November 6th 2025 ( TGN ): Mumbai, Art Deco Alive! the first-of-its-kind, twin-city festival across Miami and Mumbai marking a hundred years of the Art Deco movement of architecture and design was inaugurated on 6th November in Mumbai by Shri Ashish Shellar, Cabinet Minister of Information Technology & Cultural Affairs, and Shri Bhushan Gagrani, Municipal Commissioner Mumbai with Smiti Kanodia, Founder, Art Deco Alive! And Mrs Tasneem Mehta, Managing Trustee & Director, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum. The first edition of Art Deco Alive! will take place across various locations in Mumbai from November 7th to 25th following the Miami edition that took place in October.
Speaking at the inaugural event at Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Cabinet Minister for Information Technology & Cultural Affairs Sri Ashish Shelar Said “Art Deco Alive! and the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum have curated a truly beautiful programme. Beyond being a connection from Mumbai to Miami, there is a third ‘M’ that holds great significance — the ‘Marathi Manus’. Mumbai represents the best of everything — a city that has always shown courage and provided a roadmap to the world.”.“When society begins to engage with its built environment — to see how walls and materials tell stories and bear witness to history — that’s when true heritage appreciation begins.Today, Mumbai is being celebrated through this exhibition and the many associated programmes, and such initiatives deserve to be documented for future generations.”
Also present at the event, Municipal Commissioner Mumbai Shri Dr Bhushan Gagrani said “Every city is undergoing a transformation in terms of infrastructure, giving it a modern and contemporary character. Preserving our city is not a challenge but a collective responsibility. The legacy of Art Deco should be an indispensable part of a new, modern, and contemporary Mumbai. This is a commendable initiative — Art Deco Alive! celebrates life, and Mumbai’s vibrant spirit is reflected through it. The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai is among the first in the country to have a very effective Heritage Committee, which plays a vital role in preserving our heritage. We must protect our precincts for the sake of Art Deco and the cultural identity it represents.”
Art Deco Alive! founded by Mumbai-based entrepreneur Smiti Kanodia, with Miami-based co-founders Salma Merchant Rahmathulla and Gayatri Hingorani Dewan, celebrates the spirit of creativity across continents while reinforcing the ideas of preservation, education and collaboration. It fosters a global conversation around identity, memory, and design – reanimating Deco’s spirit for a new era. By weaving together architecture, culture, and community, the initiative invites audiences to rediscover Mumbai’s Deco legacy and envision a future where preservation and development walk hand-in-hand.
Mumbai and Miami – two cities on opposite sides of the world – are united by their dynamic spirit, architectural heritage, and shared identity as cultural confluences. Having deep connections in both, we noticed that as they underwent gentrification and evolved, the skylines became shinier, with the emergence of high-rises, infrastructure and urban development. But, the true value of a city lies in the spaces that carry soul, culture, and history. These are the places that people feel rooted to — the ones they want to call home,” said Smiti Kanodia, Founder, Art Deco Alive!
Partnering with Art Deco Alive! In this endeavour to honour Mumbai’s design heritage is Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum. “We are delighted to partner with Art Deco Alive to present this exhibition at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum. As the city’s oldest museum, it has been a witness to the many changes and transformations the city has undergone and today stands as a guardian of its culture and heritage. This exhibition invites visitors to reflect on the significance of the city’s Art Deco buildings and the shared responsibility of preserving this legacy we have inherited,” said Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, Managing Trustee & Director, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum.
ART DECO ALIVE! EVENTS & PROGRAMMES
Ocean Drive To Marine Drive: Mapping a Century of Art Deco | Miami – Mumbai (1925-2025)
Dates: 7th November-25th November | Venue: Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Special Project Space & Museum Plaza
A key highlight of the festival is the centenary museum exhibition co-presented by Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum and Art Deco Alive! Ocean Drive To Marine Drive: Mapping a Century of Art Deco | Miami – Mumbai (1925-2025) is on view from 7th to 25th November at the Museum’s Special Project Space. This show celebrates Miami and Mumbai’s unique cultural and visual kindredness in the year that marks a century of The Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes; the 1925 Paris design show that gave the movement its name and identity. Relying on a rich mix of academic research, multimedia, archival photographs, oral history narratives, and an exclusive display of rare Deco artefacts and furniture handpicked from private collections, Ocean Drive to Marine Drive curated for Art Deco Alive! by Atul Kumar, Founder Trustee of Art Deco Mumbai Trust, hopes to make connections between material objects, spaces, urban heritage and social history by spotlighting the pioneering Deco practices across the ‘City of Dreams’ and the ‘Billion-Dollar Sandbar’. This exhibition offers a global overview while focussing on the Mumbai and Miami juxtaposition through a spotlight on local visionaries including Mumbai’s Master, Sathe & Bhuta, Perin J Mistri and NG Pansare, and Miami’s Henry Hohauser and Barbara Baer Capitman.
The exhibition is partnered by pioneering preservation organisations Miami Design Preservation League and Art Deco Mumbai Trust.
Twin City Symposium
Date: 13th November, 2025 | Venue: Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Education Centre
Art Deco Alive! & Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum present a day of ideas exchange, inspiring debate and driving conversations around heritage advocacy and preservation in a new developing India by bringing together leading voices in architecture, design, policy making, academia, and the arts. Through a series of illustrated presentations and discussions, we hope to acknowledge the lasting influence of the timeless Art Deco movement on our urbanscape and modern living.
