Mohile Parikh Center for the Visual Arts

The Mohile Parikh Center for the Contemporary (MPCC), will screen the film Garbage Warrior(Documentary) directed by Oliver Hodge on May 28, 2009 at 6.00 pm at the Little Theatre of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai. Free passes are available at the Mohile Parikh Center.

Synopsis: What do beer cans, car tires and water bottles have in common? Not much unless you’re renegade architect Michael Reynolds, in which case they are tools of choice for producing thermal mass and energy-independent housing. For 30 years New Mexico-based Reynolds and his green disciples have devoted their time to advancing the art of “Earthship Biotecture” by building self-sufficient, off-the-grid communities where design and function converge in eco-harmony. However, these experimental structures that defy state standards create conflict between Reynolds and the authorities, who are backed by big business. Frustrated by antiquated legislation, Reynolds lobbies for the right to create a sustainable living test site. While politicians procastinate, Mother Nature strikes, leaving communities devastated by tsunamis and hurricanes, Reynolds and his crew seize the opportunity to lend their pioneering skills to those who need it most. Shot over three years and in four countries, Garbage Warrior is a timely portrait of a determined visionary, a hero of the 21st century.

We will host a short course on Philosophy: The Embodied Self and Shadows of Ignorance: A Contemporary Introduction to Indian Philosophical Debates on May 20, 21 and 22, 2009 from 9:30am - 5.30pm at the M.C. Ghia Hall, Fort, Mumbai. The course will be conducted by Arindam Chakrabarti (Professor of Philosophy at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA).

Registrations open for both students and non-students. For more information, please visit: MPC Courses: A New Learning Initiative

We will host two presentations by Sundar Sarukkai on May 14 and 15, 2009 at 6.30pm at the Little Theatre of the National Centre for the Performing Arts. This program is free and open to all.

Sundar Sarukkai is a Professor in Philosophy at the School of Humanities, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore. He is trained in physics and philosophy, and has a PhD from Purdue University. His research interests include Philosophy of Science and Mathematics, Postmodernism, as well as Philosophy of Art. Sarukkai has been a Homi Bhabha Fellow, Fellow of the Shimla Institute of Advanced Studies and PHISPC Associate Fellow. He is the author of the following books: Translating the world: Science and Language, Philosophy of Symmetry and Indian Philosophy and Philosophy of Science, and co-editor of two volumes on Logic and Applications and is an Editorial Board member of the Leonardo Book Series, an influential series published by MIT Press on science and art.

Lecture I: Postmodernism and Philosophy of Art

Lecture II: The Nature of the ‘Contemporary’