Mumbai Art Scene Boosted by Gallery Weekend, New Galleries
Galleries and Collectors Applaud Inaugural Art Mumbai
Ocula Member Galleries are selected by a committee of respected gallerists to present only the best of contemporary art on Ocula. Browse our selection of galleries to visit around the city, as recommended by the Ocula team.
Read MoreThe leading Kolkata-based gallery Experimenter opened its third space in Colaba, Mumbai, in 2022. Recognised for its challenging and forward-thinking exhibitions, the gallery has shown in Mumbai works by Ayesha Sultana, Biraaj Dodiya, and Sakshi Gupta, among others.
Near Experimenter Colaba is Jhaveri Contemporary, founded in 2010 by sisters Amrita and Priya Jhaveri, who organised the first public exhibition of Anish Kapoor's work in India. Since then, the gallery has presented works by both emerging and established artists, as well as Indian and international, including Lubna Chowdhary, Mohammed Adel, Matthew Krishanu, Mrinalini Mukherjee, and Shezad Dawood.
Explore current and upcoming exhibitions across Mumbai's best galleries, institutions, and non-profit art spaces.
Read MoreDubbed the birthplace of Indian cinema, Mumbai also has year-round exhibitions across both its public and private spaces.
Mumbai's museums and institutions offer an exceptional arts and culture experience. Explore our selection of the best spaces to visit.
Read MoreLocated in the historic Cowasji Jehangir Hall, the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) houses a vast and valuable collection of modern and contemporary art in India. Within ten-minutes by walk from the NGMA are DAG, specialising in modern Indian art from the 18th to 20th centuries, and the Institute of Contemporary Indian Arts, dedicated to showing works by emerging and established artists.
In the up-and-coming district of Bandra East, the cross-disciplinary arts space Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) seeks to promote Indian arts through extensive and accessible programmes. Inaugurated in April 2023, the NMACC has since organised the first-ever solo exhibition of Maurizio Cattelan's work in India, as well as the city's first viewing of Yayoi Kusama's iconic Infinity Mirrored Room.
Ocula Magazine is an online platform dedicated to publishing the best in contemporary art internationally. Explore our in-depth conversations, insights, features, news stories, and photologs covering the Mumbai arts scene here.
Read MoreSince its launch in 2010, Ocula Magazine has interviewed Mumbai-based artist Biraaj Dodiya and collector Udit Bhambri, and published insights and features of artists such as Jitish Kallat, Sosa Joseph, Lubna Chowdhary, and Mrinalini Mukherjee.
In the past decades, Mumbai has steadily grown as a contemporary art hub with its galleries, artists, and collectors, fostering a fertile ground for exchange and collaboration with the annual Mumbai Gallery Weekend (MGW). Beginning as a modest affair of 9 galleries in 2012, the MGW has since proven to be an enduring fixture in the city calendar with 32 participants in 2023.
Read MoreIndia Art Festival, the largest network of art fairs in India with editions in New Delhi and Bengaluru, expanded its scope to Mumbai in January 2023. That same year, Mumbai also inaugurated its first major art fair, Art Mumbai, which took place on the historic Mahalaxmi Racecourse with more than 50 exhibitors in November.
The art ecosystem of the bustling city of Mumbai is extremely diverse, from UNESCO-awarded sites undertaking restoration processes to experimental art labs that champion a younger generation of artists.
Read MoreFor architectural gems and historical decorative arts, visit the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, previously known as the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India. Housed in a building completed in 1914, the museum is known for its Indo-Saracenic architectural style that mixes Hindu, Saracenic, and (some) Western architectural elements. The museum is also known for its sculptures, Indian miniature paintings, European paintings, porcelain and ivory from China and Japan within its collection of an estimated 50,000 artefacts.
The oldest museum in Mumbai is the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum, formerly known as the Victoria and Albert Museum. Founded in 1855, the museum was opened to the public in 1857. Its collection consists of fine and decorative arts of the 18th through 20th centuries, including rare books, photographs, models, costumes, and, perhaps most significantly, a 17th-century manuscript of famed Arab poet Hatim Tai.
The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) remains one of the key cornerstones of contemporary art in India. Previously a public hall, the gallery was established in 1996 as part of a restructuring that made way for five exhibition spaces, a lecture auditorium, a library, and cafeteria. NGMA exhibitions focus on artists of the region such as Amrita Sher-Gil, with a collection that dates back to 1857 and encompasses the visual and plastic arts.
For more experimental art, non-profit organisation Mumbai Art Room is dedicated to the contemporary arts, design, and visual cultural both in India and globally. Highly invested in emerging artists, Mumbai Art Room emphasises both accessibility and innovation in the arts. The gallery features a Curatorial Lab, and its programming is a key asset for young contemporary artists in India. Other galleries of note with a less experimental focus include Jhaveri Contemporary, Akara Art, Chatterjee & Lal, and Jehangir Art Gallery.mumbai
Image: Gateway of India, Mumbai. Photo: Jawahar Soneji (CC BY-SA 4.0).
