10th edition of the Gender Bender festival underway from November 22 in Bengaluru

The 10th edition of the Gender Bender festival in Bengaluru brings together artistes from across borders and genders

The 10th edition of Gender Bender will be held in Bengaluru this weekend. Initiated in 2015, Gender Bender is a first-of-its-kind, arts-centric festival in South Asia celebrating fresh perspectives on gender. Conceived by Sandbox Collective, the festival has, over the years, become an important destination for artists and audiences and anyone interested in or curious about the intersection of art and gender, says the festival director for 2024, Prerana YSK. “It also brings together a diverse audience across age, class and other social realities to converse on concerns of gender and sexuality.”

Prerana is the artistic director of Conflictorium - Museum of Conflict, Ahmedabad and will be in the city during the festival. “This year’s edition has been crowd-funded with more than 500 people from across India and abroad contributing to make the event happen,” says Prerana over phone from Ahmedabad. “It is also the first time that the multi-arts festival will also be held across multi-venue in Bangalore International Centre (BIC), 1, Shanthi Road (Shanthinagar) and Beru (Ramamurthinagar).”

Gender Bender will feature over 75 artists, who will be a part of the festive edition’s exhibitions, visual installations, workshops, parties, quiz, open mic, DJ sets, listening party, film screenings, photography and sound installations.

This is the first time, Gender Bender has a comprehensive programme for children and adolescents with a vast range of books and literature, Prerana says. “We also have the Feminist Library, which has a collection of crowd-sourced books.”

The 30-year-old festival director worked in the development sector for a couple of years and before moving into the arts. “I was looking at how we can have meaningful conversations around what the world is grappling with currently.”

It was this that led her to join Conflictorium - Museum of Conflict. “It is a 30-year-old museum that responds to concerns of democracy and citizenship. It is a non conventional museum.”

Prerana says her aim with Gender Bender this year is to make art accessible for all. “Anyone can walk into an art show without hesitation. At times, walking into an art gallery requires a certain level of confidence, which not everyone is comfortable with. We aim at making art more enjoyable for a larger segment of the society.”