<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/56733577.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
 The <keyword id="3957984" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Adil-Shah-Palace">Adil Shah Palace</keyword> in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=goa&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Goa</a>, one of the eight venues of India's first multidisciplinary festival, Serendipity Arts Festival, hosted an one-of- a-kind specially curated art walk on its premises. A young man leads a group of students to the foyer, in front of a display of photography by Chandan Khanna. 
 
It is only when you notice that instead of gazing at the pictures adorning the walls, they wait until the young man describes what lay in front of them and handed out tactile reproductions of the very same pictures. 
 
The kaleidoscope of emotions displayed on the faces of these students makes it apparent that their imagination is taking them on a journey, none of us understand. It is their journey into the world of tactile-visual art. 
 The young gentleman, <keyword id="3981911" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="siddhant-shah">Siddhant Shah</keyword>, is one of the few who's working to break down the barriers to accessing art. As an art access consultant, Siddhant works towards ensuring differently-abled visitors, kids, and even the elderly, are given the opportunity to enjoy and engage in the arts just as everyone should. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/56733967.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
 
 
With the aim of being inclusive and accessible for all, Serendipity Arts Festival partnered with Siddhant to create a tactile experiential program called SENSES, to ensure that everyone, regardless of any situation are not left out when it comes to experience art. 
 
The main aim of the SENSES program is to make the event, spaces and its artworks more welcoming and accessible to the visually impaired visitors along with others with special need, so that one goes back with a fulfilling experience. Tactile maps, braille books, tactile reproductions of art works on display, tactile and braille equipped signage are all a part of this. The tactile products essentially enable everyone to understand the various aspects of the art-works through multiple senses. The products and the ideas designed will allow a wide range of interaction with the artworks on display, thus making it universal to a large section of the society. 
 To make understanding things easier, Shah has also conducted a <keyword id="4096741" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="blindfold-photography-workshop">Blindfold Photography Workshop</keyword>, where the participants will be clicking pictures without seeing them. In a space for social and educational engagement, the SENSES project acts as catalyst to allow Intellectual and Social Access to those demographics who are otherwise overwhelmed and do not participate in these events. 
 
Here's hoping that this initiative by Serendipity Arts Festival is a game-changer for making art festivals more inclusive.

How this art festival in Goa is championing the cause of being disabled-friendly

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/534fc95c6da811e846f1c953-1200-924/walmart-wal-mart-6.jpg" border="0" alt="walmart wal-mart" />REUTERS/Joshua Lott</div></div></div>America's supercenters are dying a slow death. 
Huge big-box stores like Wal-Mart Supercenters and Target are being phased out in favor of "some combination of value and convenience," Goldman Sachs <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-on-decline-of-wal-mart-2014-7">recently wrote</a>. 
"Just about every major trend we're following right now bodes poorly for power center <keyword id="6354851" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Retail">retail</keyword>," Doug Stephens, founder of industry website <a href="http://www.retailprophet.com/">Retail Prophet</a> and author of "<a href="http://www.retailprophet.com/home/my-book/" title="MY BOOK">The Retail Revival: Re-Imagining Business for the New Age of Consumerism</a>" told Business Insider. 
Americans are <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/crash-the-decline-of-us-driving-in-6-charts/281528/">driving less</a> than they have in decades. Populations are flocking to smaller, urban communities over sprawling suburbs. And consumers in their 20s and 30s increasingly prefer small, local shops to big-box retail. 
The proliferation of e-commerce also means that consumers can order many products online rather than having to drive to the store. 
"The days of swinging the doors open on a dusty warehouse and waiting for throngs of customers to descend on it are numbered," Stephens said.
In response to this trend, retailers from Wal-Mart to Whole Foods are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-and-the-millennial-market-2013-4">building smaller stores</a>.
But that solution still leaves empty supercenters. 
There a few ways retailers could repurpose the stores, Stephens said. 
Some spaces could be used to test showrooms or store formats.
It's also possible that retailers could use the venues for e-commerce. 
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53e2626f6bb3f7a045d6c96a-1200-924/mcallen-library.jpg" border="0" alt="mcallen library" /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/mcallenlibrary/photos_stream">McAllen Library/Facebook</a>A library in McAllen, Texas is housed in a former Wal-Mart.</div></div></div>
"Either you turn them into retail spaces that are so wildly experiential and memorable that people will travel to get to or you make them multi-purpose distribution centers that allow for direct to home delivery, buy-online-pickup-instore and other types of services," he said.
Many retailers have begun to utilize stores as e-commerce distribution centers. Wal-Mart and Sears have recently started encouraging customers to pick up pre-ordered merchandise in stores. 
In some markets, communities are turning deserted stores into public spaces. 
The town of McAllen, Texas, turned an old Wal-Mart into <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/07/07/abandoned_walmart_in_mcallen_texas_becomes_an_award_winning_public_library_how_big_box_stores_are_becoming_public_spaces_.html">an award-winning library. </a>
Using the old spaces for community good will probably become more common over the next 20 years, Stephens said. 
"I suspect we'll see the format die a slow death," he said.

