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The Independence Project is IFBE's annual interdisciplinary arts festival that explores the idea of freedom beyond its political meaning—as a deeply personal, social, and creative practice. Conceived as a space where artists and audiences can engage with ideas through performance, workshops, conversations, and immersive experiences, the festival brings together diverse voices across disciplines to reflect on inner independence.
METAMORPHOSIS
EDITION 5 | THEME 2026
The fifth edition of The Independence Project is centred on Metamorphosis—the continuous process of becoming. Through movement, storytelling, theatre, literature, comedy, music, illusion, and participatory experiences, Metamorphosis examines the courage it takes to embrace change and the freedom that emerges from redefining oneself. The programming invites audiences to witness transformation not as a destination, but as an ongoing act of creation.
PROGRAM
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2026 EVENT SCHEDULE
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Unbecoming: A Street O’Classical Movement Experience
Unbecoming is an immersive movement experience that invites participants to shed inherited identities, expectations, and boundaries, creating space for authentic expression and transformation.
Through the language of Street O’Classical, a movement practice rooted in Bharatanatyam and in conversation with contemporary and street dance, we’ll explore how freedom emerges not by abandoning our roots, but by allowing them to evolve.
DATE
15 AUG 2026
TIME
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
By
Shweta Warrier
COST
FREE
VENUE
IFBE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai
From Self to Story
From Self to Story’ - a workshop that explores the art of storytelling in cinema by looking inward. Through guided exercises and discussions, participants will learn to tap into their own experiences, emotions, fears, and contradictions to create characters that feel deeply human. The workshop explores how flaws shape compelling protagonists, how meaningful character a rcs emerge from internal conflict, and how personal truth can become universal storytelling. Whether you're writing your first script or refining your craft, this workshop will help you build stories that resonate because they come from an honest place.
DATE
15 AUG 2026
TIME
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
By
Abhinav Vaidya
COST
INR300
VENUE
IFBE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai
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Busy Becoming
A conversation with two multi-genre, bilingual authors Shinjini Kumar & Anukriti Upadhyay – exploring what it means to inhabit multiple languages, literary forms, and modes of expression, and how moving between them can shape one's sense of identity and self
DATE
15 AUG 2026
TIME
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
By
Shinjini Kumar & Anukrti Upadhyay
COST
FREE
VENUE
IFBE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai
Between The Lines
Meet new bookworms at NextChapter Mumbai’s community event – read together, participate in community games, discussions, and culture around self-expression, freedom of thought, and the power of play.
DATE
15 AUG 2026
TIME
4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
By
Next Chapter Mumbai
SOLD OUT
FREE
COST
VENUE
IFBE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai
Sardaar ji
Set in the aftermath of Partition, the story explores how fear, prejudice and suspicion can turn ordinary people against one another. Nearly eight decades later, it remains a poignant reflection on compassion, coexistence and the choices we make when the world around us is divided. A story that asks what freedom means when fear begins to shape the way we see one another.
DATE
15 AUG 2026
TIME
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
By
Jashn-e-Qalam
COST
PAY AS YOU WISH
VENUE
IFBE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai
आतां भीत नाहीं (I Fear No More)
An exploration of freedom through the bhakti and sufi poets of South Asia. We will explore how the philosophy and poetry of people like Madholal Hussein, Janabai, Soyrabai and Andal speaks to the agency and freedom of the Self and everything it chooses to embrace through the body.
DATE
15 AUG 2026
TIME
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
By
Shruthi Veena Vishwanath
COST
FREE
VENUE
IFBE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai
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Poetrification
Poetrification is a live performance that dissolves the boundaries between poetry recital, concert, and theatre. Conceived in 2016 by Denzil Smith and Danish Husain, it brings together English and Urdu poetry, live music and spontaneous conversation into an intimate performance that invites audiences to experience poetry rather than simply listen to it.
DATE
15 AUG 2026
TIME
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
By
Denzil Smith, Kaizad Gherda, Tushar Kadam & Danish Husain
VENUE
IFBE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai
COST
FREE
The Full Circle
A coming together of women and queer readers, celebrating the freedom to find your people, share what shapes you, and transform together
DATE
16 AUG 2026
TIME
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
By
By That Bombay
Book Club
SOLD OUT
COST
FREE
VENUE
IFBE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai
Writing with Movement
What happens when writing begins not with an idea, but with the body?
Most of us are taught to write from the outside in, start with a thought, find the right words, and arrange them into order. But some of the truest material lives underneath language altogether, the story a hand remembers before the mind does.
DATE
16 AUG 2026
TIME
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
By
Yuki Ellias
COST
FREE
VENUE
IFBE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai
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Echoes of Freedom
A practitioner of sound healing and mindful listening, Sangeeta Pandhi leads an immersive session using sound, vibration and breath to cultivate stillness, presence and inner transformation. The workshop offers participants a restorative space for reflection and renewal.
DATE
16 AUG 2026
TIME
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
By
Sangeeta Pandhi
COST
FREE
VENUE
IFBE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai
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While I Still Can
A mentalism show about human connection and existential dread.
Chaitanya Tamhane reads your dreams, your fears, and the absurdity of the times we're living in. fifty people. One room.
A few impossible moments between strangers. May or may not be funny.
DATE
16 AUG 2026
TIME
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
By
Chaitanya Tamhane
COST
INR 500
VENUE
IFBE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai
Blue Material
Associated with the anti-caste movement, the color blue signifies the sky, a symbol of non-discrimination, under which everyone is treated equally while at the same time 'Blue' comedy is a genre of comedy that is often labelled off-color, risqué, indecent or “profane”. That is exactly the duality that inspired our name: Blue Material, and we are India’s first, Dalit-led, queer affirmative comedy collective.
