Art & technology unite in this immersive experience featuring da Vinci's work

We have all grown up hearing stories about the brilliance of Leonardo da Vinci From the hugely popular Mona Lisa and its many renditions to movies and books that go deep into the mind of the polymath there has been no dearth of conversation around him and his oeuvre Over the years people have found their own creative ways to engage with the artist even when his artworks stay tucked away in the halls of The Louvre in ParisA girl interacts with the painting of Mona Lisa at the showOne such show at the NESCO Centre in Goregaon attempts to bring da Vinci closer to people through an interactive and experiential interface Produced by Londonrsquos Phoenix Immersive and introduced in the country by Theia Enterprise India and Black Tie Production the showrsquos debut in Mumbai has captivated people of all ages ldquoThe idea behind our show Da VinciGenius is to bring an artistic experience to India that people have not seen before I first saw the show in Amsterdam and immediately thought that people would also love it here It is beyond an art show it is an educational experience for the 40 to 60 minutes that you would be spending at the centrerdquo Tabish Khan director Theia Enterprise India tells usVisitors view the immersive experience in one of the zonesMaking a strong departure from the traditional ways of interacting with an artwork the show seeks to explore da Vincirsquos craft in novel and exciting ways ldquoUsually immersive experiences are limited to animation being spread over the wall and floor of the hall Yoursquore just sitting there and watching But this show uses LiDAR technology which is a remote sensing system that enables people to touch the wall and see it react to their touch We have also incorporated AI in the show to make the experience more interactive You can scan a QR code and ask questions to Mona Lisa and she will respond to you with a voiceover or you can ask da Vinci to paint Mona Lisa over the BandraWorli Sea Link and hersquoll do it for you With AI and LiDAR wersquove created an atmosphere where animation is generated on a real time basis something which is completely new to Indiardquo Khan explainsA picture of Leonardo da Vinci at the show right a wall showcases Leonardo da Vincirsquos writings using projection mapping technologyThe process behind curating the show was a mammoth task itself As Khan tells us ldquoGetting people to do something that they had not seen or experienced before was very challenging We invited the team from Europe to fly down here in order to teach our staff the technology and logistics required to run the show All of them had to be taught and trained over monthsrdquoTabish KhanDa VinciGenius is scheduled to premiere in major metropolitan cities in the coming year with the next production slated for Bengaluru ldquoThe idea was to make art more accessible with the use of technology and given the fantastic response in Mumbai wersquoll bring the show to other cities in India as well Right now the show is premiering in Florida and Mumbai and we are happy to see people in India experiencing the quality of shows that the world is watching I also believe that it is a matter of time before we bring up something of our own something local and situated in India as well The world should also experience Indiarsquos rich history and culturerdquo he concludesTill January 29 1030 am onwardsAt Hall 7 Bombay Exhibition Centre NESCO Mhada Vanrai Colony Goregaon EastLog on to insiderinEntry Rs 900 onwards