Art meets activism: Art Adda 2025 reimagines the soul of the city

Art Adda 2025 transforms Delhi's urban heart with powerful storytelling, dance, film, and art to spotlight biodiversity, climate crisis, and civic imagination.

- MURTAZA ALI KHAN

In an age of information overload and digital dissonance, it is rare to find an event that stirs the soul, touches the mind, and moves the body all at once. But that's exactly what Art Adda achieved this week at the India Habitat Centre, as it lit up the heart of Delhi with a vibrant confluence of storytelling, ecology, and emotion.

Held under the larger umbrella of Urban Adda 2025 and curated by the Raahgiri Foundation in partnership with Indigo Creative, 'Art Adda: Storytelling in the Heart of the City' is not just another cultural event—it is a clarion call for empathy, environmentalism, and artistic intervention in urban spaces.

From the moment the lights dimmed to the final bow, the evening offered a multisensory journey—a rich tapestry woven with independent films, kinetic dance, panel dialogues, and immersive art installations, all focused on one powerful theme: biodiversity in an urbanizing world.

"Art Adda was conceived to bring an essential dimension to our conversations about urban futures," said Sarika Panda Bhatt, the Co-founder and Managing Trustee of Raahgiri Foundation, well known for sustainable mobility and tactical urbanism in India.

"We at Raahgiri Foundation believe that art, in all its forms—film, performance, or visual installations—has an incredible power to touch hearts, provoke thought, and inspire collective action. The Urban Adda Film Festival and the creative energies showcased tonight have vividly demonstrated how storytelling and artistic expression can help us co-create more sustainable, resilient, and soulful cities."