The Corona Quilt Project and IIFL Wealth & Asset Management have partnered in a unique initiative to create an installation at Mumbai’s BMC School in Worli. The quilting project, which involves a method of stitching layers of material together, was conceived during the initial weeks of the pandemic to bring a community together in the face of a shared struggle. Over twelve thousand people found a way to spark hope and harmony through the Corona Quilt Project in one of the darkest periods of human history. Founded by Neha Modi and Dia Bhupal, the Corona Quilt Project has managed to unite people through the pandemic by stitching together their stories.
“On the Rise”, the presentation on Worli Seaface supported by IIFL Wealth & Asset Management (IIFL WAM), wraps around the facade of the Worli Seaface Mumbai Public English School which is a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) school, with over 5000 individual narratives coming together. The presentation spreads a message of hope through the city of Mumbai, where IIFL Wealth is headquartered.
Yatin Shah, co-founder and Joint CEO of IIFL Wealth said, “We at IIFL Wealth & Asset Management are pleased to do our part in spreading these stories of hope far and wide. The installation showcases a diversity of experiences, celebrating the strength and the resilience of humans. The connecting theme between the presentation is Rise, symbolising hope and positivity through a dark time.
Neha Modi, co-founder of the Corona Quilt Project, said, “We are excited to be collaborating with IIFL Wealth for the Worli School in Mumbai. Their values of inclusivity and growth resonate with the Project as we create an installation focused on empowering the community.”
Each square is created by children and adults from various communities locally and internationally. The squares explore themes of home, safety, nature, the environments, and the pandemic; each made through unique forms of mixed media and material. The scale of this project allowed Dia Mehhta Bhupal, a Mumbai/Hyderabad-based interdisciplinary artist to present the full range of depth, diversity and ingenuity of the squares collected.
Bhupal’s presentation incorporates a transformative journey symbolically coming together in natural motifs such as the sun, the ocean and butterflies. The artist’s intention is to create a healing space within the city that is both restorative and inspiring.
For the installation supported by IIFL WAM at Worli Seaface, Bhupal created a modern quilt entitled “Still Rising”. “Still Rising” wraps around the facade of the building with over 5000 individual narratives coming together as one. It draws a parallel from the butterfly- a symbol of transformation, evolution and resurrection. This has been a time of monumental and purposeful metamorphosis. “My intention is to inspire optimism, hope, gratitude and a belief that we recover collectively and emerge stronger,” says Bhupal.
The Corona Quilt Project presents a diverse array of, site-specific installations, ranging from large scale quilts suspended from facades of buildings to smaller versions hung on buses, scattered throughout the city – each square is created by children and adults from various communities locally and internationally.
