like Jaaga is that it takes arts and artists from intimidating spaces like a gallery and makes them accessible to the public,” he says.
Platform for Confluence
Co-Life, a co-living and co-working startup, organises karaoke nights and regularly invites DJs, bands and solo singers to perform at a number of its events. Millennials, are always looking for new things to do and Suresh Rangarajan, co-founder of Co-life believes “that budding artists, entrepreneurs and milliniels need a platform to connect and Co-life provides such an opportunity.” Co-life has a few of venues where they can host anywhere between 200 - 300 people.
Sandeepan Hawker, an entrepreneur whose startup, Prime Number Technologies uses the a co-working space of Co-life says that informal events are a way for people to interact more outside of the work setting. “I have made lasting friendships and created epic memories at these events. They can cheer us up after a bad day or be a way for us to celebrate professional milestones,” he says.
One from the audience
Ampat Varghese is a media professional who is an avid music lover. He recently saw the bands ISRO and Oorali at Numa. “It is definitely not the usual pub or club crowd - it’s a more artsy crowd. Both bands have a cult following and are into sonic politics and protest and experimentation. I think the venue and the crowd was perfect for such bands,” he says. Though most people head to places such as the Blue Frog, Take 5, Hard Rock Cafe and others Ampat says he prefers such venues like Numa. “The sound quality and crowd is just different,” he says