Mumbai: Art Deco Jewel of India - online presentation

About

Mumbai, India's financial and film capital, boasts the world's second-largest collection of Art Deco buildings.

The style arrived in Mumbai, then known as Bombay, in the early 1930s and continued to develop until the mid-1950s. The visual presentation will take participants on a virtual tour of select Art Deco buildings from this period and contextualise this architectural introduction. In 2018, in a one-of-its-kind stakeholder-led initiative, UNESCO inscribed the ‘Victorian Gothic & Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai’ as a World Heritage site.

This era was also significant due to other occurrences in the country. India was marching towards becoming an independent nation with many ideas of what it meant to be an Indian in the modernising new world. These notions were explored and expressed in the form of relief work, design features, and building elements conceived by first-generation Indian architects in collaboration with homegrown contractors and independent artists. These variations are critical markers that help develop a deeper understanding of the many social, cultural, and economic narratives that played a role in shaping the local context during a historical period in the Indian account of nation-building. The presentation will help you identify and appreciate these details which one would otherwise only view during a trip to this Indian city.

By the end of the presentation, participants will be able to appreciate the role these local inserts play in making Mumbai's Art Deco jewels so unique.

This 45-minute presentation will be followed by a 15-minute Q&A session. Note that tickets are based on household rather than person e.g. for 2 members watching together require one ticket.

About Art Deco Mumbai
The Art Deco Mumbai Trust (ADM) has created the only online repository dedicated to Mumbai’s Art Deco. It works to raise awareness and appreciation of Deco while advocating for its conservation. Founded in 2016, its ongoing photo documentation has identified over 1620 Art Deco buildings across the city. As part of its outreach, the not-for-profit Trust hosts walking tours, public lectures and workshops with schools and colleges. A member of the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies (ICADS), it also presents Mumbai’s Deco in partnership with Google on the Google Arts & Culture platform.

Presented online by Atul Kumar, Founder Trustee of Art Deco Mumbai Trust.

The online presentation will be by Zoom and you will be sent the Zoom link on Tuesday 10th March.

Join online at 7:25 for a 7:30 pm start.