Cultural Calendar 2024: The Year Ahead

In the narrow window of Mumbai’s winter, a host of large-scale outdoor activities would take place spread across several weekends each year. Maharashtra Tourism has brought them all under a single umbrella with the Mumbai Festival, starting this year

Art & Music Crystal Ball

Cultural Calendar 2024: The Year Ahead

{ ART }

Nature Morte

Date: January 19| Venue: Dhanraj Mahal, Apollo Bandar

So far, the city could catch artist Subodh Gupta’s stainless-steel installations at Jio World Drive in BKC. In 2024, Delhi-based gallery Nature Morte brings them to Dhanraj Mahal at the Gateway of India in a new permanent space. Occupying the third floor of Block A of the art deco building, the Mumbai outpost of Nature Morte will open with a solo show by Gupta (on till March 9), featuring sculptures, paintings and wall reliefs.

Since 1997, when director Peter Nagy launched it in Delhi, Nature Morte has built a roster of prominent Indian artists such as Mrinalini Mukherjee, Bharti Kher and LN Tallur, among others, with Mumbaikars such as the Kallats and Dhruvi Acharya. Co-director Aparajita Jain, who joined in 2013, has also assimilated younger talents such as Asim Waqif and Martand Khosla. “For the simple fact that most of our artists do not work with a gallery in Mumbai, we thought it appropriate to open a permanent space,” says Nagy.

Mumbai Festival

Dates: January 20-28| Venue: Across the city

In the narrow window of Mumbai’s winter, a host of large-scale outdoor activities would take place spread across several weekends each year. Maharashtra Tourism has brought them all under a single umbrella with the Mumbai Festival, starting this year. The Mumbai Marathon, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Happy Streets, Yoga by the Bay and Aarogyam Kidzathon will take place over the same nine days in January, in addition to a raft of other planned events such as music concerts, a film festival and activities on the beach. Mega trade fairs such as Maha Mumbai Expo and Tourism Conclave will coincide with a shopping fest and a cricket zone. Spearheaded by Anand Mahindra, the plan is for the festival to club together everything the city has to offer.

Mumbai Gallery Weekend

Dates: January 11-14 | Venue: Galleries from Colaba to Juhu

Gallery-hopping in the city can take place on any Saturday or Art Night Thursday, but what Mumbai Gallery Weekend does over a four-day period is stitch it together with interesting talks and experiences. The 12th edition is no different. There are 36 participating spaces, with usual suspects such as galleries Chemould Prescott Road, Isa, DAG, Maskara, and others, and new faces such as Akara Contemporary, Gallery XXL (which will open a permanent space in Colaba this year) and Method Juhu. This year also includes a series of talks at the CSMVS in association with India Art Fair. Kathiwada City House will host a Young Collectors Program; Subko Cacao will host a salon by ‘The Irregular Times’, India’s first art and design newspaper, published as a quarterly; and Raw Mango will host an Odissi performance by visual artist Kuldeep Singh.

The most interesting off-site might be ‘Bombay Tilts Down’, a 14-minute video installation, at Sassoon Docks. Created by Studio Camp, and presented by Experimenter, it is the video footage captured by a CCTV camera stationed on a 35-storeyed building in Worli. Residents from Jijamata Nagar and BDD Chawls are videographed in their daily lives under the diminishing sky.

Sudarshan Shetty

Dates: January 6-17 | Venue: IFBE, Ballard Estate

The last time conceptual artist Sudarshan Shetty had a show in Mumbai was 2017, when he presented ‘Shoonya Ghar’ at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum. His upcoming show at IFBE, ‘One Life Many’, is inspired by a quote from Pandit Kumar Gandharva: “We are individually multiple.” Designed as an immersive exhibit with installations, film projections and physical elements, the show delves into the possibility of carrying an ‘other’ or many others within ourselves.

Shetty says, “The seed of this exhibition lies in a folk story I heard a long time ago, that comes together in a video and a suite of objects to be seen in a certain order of display in a way of retelling the story, in as many ways as possible. Retelling is the life blood of oral traditions, ensuring a sense of community and recalling wisdom that has evolved through centuries. How else can we make sense of our present? In my role as an artist, I would like to see my work as a mediation between how I am conditioned to belong in a structure dictated by the Western canons, and a life, as I see from where I belong, outside of it.”

