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As the year draws to a close, Mumbai transforms into a vibrant tapestry of creativity and culture. The city’s art galleries, theatres, and performance spaces come alive with exhibitions, retrospectives, and festivals that celebrate imagination in all its forms. From visual arts and dance to music and storytelling, every corner hums with expression and energy. It’s a season that invites reflection, dialogue, and discovery where tradition meets innovation, and creativity knows no bounds. Whether you’re an art connoisseur or a curious wanderer, Mumbai this season offers endless inspiration beneath its ever-glowing skyline. Mythology, Magic & Modernity: Artist Nandan Purkayastha Unveils Continuum at Jehangir Art Gallery This November, the prestigious Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai is all set to host Continuum, a solo exhibition of paintings, drawings, and sculptures by Delhi-based contemporary artist Nandan Purkayastha. Opening on 5th November 2025 and running through the 10th, this show is the culmination of three years of fervent labour, imagination, and devotion to form. Presented by Sanchit Art Gallery, the collection of approximately 40 artworks bears the imprint of a childhood steeped in regional tradition, the adoring gaze of an earnest spectator, and a traveller’s restlessness to explore. A self-taught artist, Purkayastha brings to his work a keen eye for drapery, silhouette, and drama, qualities that infuse both his canvases and sculptures with theatrical presence. His bold visual language draws from Indian mythology and folklore from the sculpted forms of temple idols to the lyrical rhythm of regional traditions. His art oscillates between monochrome intensity and high-contrast colour palettes, reflecting a fascination with form, light, and shadow, where gods and legends are reimagined through a modern sensibility. ‘Textures & Tones’: Dr. Sulochana Gawde & Dr. Harsh Thakker Showcase Heritage and Harmony at Nehru Centre This November, the exhibition Textures & Tones brings together Dr. Sulochana Gawde and Dr. Harsh Thakker at the Nehru Centre Art Gallery, Worli, from 4th to 10th November 2025. The show presents a dialogue between two distinct yet complementary artistic journeys, where texture, tone, and tradition take centre stage. Dr. Gawde’s collection of over 20 oil paintings, created over five years, reflects her deep connection with Indian heritage and culture. Working primarily with a palette knife, she builds layers of movement, memory, and cultural rhythm across her canvases. Alongside her, Dr. Thakker showcases around 25–30 works that draw inspiration from nature, architecture, and stillness. His impressionist-meets-contemporary style captures the calm beauty of everyday life through rich textures and layered tones. Together, their works strike a balance between heritage and nature, offering a thoughtful dialogue between tradition and contemporary expression. Date: 4th–10th November 2025 Timings: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Venue: Nehru Centre Art Gallery, Worli, Mumbai Nakshatra Dance Festival – NCPA The Nakshatra Dance Festival at the NCPA has long been one of Mumbai’s cultural high points, a confluence of rhythm, movement, and devotion. This year’s edition brings together some of the country’s finest names in classical dance. The festival opens with Dr. Sunanda Nair’s lyrical Mohiniattam ensemble and Bichitrananda Swain’s Rudrakshya Foundation, performing Odissi pieces that explore rhythm and myth in equal measure. The following evening, Mallika Sarabhai’s “Meanwhile Elsewhere” reimagines the stage as a poetic dreamscape, a conversation between light, memory, and motion. The finale, featuring Priti Patel’s “Ishanou – The Black Swan” and Piyal Bhattacharya’s “Śaraccārucakram Kāla”, ties tradition to transcendence. With residencies and masterclasses led by leading performers, Nakshatra remains a reminder that India’s classical forms are not relics, but living, evolving languages. Dates: October 30 – November 1, 2025 Venue: NCPA, Nariman Point Geometries of the Infinite – Akkitham Narayanan Retrospective Artworld – Sarala’s Art Centre, a Chennai-based gallery celebrating 60 years of its legacy, presents Geometries of the Infinite at Jehangir Art Gallery, a major retrospective of renowned modernist Akkitham Narayanan, curated by Anahita Daruwala Banerjee. The exhibition brings together more than six decades of Narayanan’s work, blending Indian tantric symbolism with European geometric abstraction to create a balance between the spiritual and the rational. Over his distinguished career, Narayanan has received several honours, including the Tamil Nadu State Lalit Kala Akademi Award (three times in the 1960s), the International Painting Festival Award (Cagnes-sur-Mer, 1972), the K. C. S. Paniker Puraskaram (2009), and the Raja Ravi Varma Award (2017). A third-generation gallerist, curator, and writer, Anahita Daruwala Banerjee continues the legacy of her grandfather Soli Ratanshah Daruwala, founder of Sarala’s Art Centre in 1965. Her curatorial vision bridges Indian modernism and global art conversations, positioning Artworld as both a custodian of heritage and a platform for contemporary dialogue. Dates: November 18–26, 2025 Venue: Jehangir Art Gallery, Kala Ghoda Art Mumbai – The City as Canvas Few events capture Mumbai’s creative pulse quite like Art Mumbai. Returning this November to the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, the fair brings together 82 leading galleries from India and around the world. Visitors can explore an impressive range of modern and contemporary art, attend curated talks, and experience the outdoor sculpture park that adds a touch of open-air charm to the fair. Over four days, the city once again becomes a meeting point for artists, collectors, and anyone who loves art in all its forms. Dates: November 13–16, 2025 Venue: Mahalaxmi Racecourse Keys to Joy – A Celebration of the Piano’s Many Moods The piano takes centre stage at the NCPA’s Tata Theatre this November with Keys to Joy, a concert that traverses genres from jazz and funk to soul and pop. The evening features seven of the country’s most exciting pianists: Anurag Naidu, Gulraj Singh, Rahul Wadhwani, Archit Kadam, Swarrang Mulekar, Mantra Upadhyay, and Ayaan Deshpande. What binds them together is a shared reverence for the instrument and its ability to shift from meditative to mischievous within a few bars. It’s an evening that promises to remind audiences why the piano, in all its versatility, continues to hold its place as music’s universal voice. Date: November 1, 2025 Venue: Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point Aamchi Mumbai This October, the NCPA turns its spotlight on the city that never stops moving with Aamchi Mumbai, a special evening built around the words and music of legendary poet and lyricist Gulzar. Curated and co-presented by theatre-maker Salim Arif, the programme blends readings, live music, and conversation to explore how Mumbai has shaped and been shaped by one of India’s most distinctive literary voices. Where: Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point When: October 31, 2025 | 6:30 p.m. An NCPA Presentation Curated & Presented by Salim Arif A Season of Movement and Meaning From the grace of Nakshatra to the meditative hues of Geometries of the Infinite, Mumbai this season is a city in conversation with itself between tradition and modernity, sound and silence, restlessness and reflection. For those who live for art, or simply crave beauty amid the chaos, the months ahead offer every reason to linger a little longer in its glow.