DATE
16 AUG 2026
TIME
7:30 PM - 9:00PM
By
Ankur Tangade, Ravi Gaikwad & Sumit Kumar | Special Guest: Abish Matthew
VENUE
IFBE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai
COST
INR 500
our partners
In Collaboration With
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PREVIOUS EDITIONS
15 AUG 2025
EVENT NAME
SPEKER NAME
DETAILS
15 AUG 2025
EVENT NAME
SPEKER NAME
DETAILS
15 AUG 2025
EVENT NAME
SPEKER NAME
DETAILS
15 AUG
INR 1000/-
Cost
12:00PM-3:00PM
Time
15 AUG 2025
Date
Ankit Challa
By
The Art of Noticing :
Title
An improv comedy workshop
INR 3500/-
Cost
3:00PM - 6:00PM
Time
15 AUG 2025
Date
Valerie D'Silva
By
Explore The Alchemist Within
Title
An art therapy workshop
INR 500/-
Cost
4:00PM-6:30PM
Time
15 AUG 2025
Date
Sangeeta Pandhi
By
Radiant Presence
Title
An ecstatic dance workshop
Free
Cost
7:00PM - 9:00PM
Time
15 AUG 2025
Date
Shikha Parmar, Anand Gandhi Zain Memon
& the architecture team
By
MAYA : Curtain Raiser
Title
Unveiling a narrative universe born of a quiet rebellion of imagination, presence, and purpose — opening with a panel discussion.
Free
Cost
8:00AM - 9:00AM
Time
16 AUG 2025
Date
Shammi Gupta
By
Exploring stillness through yoga
Anchored in Awareness
Title
INR 1500/-
Cost
12:00PM- 2:00PM
Time
16 AUG 2025
Date
Tanay Kumar
By
An expressive workshop
in art & design
Freedom of Expression
Title
INR 3550/-
Cost
2:00PM - 3:30PM
Time
16 AUG 2025
Date
Rekha Goyal
By
A ceramics workshop
Form in Stillness
Title
Free
Cost
2:30PM - 4:30PM
Time
16 AUG 2025
Date
Vishal Chaturvedi
By
A storytelling workshop
Stories That Breathe
Title
Free
Cost
6:45PM - 7:45PM - Salman Elahi
7:45PM-8:45PM - Harpreet
Time
16 AUG 2025
Date
Harpreet & Salman Elahi
By
A soulful night of music, meaning,
and mindful expression
Ab
Title
14 AUG 2025
Path to Independence:
A midnight cycling session
10PM -12:00AM
Velocrush India
950/-
14 AUG 2025
Path to Independence:
A midnight cycling session
10PM -12:00AM
Velocrush India
950/-
14 AUG 2025
Path to Independence:
A midnight cycling session
10PM -12:00AM
Velocrush India
950/-
14 AUG 2025
Path to Independence:
A midnight cycling session
10PM -12:00AM
Velocrush India
950/-
14 AUG 2025
Path to Independence:
A midnight cycling session
10PM -12:00AM
Velocrush India
950/-
INR 500/-
Cost
8:00AM - 9:00AM
Time
17 AUG 2025
Date
By
Sangeeta Pandhi
Title
The Resonant Self
Sound healing session
INR 1200/-
Cost
4:00PM - 5:30PM
Time
17 AUG 2025
Date
By
Nidhi Dongre
Title
Movements of Quiet Freedom
A movement therapy workshop
INR 750/-
Cost
6:00PM - 7:00PM
Time
17 AUG 2025
Date
By
Jitesh Jain
Title
Presence
Drum circle
Free
Cost
5:30PM - 7:00PM
Time
17 AUG 2025
Date
By
Chow En Lai Phukan
Title
Quiet Fire
A seminal dance workshop
Free
Cost
7:30PM-8:45PM
Time
17 AUG 2025
Date
By
Sanjay Divecha featuring Gino Banks, Rahul Wadhwani & Shashank Das
Title
Sanjay Divecha Quartet
A jazz performance rooted in presence
Explore The Alchemist
Within
An art therapy workshop
3:00PM - 6:00PM
Valerie D'Silva
INR 3500/-
MAYA : Curtain Raiser
Unveiling a narrative universe born of a quiet rebellion of imagination, presence, and purpose — opening with a panel discussion.
7:00PM - 9:00PM
Shikha Parmar, Anand Gandhi Zain Memon & the architecture team
Free
17 AUG
18 AUG
16 AUG
Anchored in Awareness :
Exploring stillness through yoga
8:00AM - 9:00AM
Shammi Gupta
Free
Freedom of Expression:
An expressive workshop in art & design
12:00PM- 2:00PM
Tanay Kumar
INR 1500/-
Ab
A soulful night of music, meaning, and mindful expression
6:45PM - 8:45PM
Harpreet &
Salman Elahi
Free
15 AUG 2025
EVENT NAME
SPEKER NAME
DETAILS
16 AUG
17 AUG
Movements of Quiet Freedom
A movement therapy workshop
4:00PM - 5:30PM
Nidhi Dongre
INR 1200/-
Sanjay Divecha Quartet
A jazz performance rooted in presence
7:30PM-8:45PM
Sanjay Divecha featuring Gino Banks, Rahul Wadhwani & Shashank Das
Free
IFBE, 10-12, Calicut Street,Ballard Estate, Fort,
Mumbai, 400001
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