Art Mumbai, now in its third edition, which will be held from November 14 to 16, has become a landmark in the city’s annual cultural calendar. It has given Mumbai a large-scale, focused platform that brings together the city’s creative community, collectors and galleries under one roof.
Beyond the numbers – how much art was sold or how many people visited – Art Mumbai’s contribution lies in its ability to restore momentum to the city’s cultural conversation. It has reintroduced art into the public imagination as something worth experiencing, discussing and collecting. Through talks, walkthroughs and interactive sessions, the fair bridges the gap between the business of art and its appreciation.
Location from last year’s edition Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
For this year’s edition, Connor Macklin, co-founder of Art Mumbai and director of the Grosvenor Gallery, London, and Nakul Dev Chawla, co-founder of Art Mumbai and director of Chawla Art Gallery, New Delhi, share highlights of the programme:
international perspective
This year, the fair added nine new international galleries, bringing the total to 18Lisson Gallery (London), Galleria Continua (Italy), Sundaram Tagore Gallery (New York, Singapore, London), Ben Brown Fine Arts (London), and Leila Heller Gallery (Dubai). Their participation expands the reach of Art Mumbai as a global platform, underscoring how South Asian art is being integrated into the international conversation, while providing Indian audiences direct access to major global artworks.
Review of Tyeb Mehta
Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), in collaboration with the Tyeb Mehta Foundation, established in 2013 to enrich the history of Indian art and culture, and is currently leading the 2025 birth centenary celebrations of artist Tyeb Mehta, and the Saffronart Foundation, which strives to be a facilitator of projects located at the intersection of culture and social change, is dedicated to the work of Tyeb Mehta (1925-2009). Presents a solo exhibition of artworks, titled Tyeb Mehta – Bearing the Light (With the Lightness of Being). The show marks the centenary of one of India’s most distinguished modernists and brings together a selection of early paintings and drawings as well as his famous series.
From last year’s sculpture park Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
South Asian Art in Focus
At its core, Art Mumbai continues to celebrate South Asian creativity. Visitors can discover new talents through guided walks, explore off-site VIP programs with collection previews and artist talks, and experience new perspectives from galleries such as Experimenter, DAG, Shape Type, Nature Morte, Chemold Prescott Road, Vadehra Art Gallery, Gallery Espace and TARQ.
speaker series
As part of the speaker series, two insightful panels will highlight the emerging intersections of the arts, the economy, and cultural leadership. Funding Futures: Investing in Change, moderated by Mukti Khaire, Girish and Jaydev Reddy, Professor of Practice at Cornell Tech, will examine how Asian conservation is reshaping global narratives and nurturing a new generation of thought leaders and arts practitioners. Meanwhile, How to Navigate the Art Market, helmed by Kabir Jhala, a journalist and editor covering the art market and South Asia, sheds light on the inner workings of the art ecosystem – from market dynamics and legal frameworks to auction strategies and the passion that drives collecting. Both sessions promise to offer fresh perspectives from experts linking creativity and commerce, with additional insights from a Dutch business consultant Kito de Boer provides a view of how art, finance and influence converge in today’s cultural landscape.
ladies First
Established in the grounds of Mahalaxmi Racecourse, the sculpture park is dedicated this year on 19Women artists who are redefining the language of form and content. Participating artists include Adeela Suleman, Chetna, Madhavi Parekh, Mira Mukherjee, Natasha Singh, Poojan Gupta, Radhika Hamlai, Ratnabali Kant, Richa Arya, Saviya Mahajan, Shantamani Muddaiya, Shifali Wadhawan, Tapasya Gupta, Sonal Ambani, Sudipta Das, Tarini Sethi, Taiba Begum Lipi, Vineeta Mungi and Shambhavi Singh.
Building on the success of previous editions, the sculpture park offers visitors and galleries the opportunity to experience outdoor installations that go beyond the boundaries of traditional white-cube spaces. Each work contributes to a layered narrative – merging urban and natural environments, personal and collective histories – to create a contemplative and transformative experience.
Art Mumbai returns to Mahalaxmi Race Course from 14 to 16 November; Tickets start from ₹707Available through District by Zomato and www.artmumbai.com
published – November 11, 2025 06:55 PM IST