The art calendar at a glance:

CSMVS’s ‘Ancient Sculptures’ (in pic) will run till October 1, while Dr Bhau Daji Lad’s show featuring TV Santhosh will run till February 11. Chemould Prescott Road will present Gulammohammed Sheikh in April, and Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke will introduce the work of land-artist Kulpreet Singh in November. The recently-opened Museum of Solutions in Lower Parel will launch a Grow Lab on their terrace in March, to teach children about urban farming, composting and soil food. And, Space118 will showcase ‘The Right To Look – II’, a selection of abstract and landscape photographs from the collection of Mumbai patron Saloni Doshi from January 11 – March 10. Finally, Art Musings will present a solo show by Anjolie Ela Menon till February 29.

{ MUSIC }

1. Ed Sheeran

Date: March 16 | Venue: Mahalaxmi Race Course

A carrot-topped man with a guitar and zero theatrics sums up Ed Sheeran’s ‘Mathematics’ tour. Practically a one-man show, the tour kicked off in 2022 in Dublin; the Asia leg will conclude in Mumbai, with fellow British singer and songwriter Calum Scott as a special guest. In the two-hour set, Sheeran performs material from across his seven albums. As his “job for the evening is to play as many songs as you recognise”, these include ‘Thinking Out Loud’, ‘Bad Habits’, ‘Galway Girl’ and ‘Sing’; ‘Shape of You’ is saved for somewhere at the end of the show. With live-looping and a little bit of rapping, the show establishes the global power of a singular singer-songwriter, who started his career playing for an audience of 20 in Camden.

2. Mahindra Blues Festival

Dates: February 10 & 11 | Venue: Mehboob Studio, Bandra

Taking off from Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Big Mama Thornton and other pioneering American women who brought the blues to theatres, cabarets and the fledgling recording industry is the new line-up at the Mahindra Blues Festival. In its 12th edition, the headliners are all women, ranging from powerhouse blues artist Beth Hart; Southern rock and blues-informed singer-songwriter Dana Fuchs; saxophonist and vocalist Vanessa Collier; Kansas City’s vocalist-guitarist Samantha Fish; gospel, R&B and blues artist Sheryl Youngblood; and Shillong blues leader and all-round cool cat Tipriti Kharbangar with vocalist Kanchan Daniel. Hart and Youngblood are both Grammy nominees, while Fuchs is known for her raspy, bluesy voice, and Fish for her energy and visceral rhythms.

3. Anuv Jain

Date: January 21 | Venue: Dome, NSCI, Worli

Singer-songwriter-indie darling Anuv Jain, whose gentle, melancholic songs have offered solace to more than a million lonely hearts, is set to have his biggest show in Mumbai yet. The puppy-faced singer and his puppy love songs have over 1.2 mn followers on YouTube, while his earliest song, ‘Baarishein’ (2018), which still doesn’t have a music video, has 75 mn views. Most of the 11 ballads Jain has released in the last few years, such as ‘Gul’ and ‘Mishri’, were discovered by listeners during the lockdown. While his spare lyrics and soothing melodies sound best within the intimacy of earphones, a grand concert venue could recreate the same feeling, if only chai and some baarishein would show up.

4. Indo Warehouse

Date: January 25 | Venue: Dome, NSCI, Worli

Like Indian kids who grew up in the ’90s, diaspora artistes Armaan Gupta and Kunal Merchant appear to be fans of both AR Rahman and Daler Mehndi. Snatches from ‘Dil Se’, ‘Lagaan’, ‘Highway’ and Mehndi’s foot-tapping ‘Tunak’ are liberally mixed in with electronic music in their sets. Co-founders of the New York-label Indo Warehouse, they usually play South Asian-borrowed EDM on dance floors in the US, London and Amsterdam. But, as part of Sunburn Festival’s line-up, they are touring India for the first time, with a standalone show at NSCI. “As kids, we found ourselves DJing family parties and being taken to classical concerts,” said Gupta, in an interview with ‘Rolling Stone’. “In college, we were leading bhangra teams and spinning at house parties.” The see-sawing between diverse music cultures, so common to playlists in India, will bear their international stamp at the show.

