If you are a connoisseur of the
Arts and consider a day at an art gallery a day well spent, then you are in for
a treat, for Mumbai has a host of art galleries that
exhibit a wide variety of art each showcasing a different genre of painting and
artistry. The 'Maximum
City' of India
is culturally enriched with a number of art galleries that display both the
traditional and contemporary art forms from India and across the world.
Jehangir Art Gallery
The Jehangir Art gallery is one of the more famous art galleries of Mumbai and
is located at the busy Kala Ghoda area. The gallery has two main halls that include the
Chemould and Terrace
Art Galleries. Founded by Sir Cowasji Jehongir, along
with K. K. Hebbar and Dr. Homi Bhabha, the gallery has a permanent art
collection as well as hosts exhibitions by eminent and world-renowned artists.
As you walk up to the first floor of the gallery, you will come across the
Chemould gallery that originally began its life as a frame shop by an artistic
duo who were a part of the contemporary art movement.
After a tour of the gallery, enjoy a cup
of tea at Samovar garden Cafe, a popular artist hangout.
National Gallery of Modern Art
This is located near the famous Regal Cinema in the bustling shopping
area at Colaba in South Mumbai. Since its
beginnings in 1966, it has been a generous patron of emerging and contemporary
art and has hosted the best in Indian Art as well as art from around the world.
Well worth a visit.
Piramal Art Gallery
If you are a photography buff, you would love to visit the Piramal Art Gallery, the only one of its kind in India, which
exhibits works of leading Indian and international Photographers. The gallery
has a preservation vault with a rare collection of the works of renowned
photographers like Judith Mara Gutman, August Sander, Asvin Mehta and Raghubir
Singh.
Situated at the busy commercial hub of Nariman Point, the Art Gallery
was set up with the help of the Ford Foundation and is exclusively devoted to
photography
Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery
Also at Nariman Point is the Kamalnayan
Bajaj Art
Gallery, popular for
showcasing the works of young and budding talent. Students of art from various art schools
and institutions are given first preference. In fact, the monsoon months of
June to August are exclusively dedicated to exhibitions by art students. From
September to March, the gallery is open to all artistes. Workshops are held in
the month of May on a variety of subjects ranging from basic drawing and
painting to miniature painting, ceramics, pottery, terracotta, puppetry, and
mask painting.
The Art
Gallery of Nehru Center
The Nehru Center at Worli is emerging as a
platform for showcasing the works of young artists and providing them with a
forum for exhibitions, lectures and workshops. Check out the Monsoon Show -
Chatak that exhibits the art works of students and young professionals.
Prithvi Gallery
The Prithvi Gallery at Juhu is a part of the famous Prithvi Theater
Complex. Over the years it has emerged as a platform for creating a greater
understanding of the fine arts by means of seminars, films, documentaries and
panel discussions. The idea is
to educate the layperson in the finer aspects of the World of Art by providing
a forum for interaction between the layperson and the artist.
Pundole Art Gallery
Check out the Pundole
Art Gallery
at Dadabhai Naoroji Road
in the Fort area of Mumbai, which is devoted to modern Indian Art. The gallery has exhibited the works of
eminent artistes like M F Hussain, Akbar Padamsee, Laxman Shreshta,
Badrinarayan and Ram Kumar.
Artists? Centre
The Artists? Centre claims to be the oldest art gallery in Mumbai. Once the art
salon of the Bombay Art Society, the Artists? Centre was started by the
Progressive Artists Group that included luminaries such as Souza, Ara, Raza and
Hussain.
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