Still, It Leaks document (1)

Exhibition Intent The intention of the exhibition was to present Ahmedabad’s relationship with water as a living narrative connecting memory and modernity. Developed by students of Exhibition Design at NID Ahmedabad in collaboration with the Living Waters Museum, it was a prototype physical exhibition that translated stories from the museum’s digital archive into a spatial experience, while also incorporating additional research and stories collected by the students. The exhibition was a multimedia experience, bringing together films, photographs, archival photographs, installations, textile panels and other forms of visual and spatial storytelling. It explored how traditional water systems such as vavs, talavadis and rainwater collection shaped community, culture and everyday life, and how these social interactions transform through contemporary systems such as tankers, immersion tanks, fountains and the Riverfront. Rather than presenting traditional practices as relics of the past, the exhibition placed them alongside present-day experiences to reveal continuities and shifts in the way people interact with water. Alongside the exhibition content, workshops, a panel discussion and film screenings created opportunities for audiences to engage with Ahmedabad’s water stories in different ways. The spatial and visual language connected these different media and stories, allowing the audience to experience water not simply as infrastructure or heritage, but as a continuing thread that shapes the city’s social and cultural life.Design Gallery, NID Ahmedabad.Water Stories of Ahmedabad. Aquavit ExtraBold Asterisk Sans Variable SemiBold Visual Identity The visual identity is built around the exhibition's central idea of a visible past haunting an invisible present. Archival photographs of the peoples, places and practices around water in Ahmedabad, as featured within the exhibition, layered with silhouettes of the city's historic water architecture, reflect a window between memory and an uncertain future. These architectural forms, which survive as quiet remnants of the city's water heritage, act as traces of histories that continue to shape the present. Inspired by the deep blue tones of cyanotype printing, the colour palette evokes traces, imprints, and what remains over time. Together, these elements position the exhibition as an encounter with the enduring presence of Ahmedabad's water histories. The visual identity is built around the exhibition's central idea of a visible past haunting an invisible present. Asterisk Sans Variable Regular Exhibition Invites The visual language extended across all exhibition touchpoints, from banners, posters and invitations to exhibition panels and takeaways, creating a consistent experience throughout the exhibition. Exhibition BannersExhibition InvitesTakeaway BookmarksCaption panels Each exhibit was accompanied by caption panels. The content in the caption panels was divided into didactic and interpretative. The didactic retained the artist's or creator's own voice, presenting the intent and context behind each work. The interpretative posed questions, prompting lenses for engaging with the work, inviting viewers to look beyond the immediate meaning. QR codes were placed alongside exhibits that were part of the Living Waters Museum archive, allowing visitors to scan and access the corresponding work on the Living Waters Museum website.Exhibition Space Held at the Design Gallery at NID Ahmedabad, the exhibition transformed the gallery into a continuous journey through Ahmedabad’s changing relationship with water. The space brought together diverse media, installations and narratives, creating connections between the river, the city and its communities. The Sabarmati acted as a central thread, guiding visitors across different times, places and ways of engaging with water.