Art Mumbai’s first edition, that was hosted at the Mahalakshmi Racecourse last year, was a massive hit with Mumbaikars. The city’s first art fair had people mesmerised with not only the sheer scale and the excellent pieces but also an intersection of fashion, films, and art that made it quite immersive. The second edition, Art Mumbai 2024, starting on the 15th of November, is expected to build on that, and at 2.5x the size of what the first edition was, is also much grander.
As Dinesh Vazirani, a co-founder of the festival, and co-owner of Mumbai’s loved Saffron Art with his wife Minal Vazirani puts it, “We envisioned this edition as bigger, brighter and more immersive. There’s going to be a mix of all cultural elements — from performing arts to visual art. You’ll also see performances like Dharavi Rocks at the fair alongside artworks that reflect Mumbai and its dynamic art scene, which has been thriving for at least five or six decades now”.
What to see at Art Mumbai 2024
While this art event in Mumbai saw 53 galleries set up spaces in the first event, Art Mumbai 2024 is expected to host over 70 prominent galleries, ranging from Indian biggies like DAG, Vadehra Art Gallery, and Tarq to international stalwarts like Galleria Continua, Ben Brown Fine Arts, Aicon Gallery, and Volte Masters. Contemporary big names that will be showing at this art exhibition in Mumbai include the British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor, the Singh Twins - Amrit Singh and Rabindra Kaur Singh, and Anju-Atul Dodhiya, and at the same time, Art Mumbai 2024 will also be featuring other celebrated artists like Jogen Chowdhury, MF Husain, Tyeb Mehta.
Some of the other things you can’t miss at Art Mumbai 2024 happen to be the Galerie Geek Art with their amazing pieces that push creative boundaries across various mediums and socio-cultural perspectives. This Indo-Japanese gallery will feature works of 6 Japanese artists, Shun Sudo, Tomiyuki Kaneko, Kenji Yanobe, Mari Ito, Yusuke Asai and Yuka Namata, offering nuanced takes inspired by the Japanese philosophy of Shintoism.
Sakti Burman is another name you must not miss at the Art Mumbai 2024. Burman was born in Kolkata and has spent the majority of his life in France. The blend of Eastern and Western ideas that his life has been is beautifully evident in his work. The painter and lithographer is well known for his surrealist take on mixing iconography from both sides of the world and marrying that beautifully with Indian mythology.
Apart from the artists at Art Mumbai 2024, you also must explore the ‘Sculpture Walk’ which happens to be an extended version of last year’s ‘Sculpture Garden’. This edition of the art event in Mumbai 2024 will feature Parag Tandel’s ‘Vitamin Sea’ and Alex Davis’s ‘April Offerings’ in addition to Monali Meher’s ‘Unknown Landscape’, Julian Opie’s ‘Walking Figures’, and Ravinder Reddy’s monumental ‘Devi’ head.
New at Art Mumbai 2024
The art scene in India has long been associated with the wealthy. Art Mumbai intends to make a dent in that perception, and the lineup for this year’s edition is quite reflective of that. Not just celebrated artists, this art exhibition in Mumbai will also have performances and other activities to engage and charm the common man. Incorporating director-producer Karan Johar as the cultural ambassador, who will be in the center of an intimate conversation about dynamic intersection of art, culture and Mumbai.
Apart from his talk on the 16th of November, there will be performances that you must not miss, from artists like Pia Sutaria, Dharavi Rocks, a musical sequence by Swirl Music students, and an ensemble drag performance by The Gentlemen’s Club.
The art festival has also introduced a special section called Rise which spotlights the galleries that have been featuring and supporting upcoming artists. This year, the section features Gallery XXL, 47-A, Art and Charlie and Method. Apart from these, there will also be a special focus on tribal art and artists like Ritu Rang, Ojas and Pichvai Traditional, among others.
Venue: Mahalakshmi Race Course, Mumbai
Dates: 15th-17th November, 2024, 11 am onwards
Tickets: Exclusively available on Insider.in, Rs 699 onwards