The music calendar at a glance:

Aadi Anant will take place on January 7 at the NCPA, with Gulzar, Shantanu Moitra, and others in a tribute to children’s poetry by Gurudev Tagore.

Anoushka Shankar will mark her annual stop in Mumbai with a performance at the NCPA on January 25.

The second edition of Lollapalooza will take place on January 27 and 28 at the Mahalaxmi Race Course. Sting, Jonas Brothers and Halsey will take the stage.

UB40 will perform on February 17 at the NSCI.

The Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) Spring 2024 will take place from February 2-16 at the NCPA. It features the return of beloved guest artistes: conductor Martyn Brabbins and pianist Barry Douglas, as well as the India debuts of conductor Gergely Madaras, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and cellist Bryan Cheng.

{ THEATRE & FILMS }

AniMela

Date: January 18-21 | Venue: NFDC, Films Division Compound, Pedder Road

India has been providing back-end support to large studios in the West when it comes to VFX, but there exists an immense potential and technological know-how in Indian creators, animators, VFX artists, game developers, comic book and graphic novel artists to create original, homegrown content. This is where AniMela, India’s first international animation festival of its kind, steps in, by providing the right mentorship. Over a period of four days, there will be film screenings, knowledge-sharing sessions, immersive experience zones, VFX making of, and zones for comic book and graphic novel creators. In a statement, Neha Jain, executive director said, “Most audiences in India perceive animation as children’s content. Similarly, there is limited knowledge about the possibilities around VFX, gaming and extended reality. With AniMela, we seek to break away from these restrictive perceptions and create more awareness and interest around the industry.”

Jimmy Carr in India

Date: January 20 | Venue: Mahakavi Kalidas Natyamandir, Mulund

British stand-up Jimmy Carr, one of the UK’s snarkiest comics, is touring India for the first time. The host of British panel shows such as ‘8 Out of 10 Cats’, ‘8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown’ and ‘The Big Fat Quiz of the Year’ is known for his razor-sharp repartees and quick insults. When he’s working with fellow comics on television, he gets as good as he gives; they tend to rib him on being a Roger Federer-lookalike, his hyena laugh, hair transplants and teeth whitening, and some tax evasion scandal he was embroiled in 2012. On stage, Carr is brutal with his one-liners, and ruthless while roasting audience members. However, his brand of comedy has gained new fans, thanks to YouTube clips and Netflix specials, which explains him bringing his ‘Terribly Funny’ tour to India.

The theatre calendar at a glance:

‘El Dorado: The Golden One’ is a ballet written-directed by Anita Kulkarni and choreographed by Odissi exponent Daksha Mashruwala. With original paintings and bespoke costumes, it will be staged at the Royal Opera House on January 20. Starring a new cast is ‘Constellations’, with Aahana Kumra and Kunal Roy Kapoor (in pic), which will take place from February 15-18 at the NCPA. The 350th show of the Marathi play, ‘A Perfect Murder’ will be staged on February 3 at the NCPA.

INTERVIEWS

{Karishma Swali} creative director, Chanakya

H/l: ‘Contemporary fashion is informed by India’s rich artisanal legacies’

What has 2023 been like for you?

2023 has proven to be a remarkable chapter for us. Through our artistic endeavours, we showcased Chanakya’s mission to preserve and conserve India’s intangible cultural heritage. These initiatives not only celebrated a four-decade legacy, but also forged a new language in contemporary art that blurs the presumed boundaries between art and craft. The Dior Fall 2023 show in Mumbai earlier this year marked a confluence of our shared values, emphasising our commitment to craft, and advocating for women’s emancipation. In conjunction, we unveiled ‘Mūḷ Māthī: From The Roots’, featuring 22 large-scale textile artworks by artists Madhvi and Manu Parekh, in collaboration with the Chanakya School of Craft. Sharing this cultural exchange with the global audience was a wonderful experience. Additionally, we launched ‘Kalpavana: The Forest of Boons’, an interdisciplinary exploration of fables and myths, featuring limited-edition collectibles.

What are your plans for 2024?

In 2024, we are going to be present at the India Art Fair (in Delhi) in February, unveiling unique works alongside artistic collaborations with renowned French contemporary artists Barthélémy Toguo and Eva Jospin. Furthermore, we are thrilled to announce our exhibition titled ‘Cosmic Garden’ in Venice from April-November 2024, in collaboration with Madhvi and Manu Parekh.

