The Fort Bazaar Typewalk takes you through the oldest marketplace in Mumbai. The port town has been home to people from all over and we look at typographic elements that situate Mumbai in global history but also plot local ones.
I'll walk with you along lanes that have held shops, memorials, and places of worship for centuries. We'll spot the many different languages and scripts, that represent the Indian traders who have shaped the city over the years. We'll also discuss (and possibly debate) what it means to have all these multilingual texts and how the same sign can mean different things to different audiences. We'll get to see languages and scripts that are flourishing and in use today and also ones with extinct scripts, across a range of materials. You'll get to hear my unreserved opinions about all kinds of signs and why I feel that way. And I can't wait to hear yours too!
About your guide: I am Tanya George, an independent designer and researcher with a typographic practice that includes developing typefaces, identities, lettering and artworks across various Indian scripts. I am interested in telling the very many stories there are about letterforms and what they signify. I have also written for Typographica, Fontstand News, Paperplanes and Letterform Archive where I am also a docent. I love leading typewalks and have been conducting these guided tours since 2018.