Mumbai Gallery Weekend 2024: 7 art insiders tell us what they’re looking forward to
The Hindu
The 11th edition of the city-wide Mumbai Gallery Weekend art showcase will see exhibitions, installations, talks and more over the next four days
Before the art world sets off for New Delhi and the India Art Fair (IAF), they will be making a pit-stop in the Maximum City to catch the Mumbai Gallery Weekend. Taking place over the course of four days — across 34 galleries and design venues ranging from Colaba and Fort to Byculla and Bandra — the 11th edition, which begins today, boasts several new shows, including DAG’s The Orientals’ Benares, a series of talks at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), a young collectors’ pop-up, and live events and performances. Rekha Rodwittiya’s show at Sakshi Gallery and Sudarshan Shetty’s installation at IF.BE are highly anticipated.
The Mumbai Gallery Weekend, which started out with nine city galleries decamping to Bandra for a weekend to showcase their best-known artists, has grown into a way to democratise art, drawing in collectors and neophytes. In a varied mix of spaces, a range of artists will be showcased — spanning career retrospectives, off-site video retrospectives and a variety of media.
Shireen Gandhy, this year’s spokesperson, and director at Chemould Prescott Road, lays out its importance: “You are in your own city, with a sense of ownership by its public. So, from being formidable spaces, these become familiar spaces. If the art feels alien, there are art walks by teams such as Art and Wonderment [a duo that aims to broaden art appreciation] that create access to art in galleries. The weekend creates new social circumstances within one’s city.”
Besides shows by Muhanned Cader, Ashwini Bhat and Sangram Majumdar at Jhaveri Contemporary, Project 88 and Mirchandani + Steinrucke respectively, Gandhy is most looking forward to Bombay Tilts Down, a seven channel installation. “The 96-foot projection by CAMP includes histories and moving images, housing, infrastructure, and pleasure.”
With a lot to choose from, a few art world insiders share what they’re most looking forward to this weekend.
Must catch: Shows at Tao Art Gallery, Tarq and Experimenter Colaba
“I am taking my team to see the shows. We’re treating Mumbai Gallery Weekend as our first team outing, so it’s going to be great fun. I really like the mixture of shows and off-site events this time. I love Tarq and I’m looking forward to Areez’s exhibition; I’m also excited about Experimenter — ever since they’ve opened, I’ve loved what they’re doing. I can’t wait to see Sohrab Hura’s show there. Besides that, what I really like are some of the off-site events; Bombay Tilts Down is so interesting. I saw it earlier, when it was presented at Sassoon Docks by St+art, but I’m so glad it’s coming back because that experience was great. I like Shaunak Mahbubani’s curation, and he is curating Seema Kohli at Tao Art Gallery. I normally wouldn’t go to a Tao [all the way across] in Worli, but we’re going to try and do as much as we can.”
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