Churchgate Street Rewind
8th – 16th November, 2025
Mumbai’s Art Deco charm takes centre stage with Churchgate Street Rewind — a vibrant, week-long block party surrounding the themes of architecture, culture, cuisine, mixology and community curated by Art Deco Alive! From a heritage walk down ‘Churchgate Street’ (now Veer Nariman Road) and a cinema tour of Eros to throwback menus and classic cocktails at legacy eateries, the festival offers experiences that turn back the clock to a time when this neighbourhood was the entertainment quarter. Art Deco Alive’s partner restaurants and hotels will celebrate the era with special menus, deals, and visual installations designed in Deco style, ensuring the storytelling continues beyond the plate. The iconic Gaylord, The Ambassador Hotel, The InterContinental Mumbai meet contemporary hospitality establishments Foo Town, Markiv’s, Nksha, Mezcalita, Mockingbird Cafe Bar, Pizza by the Bay, and Poetry by Love & Cheesecake among others.
Deco Walks:
8th, 9th, 15th,16th November
Heritage tours curated by Art Deco Alive! include the Churchgate Street Rewind Tour with Nikhil Mahashur on Saturday, November 8th; Picture Deco at Eros with Kirtida Unwalla on Sunday, November 9th; Indo Deco at Shivaji Park with Nikhil Mahashur on Saturday, November 15th; and on Sunday, November 16th, up for the taking are tickets to three walks — Deco Lives of Matunga with Fiona Fernandez, Deco by the Bay with Dr. Anand Shroff, and Deco in Tilak’s Village with Sandeep Dahisarkar.
Quaint architectural details of the structures across these areas will be shared with walking groups even as stories of its residents and landlords light up the weekends’ mornings. The project’s digital footprint will extend the experience online through social media collaborations, archival storytelling, and influencer-led content, inviting younger audiences to engage with the city’s cultural memory in fresh, shareable formats.
Other Highlights:
An accessible, public-facing cultural festival, Art Deco Alive! will host a series of allied programmes across Mumbai’s Art Deco neighbourhoods. The highlights include Katta Deco at Shivaji Park — a pop-up showcase of Shivaji park’s lost and surviving Deco legacy on November 11th at The Kin Hotel. The display celebrates the neighbourhood’s architectural legacy through drawings, vignettes, and archival imagery.The Deco Talks series features thought-provoking discussions including one on the social history of Marine Drive – Marine Drive – The Making of a Cosmopolitan Hub of Urban Modernity on November 9th, and Fusion of Forms – Localising Architecture on November 15th.
The festival also presents furniture, jewellery, and fashion showcases, along with retail edits spotlighting modern interpretations of the timeless Deco style. Film screenings include India Cabaret by Mira Nair (November 8th), Cinema Pe Cinema: The Theatre. The Movies. And Us by Vani Subramanian (November 15th), and Finding Carlton – Uncovering the Story of Jazz in India by Susheel Kurien (November 16th). Adding a hands-on element, the Deco Workshops invite participants to explore creativity through drawing – Sketching Tour with Urban Sketchers Mumbai (November 9th) – and through typography – Glamour Glyphs: Create Art Deco Letterform (November 15th).
Partners
Joining this initiative is The Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai, an institution that is central to the city’s cultural fabric and cosmopolitan spirit, representing a rich narrative of both tradition and modernity. Mumbai’s legacy institutions Phillips Antiques, Kamdar Furniture, Bharat Floorings & Tiles, Gaylord restaurant, The Ambassador Hotel, Godrej Enterprises Archives and the iconic Eros and Metro theatres come together to make this a meaningful coalition. Adding vintage charm to the exhibition are furniture and antiques ateliers Moorthy’s, Mahendra Doshi Designs, Jaipur Rugs, Milaaya Art Gallery, and the private collection of Kathiwada Raaj Mahal, among several more.
In celebrating the Art Deco centenary across two continents, Art Deco Alive! goes beyond architecture – it invites communities to reimagine their cities, honour cultural memory, and envision a future where heritage and progress co-exist and thrive.
About Art Deco Alive! Founders
Smiti Kanodia, Founder, Mumbai Curatorial Director: With over two decades of experience in branding and publishing, Smiti Kanodia, Founder of Art Deco Alive!, is an entrepreneur and media stalwart. Walking through the streets of Miami, she realised that the city with its similarities to Mumbai needed to have their common heritage shared. She wanted to bring this fresh perspective and create a style and cultural bridge. She led the successful launch and exit of Time Out, the international cultural magazine in India, with a 150-member team across three cities. She has spearheaded several corporate brand revitalisation projects and served as a CSR advisor for corporates and NGOs. Smiti believes in empowering communities through culture and collaboration.
Salma Merchant Rahmathulla, Co-Founder, Miami Curatorial Director: Salma is an advocate for cultural preservation, heritage, and the transformative power of shared narratives. Having lived worldwide, she brings a global perspective shaped by her experience across the nonprofit, public, and private sectors, along with a refined aesthetic from her background in luxury design and craftsmanship. Currently she leads her family’s philanthropic initiatives through The SASA Foundation, serves on the boards of The Underline, The Childhood Foundation and is part of The Smithsonian’s Regional Council.
Gayatri Hingorani Dewan, Co-Founder, Miami Curatorial Director: Gayatri has a multifaceted career that encompasses magazine publishing, public relations, curated travel, and retail. Growing up in Mumbai and spending over 25 years in New York, Gayatri now calls Miami home. Gayatri has successfully worked within the U.S.-India corridor with a range of brands in the luxury and lifestyle sectors, focusing on creating awareness and engaging experiences that celebrate cultural richness.Gayatri co-heads Indo Chic providing a platform for Indian designers and brands to reach a wider and diverse audience in the U.S.
