Through her lived experiences and a lifelong study of the city’s cultural history, Shanta Gokhale explains what makes this Deco neighbourhood special.
Gallery
Oct 25, 2021
It’s International Artists’ Day today and we’re celebrating the sculptors who used the Art Deco design movement to create a sub-culture of Swadeshi Moderne. Through their art, they juggled the expectations of modernity and establishing pre-independent India’s identity.
Image 1: In Ballard Estate, Construction House’s bas reliefs are quite on the nose. Thanks to N A Dere, there is no abstract meaning to draw here.
Oct 25, 2021
It’s International Artists’ Day today and we’re celebrating the sculptors who used the Art Deco design movement to create a sub-culture of Swadeshi Moderne. Image 2: A dramatic turn of events takes place at New India Assurance Building. N G Pansare has larger than life bas reliefs protecting the building, with swords in tow.
Oct 25, 2021
It’s International Artists’ Day today and we’re celebrating the sculptors who used the Art Deco design movement to create a sub-culture of Swadeshi Moderne. Image 3: Shiavax Dhanjibhoy Chavda brings a stack of bas reliefs to life on Onlooker Building, PM Road, Fort. These panels largely depict rural Indian life.
Oct 25, 2021
It’s International Artists’ Day today and we’re celebrating the sculptors who used the Art Deco design movement to create a sub-culture of Swadeshi Moderne.
Image 4: The topmost panel on Onlooker Building has a sari-clad, revolutionary figure flanked by two Swaraj flags which once symbolised civil revolt against the British Raj. The design includes a spinning wheel at its centre which eventually made it to India’s national flag.
Oct 25, 2021
Image 5: V A Kamat’s love for traditional imagery and elephants is on full display at the Lakshmi Insurance Building. The ground level entrance welcomes you with elephants carved in Malad stone.
Oct 25, 2021
It’s International Artists’ Day today and we’re celebrating the sculptors who used the Art Deco design movement to create a sub-culture of Swadeshi Moderne. Through their art, they juggled the expectations of modernity and establishing pre-independent India’s identity.
Image 6: On the exterior of Lakshmi Insurance Building — the chajja or overhang has a band of elephants marching in red sandstone splendour.
Inventory
An inventory of Art Deco buildings with an interactive map showing you where they are located. Explore neighbourhoods, buildings, features and elements.
Browse AllResearch
MUMBAI'S ART DECO
Movies, Cabarets, a Ladies Band – Eros Theatre and the Recreational Promise of 20th Century BombayMovies, an open-air restaurant, and an all-female live band, only at Eros Theatre – how this Art Deco picture palace influenced Bombay's public culture.
MUMBAI'S ART DECO
Ideals for the Modern HomeThe first exhibition of its kind ever to be held in India, Ideal Home Exhibition of 1937, Bombay, advocated the ideals of modern interior decoration for the Indian home of the future.
MUMBAI'S ART DECO
India's first woman architect - a tribute to Perin J. MistriUntold story of a trailblazing Indian architect.
MUMBAI'S ART DECO
Shivaji Park - the culture and how it shapes its residentsHow Art Deco architecture plays a role in what is popularly referred to as the “Shivaji Park culture”
Blog
Your Daily dose of art deco inspiration
Picture Abhi Baaki Hai: Bombay Velvet’s Deco Dream Team
In conversation with Sonal Sawant and Dhara Jain, Production Designer and Asst. Production Designer of Bombay Velvet
In candid conversation with Abha N. Lambah: Part 2
Abha N. Lambah shares her perspective on conservation and the state of architecture colleges in India.
In candid conversation with Abha N. Lambah: Part 1
Conservation Architect, Abha N. Lambah speaks about her journey to Bombay and the city's 2018 UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription.
An Odyssey of Self-Discovery
In conversation with Bharatnatyam dancer and business woman Priti Warrier. Exploring expressions and harmony between the two art forms, Bharatnatyam and Art Deco.