The Fate Of America's Dying Supercenters

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a01c77d4d05acd7028b75ea-1024/gettyimages-667330108.jpg" alt="West Village Store Empty Retail For Rent Out of Business" data-mce-source="Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Empty store fronts stand in a trendy West Village neighborhood on April 11, 2017 in New York City. Many residents and tourists alike are noticing an increasing number of vacant storefronts throughout Manhattan as rents increase and many shoppers continue to migrate to online purchases. According to the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), retail rental rates in Manhattan rose 17 percent, from $130 in the fall of 2013 to $156 dollars per square foot in the fall of 2015." />Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesEmpty store fronts stand in the trendy West Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.</div></div></div><ul><li>Independent retailers have struggled to compete with bigger chains and Amazon in recent years</li><li>Sales have not kept up with rent, leading to "high rent blight."</li><li>Large <keyword id="6354851" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Retail">retail</keyword>ers' avoidance of these areas could lead to an independent retail renaissance. </li></ul><hr /> For years, pundits have predicted the continued demise of independent retailers. The arrival of shopping malls and power centers drew foot traffic away from the neighborhood Mom-and-Pop stores. Next came the axe wielded by e-commerce giants, notably Amazon. And finally, we saw rents rise to levels beyond affordability for the independent retailers as bank branches, drug stores, fashion houses and other national and international chains competed for space. These factors pressured many of our beloved independent proprietors to shut their doors.But rents continued to rise rapidly as the economy recovered from the 2008 recession - up by 60% in some established corridors over the last decade - and sales, largely due to growth in e-commerce, have not kept pace. Even deep-pocketed chains have been pressured to close: Starbucks has started to shut some of its New York locations, citing rent increases of as much as 100%. With vacancy rates as high as 20% in some affluent neighborhoods; some of the most storied retail corridors are deeply troubled. In New York City, a stroll through the West Village, along Fifth, Madison and Third Avenues, and uptown to the Upper West Side, reveals an alarming number of vacancies.One observer dubbed the trend "high rent blight." And the pain may not be over. We are likely to see more bank branches close over time as consumers shift more towards online banking. Drug stores and grocery stores are likely to move towards smaller footprints with the continued rise of online shopping.However, urban retail is not dead - and over time, we will return to a state of equilibrium, with lower rents and higher occupancy levels. But how will we get there? When will landlords finally lower rents? Where will the demand come from to fill all of the empty storefronts?<h2>Decreasing rents and landlord capitulation</h2>On the foundation of a steep rise in rents, landlords purchased, financed and/or refinanced properties with unrealistic rent and tenant quality expectations. Building owners are natural optimists, believing that the perfect national credit tenant is just around the corner. When space is vacated, they will often wait, rather than lease to a local operator at a lower rent. As a result, store fronts can stay empty for months, or even years.Since many owners underwrote their properties using unrealistic cash flow projections, their ability to sign leases at rents below the original pro forma means admitting to a lower value of the property than anticipated. This can be hard to accept. Signing leases at current market rents can also be constrained by a property's mortgage terms, as signing tenants at lower-than-anticipated rents can result in an inability to service or refinance debt - or may even result in a breach of loan covenants.Despite the resistance from landlords, rents have begun to decrease and are poised to decrease even further over time. Some owners will grow impatient with persistent vacancies and lower rents to attract tenants. Other leveraged owners will ultimately face a mortgage maturity and will be forced to