There’s a lot going on for the culture maven. From avant-garde ideas to packed museum and gallery itineraries, international artiste-themed gigs and iconic art shows, take your pick
A view of the interiors of Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum. File Pic
Compiled by Shriram Iyengar, Tanishka D’Lyma, Devanshi Doshi and Devashish Kamble
Version 2.0
Coming in: All year
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Tasneem Mehta
Dr Bhau Daji Lad (BDL) Museum in Byculla will reopen its doors to the public in February with an eye on new experiences. “Our audiences can look forward to conversations and artist walkthroughs of the ongoing exhibition, History Lab and the Elegy of Visceral Incantations by TV Santhosh in early January. Additionally, we will be restarting our popular monthly screenings of art films and live performances,” says Tasneem Mehta, director, BDL Museum.
A second museum-centred book is also in the pipeline, Mehta reveals. “After the success of Mumbai-A City Through Objects, 101 Stories from the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum in which we foregrounded stories about the Museum’s collection and its connection to the city, we look forward to publishing another book, A Decade of Difference. It will explore the contemporary art interventions that have taken place in the Museum as it was India’s first to showcase contemporary art in a traditional museum building,” the director adds.
Table-a rasa
Coming in: January 2024
At TBA
A previous turntable session
Jude D’Souza, co-founder of the city-based The Revolver Club has plans to host their first ever turntable festival to host collectors, musicians and enthusiasts of all types of vinyl playing mediums. “We realised that there is a growing interest in not just vinyl records, but also sound equipment and turntables,” he points out. The festival will offer something for both amateurs and professional collectors.
Gallery-side view
Coming in: February to April
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) has a busy calendar year, starting with a visit from ancient history’s icons, Dame Mary Beard, who will deliver a lecture on the art of the ancient Greeks. “CSMVS has invited her in relation to the ongoing international project The CSMVS Ancient World Project, the first manifestation of which is the exhibition Ancient Sculptures: India, Egypt, Assyria, Greece, Rome,” reveals museum director Dr Sabyasachi Mukherjee. The museum’s expansion plans will come to fruition in April with the opening of the long-awaited Mumbai gallery. Created in association with the Hemendra Kothari Foundation, Mukherjee called it “a platform to present, in regular cycles, themes from the city that connect its heritage to its present. The first exposition will focus on the People of Mumbai.” The same month will also witness the expansion of the museum’s already existing Indian Arms and Armour section. Curated by Nilanjana Som, it will display new objects from the reserve collection with a focus on technique, history and include the backstory of the collection.
Spotlight on RK
Coming in: December 2024
On the centenary birth anniversary of cine icon, Raj Kapoor in December, the Film Heritage Foundation will host a series of screenings and talks that highlight his contribution into transforming the Hindi film industry in the city into the stuff of small-town dreams. “From restored screenings of films like Awaara, Shri 420 and Mera Naam Joker, the events will feature talks with the Kapoor family, and their connection to Mumbai,” said founder Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.
Bonjour, Bombay!
Coming In: TBA
A representative illustration of the exterior of the store
One of Paris’s first luxury bazaars and an emblem of Art Nouveau architecture, Galeries Lafayette, will launch its flagship Mumbai branch this year. The store will be housed in two century-old buildings in the heritage precinct of Fort. The group shared, the store will put its savoir-faire in fashion and lifestyle to create a concept-store with a bespoke offer that will include over 200 international and local brands. A group member shared, “We aim to perfectly address the expectations of a millennial luxury consumer.”
Jaya returns
Coming in: February
A moment from the previous run of the production
Lillete Dubey’s musical based on The Mahabharata — JAYA! opened nearly 25 years ago and ran for 40 shows. The production is back in a contemporary avatar; it’s written and composed by Sandeep Kanjilal, and directed by Dubey with original music by Ashutosh Phatak.
Lillete Dubey
Dubey shares, “We have reworked a few parts keeping most of the script and lyrics the same. There is a new soundtrack that retains the flavour of rock opera, with a bit of Indian instrumentation, and some new choreography combining the elements of Kalaripayattu, and other dance forms.”
Canvas call
Coming in: TBA
Nalini Malani, Damaged Survivors, 1970, collage and photogram. Pic Courtesy/Nalini Malani
Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation will focus on photography and film practices this year. This includes early cinema archives in collaboration with Alkazi Foundation and CSMVS. Director Puja Vaish shares, “We have solo shows by artists Nalini Malani and Dayanita Singh that look at varied manifestations of photography in cinema and art. Malani will explore the artist’s multi-media practice through her formative years with rare works spanning multiple mediums and archival material. The exhibition by Singh in late 2024 will feature recent photographs, shown in India for the first time.”
Myth maketh art
Coming in January
Shetty with a piece from the exhibition. Pic Courtesy/The Artist
The India premiere of artist Sudarshan Shetty’s One Life Many will take place this month at IF.BE, Ballard Estate. The project is rooted in the threadbare components of a medieval myth retold across time and cultures. Shetty says, “Each variant must add to our understanding of the meaning the story has had for different audiences.” The show comprises a 30-minute video that retells this myth in a contemporary setting, and a body of objects carved from second-hand wood possibly sourced from dismantled buildings in and around the city, among other collections.
Anjolie returns
Coming In: January
Anjolie Ela Menon
One of India’s leading contemporary artists, Anjolie Ela Menon, will return after a nine year-long hiatus from the city with a new exhibition titled Anjolie The Wanton Fabulist for the Art Musings Gallery. From works of sensuality and beauty that blend legendary narratives, Anjolie Ela Menon’s exhibition will also carry resonances of diverse cultures from across the globe.
Gallerist Sangeeta Raghavan notes, “It is a rare treat for art lovers in the city of Mumbai with ‘Anjolie The Wanton Fabulist’, a solo exhibition that brings together recent works of one of India’s leading artists.” Menon recalls, “In 1958, when I was just 17 years old, the great painter, Maqbool Hussain organised my first Bombay solo show at the Bhulabhai Institute.” The upcoming show marks a return to one of her stamping grounds, as the artist calls the city. “Over the years, Bombay became my stamping round with countless appearances. The culmination of my artistic career was a retrospective in 1988, opened by JRD Tata. I moved to Delhi 30 years later, and yearned to exhibit again. I am delighted to be showing in Mumbai almost half a century after my first exhibition here,” she remarks.
Global playlist
Coming in: January, March
Anoushka Shankar, Ali Campbell of UB40 and Ed Sheeran
Exactly a year after Anoushka Shankar tugged at our heartstrings during her last Mumbai visit, the sitar maestro will showcase her latest album, Chapter I: Forever, For Now, in late January. February will witness a bit of Birmingham in Mumbai with UB40, the reggae pop band, heading to Mumbai while in March, pop icon Ed Sheeran (inset) will belt out the biggest hits from his previous five albums as part of the Mathematics tour.
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