Mumbai Prepares for its First Art Fair in November

Art Mumbai, led by the founders of one of India’s largest auction houses, is set to host the first extravagant art fair in Mumbai from November 16 to 19 as the Indian art market is heating up.

The new contemporary art fair is shaping up as one of India’s most extravagant events for its inauguration in the financial capital of India, from November 16 to 19. It will be arranged at the historic Mahalaxmi Racecourse, in the heart of Mumbai. Dinesh Vazirani, one of its organizers, took to social media to confirm the news.

Vazirani and his wife Minal co-founded the auction house Saffronart. They also are co-founders of Art Mumbai, with Conor Macklin of Grosvenor Gallery and Nakul Dev Chawla, founder of the online art sales platform Global Art Hub.

Ocula Magazine quoted Chawla explaining, “Art Mumbai is an art fair that celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Mumbai through a focus on South Asian modern, contemporary, and indigenous art”.

The fair will feature around 50 exhibitors including leading galleries like Experimenter from Kolkata and Mumbai, Vadehra Art Gallery from New Delhi, Chatterjee & Lal from Mumbai, and galleries from Bengaluru. International galleries, such as Grosvenor Gallery from London and Aicon from New York will also show at the fair. Teesta Bhandare, a curator and collector from New Delhi, will be directing the fair. She has previously led young collector’s events throughout India. The organizers are considering the first edition of the fair as a trial, and they plan to include more international galleries selling top-tier art in the future.

Mumbai’s inaugural art fair comes at a time when the Indian art market is booming. FY23 saw record-breaking sales for Indian art auctions, and the trend seems to be continuing into FY24. S.H. Raza’s “Gestation” and Amrita Sher-Gil’s “The StoryTeller” recently sold for Rs. 51.75 crore and Rs. 61.8 crore, respectively. The market has grown by 265% over the past decade according to the “State of the Indian Art Market Report FY23”.

The launch of the art fair in the city is significant in the fact that Mumbai is the birthplace of modern-day arts patronage in India, having birthed the Bombay Progressives, an artist group founded in 1947. Today, the members of this group command some of the highest prices for Indian artists at auctions. Additionally, Mumbai has one of the highest numbers of billionaires in the country, many of whom are art collectors. As a result, there are many valuable art transactions taking place in the city. 

The event will kick off with a fashion show presented by a renowned couturier, followed by an art conversation between Dinesh Vazirani and a well-known Bollywood filmmaker. Museum groups from London and Washington are also expected to visit the fair.

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