sell at a loss or turn the keys over to their lender. Once these properties change hands, new owners (or lenders) will have a lower cost basis and more flexibility to sign leases at lower rates. <h2>Retail 2.0 and the return of the independent</h2>Changing demographics and consumer preferences are signaling increasing desirability of smaller, curated and customer-service-oriented retail outlets. As rents return to more-affordable levels, smaller, nimbler and more-creative operators are likely to prosper.Today, many millennials, retiring baby boomers and senior citizens want a more urbanized lifestyle in neighborhoods that offer mass transit and a range of services. A recent study by the Urban Land Institute indicates that 48% of all millennials - which now represents the largest cohort in history - live in walkable "city neighborhoods."These factors have very positive implications for the rebirth of urban neighborhood retail. Lower operating costs will attract smaller stores and restaurants - as independent retailers target these urban locations, which boast pedestrian-oriented, street-front retail environments. At the same time, successful retailers will adapt approaches to attract the shopping public - creating unique shopping experiences that cannot be found online.Retail strength is increasingly found in services-based, rather than goods-based formats. In addition to "Amazon-proof" entertainment and recreation venues, stores offering unique in-person experiences are positioned to compete effectively. Today's consumers view certain types of shopping as a leisure activity, relegating basic purchases to online transactions. As a result, environments in which shopping is treated as an experience in its own right, will come to dominate the bricks-and-mortar landscape. Staff in independent stores are highly knowledgeable, ready with product information on suitability, materials and the production process. Increasingly, shoppers are once again looking for life beyond their computer screens - and this can only benefit the independent retailer, who is more inclined to offer a high level of interaction with the customer.A corollary to experiential shopping is personalization. Consumers like to shop where they are recognized and their preferences are understood and remembered. This also plays to the strengths of local, independent operators, many of which will turn to technology to enhance the customer experience: They send personalized offers directly to their clients' mobile devices and can easily make mobile payment options available. Some evidence suggests that this trend is already taking hold. For instance, take the independent bookseller. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that their ranks had increased by almost 18% between 2010 and 2015, even as Borders closed its doors, Barnes and Noble faltered and Amazon threatened to devour the industry. This growth was thanks in large part to the tools successful book sellers have always used: Personalized, attentive, knowledgeable service and carefully curated inventories - both of which give shoppers a reason to return.In addition, the number of neighborhood supermarkets grew by 10% between 2013 and 2015 in New York City, according to data from Crain's, as small independent operators, often members of local buying cooperatives, narrowed their inventories to feature fresh prepared foods and other products demanded by locals that don't easily lend themselves to online shopping.As urban commercial vacancies linger and rent capitulation takes shape, we will see some creative entrepreneurs filling current vacancies with new and innovative retail concepts. It should, in fact, be a very exciting time to be a consumer. Craig Bender is ING's Head of Commercial Real Estate in the US, based in NYC. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fly-air-koryo-north-korea-inside-video-2016-12">What it's like to fly on North Korea's one-star airline</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/PalHGSAj-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div>

You Searched For "experiential venues" and got 4 results

How this art festival in Goa is championing the cause of being disabled-friendly

Poulomi Das

The Fate Of America's Dying Supercenters

Ashley Lutz

Mom-and-pop stores could be prime for a renaissance

Craig Bender, ING

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