Last Friday evening began with a hunch, a helmet, and cluelessness. All I had was an Instagram post with an event poster and a caption that read: “Pick your spot and enjoy the magic of Mixtura.” No detailed schedule, no pinned location; just a list of artistes, a few venue names and the promise that something unmissable was about to unfold in the city. Somewhere in the traffic-flooded streets or in a park’s amphitheatre, Chennai’s public arts festival was waiting to be found.
Heading towards Chennai Central metro in an Uber bike — one of the listed spots — with utmost curiosity, I followed my instinct to spot a stage in the middle of a busy street. And as I neared the station, one of the mysteries — the ‘where is this happening’ — was answered. A gathering had taken shape on the pavement just outside the metro entrance, beside the MGR Central metro bus stand. Phones were held high, and the vehicle horns faded as the speakers echoed the sound check of tabla and keyboard. I had arrived at the fourth edition of Mixtura Vizha.
Unlike most art festivals or street performances, Mixtura Vizha doesn’t offer a tightly packed agenda. It throws open various global art forms, placing them squarely in public spaces for people to experience them with an open mind. Curated by Shreya Nagarajan Singh under her banner SNS Arts Development Consultancy, along with KM Music Conservatory, in partnership with the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) and Uptown Kathipara Urban Square.
“This year, we chose three prime locations — Central metro station, Thiru Vi Ka Park, and Urban Square at Kathipara. The idea is to bring the arts into public spaces, and take it outside the traditional space of a sabha or an auditorium,” said Shreya. “We want to make the arts accessible for everyone — be it someone taking the metro home or someone walking through a park.” With a total of eight performances ranging from classical music and dance to drama and koothu to techno and jazz, the city’s spaces transformed into a platform for artistes.
What makes Mixtura Vizha unique is its inclusion of art forms that general audience rarely witnesses live. At Central metro, the performances kicked off with KS Thejal’s voice shifting between soft French compositions and soulful Indian classicals. The blend of beats — of modern and traditional instruments — attracted the passersby. People leaned on barricades, stood in clusters with their backpacks and luggage, some filming and others simply pausing to listen.
It was during the setup for the next act that I spotted Adam Greig, artistic director of KM Music Conservatory. Reflecting on his collaboration and performance, Adam shared, “I’m one of the co-founders and co-inspirators of Mixtura Vizha. Shreya and I were discussing back in 2021 about this idea of doing a festival in Chennai and Shreya came up with this concept of incorporating all the different types of art forms.” As he gearing for his first piano solo at the festival, he gestured toward the crowd and said, “It’s quite an exciting concept because the audience never know what they’re going to get. They know who’s playing, they know where it is happening, but they wouldn’t know who’s playing in which of the listed locations. It’s fun for them too,” he exclaimed. Charumathi Chandrasekar also took the stage by storm with expressive Bharatanatyam movements.
I then hopped on the metro to Shenoy Nagar. After all, Mixtura demands a little chasing and adventure.
By the time I reached Thiru Vi Ka Park, the skies were already dimming. I followed the tunes of a classical rendition of Bharathiyar’s Paarukkule Nalla Nadu being performed by S Adithyanarayanan and his orchestra. He said, “There’s a general perception that Carnatic music only happens in auditoriums or sabhas. Sometimes, as artistes, we also need that change. We need to take the art form to spaces where people from all walks of life come,” he said.
The students from the Tamil Nadu Dr J Jayalalithaa Music and Fine Arts University, performed a vibrant Tamil dance fusion. The medley they performed to was celebratory and community-driven, making it hard for the audience not to groove with them.
The mood of the evening then shifted as Thilagavathi Palani’s Alli Thilagam, a debut solo contemporary Kattaikkuthu performance.
Elsewhere in the city, at Kathipara Urban Square, the Sunshine Orchestra and Thedal Arts Theatre had taken over the city’s recent favourite spot. Alas! I couldn’t be everywhere.