How do you see the craft traditions of India, in terms of patronage and appreciation, shaping up in the near future?

Craft is at the heart of Indian culture and serves as an identity across its many diverse communities. Even though hand craftsmanship dates back centuries, it remains a relevant means of exchange even today. So much of the fashion and textile vocabulary used in contemporary design is informed by India’s rich artisanal legacies. I believe India has and will continue to play an important role in fashion and art, at large. This is a truly transformational time for India. Today’s generation is educated, acutely aware of their culture and have ample access to a spiritual and social infrastructure unique to India, which will help them evolve, innovate and impact change.

{Suren Joshi} founder, Joshi House and Sukoon

H/l: ‘Sustainability and a focus on global flavours’

What have the last two years been like for you?

It’s been an incredible journey over the past two years, marked by the exciting recent openings of Affogato, a gelateria in Khar; Sukoon, a vegetarian, vegan and satvik garden dining space in Bandra; and Shelter by Javaphile, a three-storeyed, community-dining cafe in Versova. These additions join the family of our existing establishments such as Joshi House, The Conservatory, and the various Javaphile outlets across the city. It’s truly humbling to see the positive response and support from our patrons. We’ve poured our hearts into each venture, riding on a wave of creative energy and thoughtful expansion to create unique spaces in Mumbai’s vibrant hospitality scene.

What are your plans for 2024?

Looking forward to 2024, our approach remains grounded and community-focused. We aim to continue identifying opportunities that resonate with our vision for exceptional offerings. As always, it’s a collaborative effort with my dedicated team, and we’re eager to bring more memorable experiences to our customers. Balancing ambition with gratitude, we’re excited about what the future holds while cherishing the journey that has brought us here.

How do you see Mumbai’s culinary scene taking shape in the near future?

Mumbai’s culinary landscape is ever-evolving, and we’re thrilled to be a part of this exciting journey. We anticipate a continued diversification of tastes and preferences, with a growing appreciation for unique dining experiences. Sustainability and a focus on global flavours are key trends, and we’re committed to staying at the forefront of these culinary shifts. Our aim is not just to meet expectations but to exceed them, ensuring our diners always find a warm and inviting space in our ventures.

{Priyansha Jain} founder and creative director, InOrdinary

H/l: ‘Next exhibition in a heritage neighbourhood’

Can you briefly state your journey in art?

After my degree in visual communication, I went on to study spatial design in London and Sweden, where I majored in exhibition design. During this time, I visited museum exhibitions almost every other day, which led me to formally develop my interest in art, design and craft. It helped that I spent every vacation during my time in Europe visiting the art and design biennials and triennials. When back in Mumbai, I spent my weekends at Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum studying modern and contemporary Indian art and curatorial studies and eventually ended up in Venice for a curatorial programme. I then worked as deputy director at a curatorial lab in Mumbai along with managing an artist residency. Eventually, I was appointed as curator for the Mumbai Urban Art Festival 22-23.

What is InOrdinary all about?

InOrdinary is a curated design collectible gallery that sits at the intersection of art, design and function, with the intention to spur a deeper engagement with everyday objects. With an online gallery and a series of seasonal site-specific exhibitions that house these functional objects, InOrdinary also doubles as a curatorial consultancy working on curating and creating interdisciplinary experiences.

What are your plans for InOrdinary in 2024?

Recently, we commissioned 18 contemporary artists and designers to reimagine the form, function, materiality and action associated with a cup, and presented their works at Subko Bakehouse and Café, taking these objects out of a gallery space and into an environment where their functionality is reinforced. This exhibition, titled ‘Many Cups in a Large Sink’, presented almost 100 cups in a scenography of the domestic sink. In our forthcoming exhibition, we will be exploring concepts of time, commissioning artists and designers to create a wide array of objects in response to the theme. The exhibition will be held in a heritage neighbourhood where time moves differently, reflecting on the nature of the objects being presented. We also conceptualise, art-direct and create multidisciplinary sensorial experiences as part of our curatorial consultancy. In the coming year, we will be working with distinct art galleries and lifestyle brands that align with our ethos of mindful living.