Maraa means Tree in Kannada , we are an arts and media organization registered as a charitable Trust on paper and working as a collective in practice. We apply the lens of arts and media to all our core areas of work.

Through media and art practice we aim to engage in the core areas of our work which are

Technology and Media

We feel the need to redefine how technology is accepted, consumed and applied in India.  The Technology and Media program uses a four tiered strategy to approach this task of redefinition – Innovation, Capacity Building, Advocacy and Research. The main concerns of  this program are manifold. In terms of innovation, the main objective is to develop a network of technical innovation hubs which deal with media and concretely tie in with field needs and realities. Capacity building addresses new methodologies for field usage, which inculcate ownership of technology, contextualized integration and synergy of old and new media tools as well as development of open source learning materials for publishing and distribution. Advocacy primarily looks at emergent technologies which can address community needs across contexts, to lobby for ethical spectrum allocation and policy reform as well as issues of public access. The advocacy aspect  also provides space to study and address urgently needed policy reform in other areas of media, such as censorship, piracy & intellectual property, radio and cinema etc, in partnership with existing advocacy based organizations.  The research aspect primarily looks at emerging challenges for media practitioners and practices. These could range from issues around content sharing, livelihood etc, to more theoretical research regarding access and policy research.

Click here to see some of our activities under this program, and watch this space for more to come shortly.

Urban Spaces and Redevelopment

Acknowledging its presence in the city of Bangalore, we feel the need to address some of the emerging issues in the field of urban studies, spaces and redevelopment. Due to pressures of migration, globalization and neo-liberalization, urban spaces are restructuring themselves at a rapid rate, sometimes playing havoc with memories of the past, desires of the future, and spatial/temporal negotiation of the present.
How then to best understand all that is happening within the urban space? Who are the actors who shape and are shaped by these rapid changes? How do imaginations of a space define physical places around us? How can urban planning accommodate sensitivity to cultural and ecological heritage? Can we develop a cultural policy in an urban scenario? Can common spaces like parks, bus stands function as public spaces – a hub for dialogue, conflict resolution and cultural production?

These are some of the key questions which inform the work we do in the area of Urban spaces and Redevelopment. Click here to see details of our activities under this program.