Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2025
Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is the jewel of the historic Fort district in South Mumbai. Bustling with office workers, stock breakers of BSE, lawyers in their smart black cloaks making their way from their firms to the high court, art connoisseurs visiting exhibitions at Jehangir Art Gallery and or Jehangir Nicholson, fashionable people shopping couture and tourists taking in the sight of the heritage buildings around them, the area has something to offer for everyone. And yet, this area is most known for the annual art festival held in January, the Kala Ghoda Festival.
What’s Special About the 25th Kala Ghoda Arts Festival?
This year marks the 25th edition of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival and the theme has been aptly named ‘Silver’. More than 300 programmes are being held across 15 verticals: Visual Arts, Urban Design, Music, Dance, Theatre, Literature, Cinema, Food, Children, Lifestyle, and so on.
There were some interesting walk-throughs with architects in art galleries on the first day of the festival: Art Musings Art Gallery was recently restored this year. Sangeeta Raghavan of Art Musings and Alfaz Miller of ABM Architects will host a walk-through of the gallery space and discuss what went into the restoration of the charming building on the 25th of January. On the other hand, there’s a walk-through at the new art space for Gallery XXL at Arsiwala House in Colaba where the gallery will explain how the interior design was conceptualised inside a heritage building. These two events showed how art and design go hand in hand.
On Sunday, the 26th of January, Ulka Chauhan and Samira Seth showed us how archiving and documenting family histories for future generations preserves cultural legacies, and broader historical narratives by documenting 300-year-old heritage homes in her book ‘The Memory Keepers and Future Seekers: Portraits of Heritage Homes in Goa’. This is especially important to Mumbai because the city shares a history of Portuguese along with Goa which led to the adoption of an Indo-Portuguese architectural style seen in pockets of the city such as Matharpacady in Mazgaon.
This year also brings a rare opportunity to witness a famed but rarely accessible art collection! On the 30th of January, Mortimer Chatterjee of Chatterjee and Lal Art Gallery will host a walk-through of the Art Collection of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research for a limited audience.
An exhibition is being held at the stunning David Sassoon Library Reading Room depicting the evolution of Mumbai through early colonial paintings and prints showcasing Naval dominance in the region and the 18th and 19th Century Orientalist imagery.
Eminent Artists Atul Dodiya and Siddharth Bhatia discuss the artist’s current show ‘Radio Ceylon Paintings: Vol I’, a nostalgic tribute to the maestros of the Hindi film music world of the ’40s, ’50s and 60’s with 125 artworks taking us to the golden age of Hindi Cinema music.
Also on the 30th, join a panel discussion on ‘Public Access of Heritage Landmarks’ by architects Adil Dholakia (Five Cross Architects), Sheetal Gandhi, Vikas Dhilawari (Vikas Dhilawari Architects) and moderated by Fiona Fernandez of Midday at the Elphistone College Quadrangle.
The day ends with ‘5×5 Intersections in Design: Celebrating 25 Years of KGAF’ where 5 designers from various designs talk about their work and the intersection of their fields. The conversation is led by Mrudul Pathak Kundu (Elle Décor) with conservation architect Abha Lambah Narain, graphic designer Divika Mehta, furniture designer Arthur Duff and fashion designer Nachiket Barve and urban designer Ritu Mohanty Padora.
The 31st of January starts with a guided visit to the early colonial era Afghan Church in Navy Nagar, Colaba with Ar. Kirtida Unwalla has recently been restored to its ethereal glory and I feel the time pause. Enjoy the morning walk at Kala Ghoda on the 1st of February as architect and restorer Nikhil Mahashur (Walkitechture) takes us around the beloved art district as he recounts stories and shows us the sights of Kala Ghoda. The walk ends with coffee and snacks at Bombay Sweetshop.
This year’s festival also brings us a vast collection of art installations painstakingly put together by art academy students and artists. Many of them give us a thought-provoking insight into the daily lives of Mumbaikars from various walks of life, the struggles of living in the city, honour the resilience of the ‘have-nots’ in the face of poverty living in Mumbai’s suburbs and finally celebrate the spirit of Kala Ghoda, its buildings and its people. Some of the special mentions are ‘Parallel Lives’ by ITM Institute of Design and Media, KAVAAD, the visual story box by Dr Manjiri Thakoor, ‘Naal’ by NMMC (BVOC) SPA Bhopal by Prithvi Suranje and Team, ‘PRECIOUS KAL-AAJ-AUR KAL’ by Kanika Bawa and team and ‘Evolution of Kala Ghoda Arts Festival from 1999-2024’ by INSD ANDHERI- Ghatkopar.
A wide array of workshops are also being held for those interested in getting their hands dirty and making something new! For the artistically inclined or people who simply want to try their hand at making art, Milton presents a Metal Bottle Painting Workshop on the 26th of January and India Exim Bank presents a Terracotta pottery painting workshop on January 28th, a Batik Print-making workshop under the expert guidance of Mrs. Prerana Dhabade, President of Swastik Mahila Udhyog and ‘Joy of Crochet’ led by Mrs. Balam Ananthalakshmi on the 31st of January at the YWCA. The fashionistas looking for style inspiration can try ‘Power Dressing – The Saree Styling Workshop’ with Ramya Rao and Kavea Chavali, the founders of Kalaneca on 27th January.
This year will also introduce an anthem for the Kala Ghoda Festival composed by Shantanu Moitra with lyrics by Aalok Shrivastav and many enthralling musical performances by celebrated singers like Shamali Kholgade, Mame Khan and the legendary singer Usha Uthup and more. Kala Ghoda Festival this year will surely be a memorable event in the city’s cultural calendar, delivering a befitting 25th anniversary of the cultural phenomenon. The festival began on the 25th of January and will conclude on the 2nd of February.
Image Courtesy – Abir Pothi
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