Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier in the month inaugurated the company's first-ever fully owned retail stores-- Apple BKC (Mumbai) and Apple Saket (Delhi)-- in India.
There was a chatter on Twitter on why there is so much craze over the Apple Stores, which operate just like any other mobile phone shop. However, many don't know that there is uniqueness in how Apple runs its stores and builds envious loyalty among patrons.
Like its famed walled garden of the ecosystem, which offers seamless connectivity with multiple product categories such as iPhones with AirPods, iPads, and Macs, Apple Store builds on this, to help customers get the best out of their products through Today at Apple. Ask any Apple device owner, they'll say how difficult it is to shift camp to Android.
Here in India, Today at Apple sessions have received a very good response at both Mumbai and Delhi. At the time of writing this, all the slots for 'Photo Skills: Photography on iPhone' up to May 10 have been booked fully in both locations.
It is just not the customers, even the local artists and experts get a chance to exhibit their skill sets and earn a living.
At Apple BKC, the company is hosting 'Mumbai Rising' theme-based sessions-- Exploring Mumbai with Battle Stars (May 6), Design Lab: Anamorphic Adventures with thebigfatminimalist (May 11), Design Lab: Every Poster Tells a Story with Boomranng Studio (May 18), Art Lab: Drawing Homage to Mumbai with Kohla (May 25) and Pop-Up Studio: Create Your Mumbai Story by Thukral & Tagra.
"I'm more than excited for Mumbai Rising - especially with the opening of Apple's first store in India and to be a part of such a monumental event is truly special. I’ve spent all my professional years as a creative living and working in Mumbai. The city’s energy has always been a constant fuel to me and my work and I’m honoured to have been invited to share some of it at the event," Aniruddh from BigFat Minimalist said to DH.
"In my session I’ll be taking people through my creative journey and how I’ve learned that playful experimentation does not be limited to one specific skill set or medium. My body of work has unintentionally covered multiple disciplines such as Graphic Design, Murals, Immersive Installations, Packaging, Paintings, Animation, etc, and I'm excited to walk through it all and share my insights with the guests," Aniruddh added.
Towards the end of the session, audiences will get to try fun activities with augmented reality-based apps and understand what they can do with their Apple devices.
"I hope my session and creative journey act as a small spark of inspiration to those attending. I believe initiatives like these can catalyse newness in perspectives which can be adopted at an individual level," Aniruddh concludes.
Artists Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra too share same sentiments about Apple BKC's Today at Apple sessions.
"The idea is to create a story about the city and bring a unique perspective with selected words. It's like writing a haiku, a short poem, which is then taken by an algorithm to knit specific images from the archive of our works. The archive is an image bank which holds a number of artworks as fragments which are carefully researched and built over years. They are essentially about the city of Mumbai, from the basalt rock to the species found in Rani Bagh botanical gardens. The images are also made to bring the mobility of the city, from taxi decals to the signages The idea is to bring the images, of the city which bring a certain flavour of the city at the move," said Tagra duo.
"The tech is an essential part of this experience, to allow audiences to write and generate their versions, We partnered with creative coder Kiel D.M, and the coding is done over x code. We are excited to create this exclusively for Apple BKC in-store! We want people to take a moment and think of their story, imagine how they can express feelings about Mumbai City, and explore the infinite number of possibilities with the images and create a version of the artwork," said Thukral.
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