Dekho, Art Deco: Celebrate the architecture style at this three-week-long festival in Mumbai

This writer recalls the distinct impact of seeing the grey stone friezes of the New India Assurance Building in Fort for the first time Imposing sombre and yet captivating Smiti Kanodia founder of Art Deco Alive recognises the feeling ldquoWe grew up in this city I studied at JB Petit High School for Girls and would hop across to shop at Fashion Streetrdquo she recalling a memory over a Zoom phone callProposed Design for Karfule Petrol Station Mumbai The still functioning petrol pump is a sterling example of the bold use of RCC Pic Courtesy Karfule Archives Art Deco Mumbai TrustThe founder is busy preparing for the Mumbai chapter of Art Deco Alive Ocean Drive to Marine Drive Mapping a Century of Art Deco Miami BeachMumbai 19252025 a threeweeklong festival that will celebrate the centenary of an architectural movement whose legacy spreads across the globe and mediums from architecture to design art music and filmsMumbairsquos own DecoIt was on her family trip to Miami a couple of years ago that the impact of this turnofthecentury moment truly dawned on Kanodia ldquoIt felt so familiar like being back at Marine Drive When I visited the Miami Design Preservation League MDPL the museum for the Miami Art Deco Heritage I realised how they had preserved and articulated the history for the future It prompted me to work on something similar for our own streets and the cityrdquo she revealsMiami Beach Post Office is a splendid example of Art Deco design for a Public Utility building Pics Courtesy Miami Design Preservation League Art Deco AliveMiami like Mumbai is a tropical city with a vast coastline its lowrise structures defined by geometric shapes Like Mumbai the Art Deco heritage in Miami also faced the challenge of destruction till citizens like Barbara Capitman stepped in to set up the MDPL ldquoIn fact I recently learned that the definitive pastel colours of the buildings in Miami were a concerted effort to protect them by making them look beautifulrdquo shares KanodiaA custommade silver Art Deco tea set that was part of the bridal trousseau of Dharmendrakumari of the Limbdi royal family who later became the Yuvrani of Kathiwada Objects such as these were often commissioned by royal families important patrons of the Art Deco Movement Pic CourtesyKathiwada Royal Family CollectionWith cofounders Salma Merchant Rahmathulla and Gayatri Hingorani Dewan anchoring the Miami chapter Kanodia reached out to Mumbairsquos institutions to celebrate the centenary The first edition in Mumbai will witness the MDPL step in as collaborators along with some of the cityrsquos iconic institutions from the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum Art Deco Mumbai Gaylord restaurant Taj Mahal Palace Hotel among others ldquoWe have over 80 collaborators who stepped inrdquo shares KanodiaGlobally IndianWhile it emerged in 1925 Paris the Art Deco found a new grammar and visual style in erstwhile Bombay Tasneem Zakaria Mehta managing trustee and founder Dr BDL Museum informs us ldquoIn the 1930s as Bombay rebuilt itself after plague famine and depression the city embraced Art Deco as a symbol of modernity health and optimism It shaped the cityrsquos growing need for new residences as well as spaces for leisure and entertainmentrdquoA view of Eros Cinema File PicKirti Surve ParadeThe immediacy of the ideas and their designs made them a part of everyday life Other than structures like Eros Cinema and Regal Theatre buildings that became community hubs the movement also influenced jewellery fashion furniture art and even cinemaThe founder has a soft spot for typefaces and grilles ldquoI recently learned that some of the Art Deco fonts were named after buildings or architects like the Empire State Deco fontrdquo Kanodia says ldquoThe movementrsquos impact on furniture graphic design jewellery objects and fashion is less often recognised Art Deco became a fluid adaptable visual language that marked a shift away from the ornate Victorian aesthetic toward modern streamlined formsrdquo Mehta elaboratesImmersed in DecoFrom left Smiti Kanodia and Henry Hohauser features prominently as a pioneering Art Deco architect from Miami in the exhibition Ocean Drive to Marine Drive Mapping a Century of Deco Miami Beach Mumbai 1925 2025This diversity is the reason behind a multifaceted programme curation ldquoIt is only when we make people aware of all aspects of Art Deco that we offer them the choice of picking how they embrace it and what they choose to protectrdquo says KanodiaSalma Merchant Rahmathulla and Gayatri Hingorani DewanThe twoweek long curation delves into events from Churchgate Street todayrsquos Veer Nariman Road walks to guided exhibit tours pop up exhibits and lecture symposiums building an immersive experience of elements as diverse as architecture music cinema and typefaces The BDL Museum will play a crucial role in enabling this spread of information ldquoThey offer public access to people who might not always experience Deco in the way you or I dordquo Kanodia saysConversations for the futureTasneem Zakaria MehtaApart from the experiences the event Kanodia says hopes to act as a bridge for conversations ldquoOne of the things we would like to do and are hoping to is to bring real estate developers citizens urban planners and preservationists together to discuss how we want to view our city in the future The idea is to look at it through a collaborative roadmap for the future rather than for or againstrdquo she says With the city rapidly making and remaking itself that conversation might be crucial to the survival of these edificesFROM November 6 to 25AT Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum Byculla also across different city venuesLOG ON TO artdecoalive artdecoaliveorg for full schedule