Mumbai's gallerists making a traditional egalitarian activity even more fun

Mumbai's art spaces are collectively agreeing to extend hours on certain days so that patrons can walk in late

Every few Thursdays, small groups of stylishly dressed people pile into the Apollo Bunder region of Colaba after work and, unprompted, the men selling shawarma and curios there know to point them upstairs. On these select nights, the ascent in the century-old Grants Building and Kamal Mansion is marked by headiness and chatter, the sources of which are the clusters of contemporary art galleries they are home to. Novices and experts sip wine, scan the works, and make observations before dashing off to shows next door. It is all much less stuffy and more convivial than the typical art show opening.

Seven years after it began, the relationship between “Art Night Thursday” and the art-loving public has yet to develop an itch. Back in 2012 several young galleries of Colaba joined hands with the existing cluster of spaces in Kala Ghoda to form what is now known as the “Mumbai Art District”. They started a few events, hoping to build a sense of community. Among them the “Mumbai Gallery Weekend” — a long weekend packed with exhibitions and talks — to engage with collectors, and the monthly “Art Night Thursday” which allowed working people to drop by as galleries remained open till 9.30 pm rather than the usual 6 pm, and which often featured new show launches. Their example was based on New York’s gallery scene which has had monthly late-night openings for long.

The scene has been made further interesting in recent years by the emergence of independent groups like Carpe Art and Art Walks, which conduct tours for the uninitiated. Art school students as well as lawyers and bankers in their 60s are signing up. “There is no gallery-going culture in Mumbai. It can seem new and intimidating and mostly people don’t know where to go,” says Viraj Mithani, who leads walkthroughs for Carpe Arte.

A café at the end of the walk; families and young professionals at a walkthrough and discussion

Rather than individual meditation on the works, the Art Night Thursday experience is about a sense of collegiality. “Often, this means that the social aspects of gallery-going take precedence over quiet and reflective engagement with the art on view,” says Mortimer Chatterjee, member of the Mumbai Art District and co-founder of the gallery Chatterjee & Lal. “It is usual for our regular visitors to first come with friends during an Art Night Thursday, and then revisit alone sometime later.”

Taking a cue from the South Mumbai galleries, their counterparts in Central Mumbai areas recently formed the Midtown Mumbai Arts Collective (MMAC). So art spaces in Worli, Lower Parel and Byculla, which include Volte, Saffronart and Tao, are keeping their doors open longer during their own bi-monthly fixture, “Art Night Friday”. Located in a commercial quarter of the city, the spaces are scattered, and a hop-on hop-off bus service is used to connect them. “The events are not about the commerce as much as about community outreach,” says Anupa Mehta, a Lower Parel-based art consultant who co-founded the event together with Rashmi Dhanwani of Art X Company.

Noting that offices in the city worked longer hours than 9 to 5, Ashvin Rajagopalan of the Piramal Museum of Art decided to keep his space open until 8 pm. Rather than the older crowd that frequents any South Mumbai cultural event, he says the midtown district typically attracts families and young professionals. The galleries there plan to bring performance art and food venues into the fold, too. Whereas Art Night Thursdays are free, attending Art Night Friday costs about Rs 350 for access to the bus and a complimentary drink at the end of the night in a nearby café.

a café at the end of the walk; families and young professionals at a walkthrough and discussion

A faint frisson of the underground envelops the activity. Even if it always falls on the second Thursday of each month, notices do not appear online until a few days before the event so that one needs to keep checking pages in the newspaper. It is not for the absent-minded. Still, people are making an effort and the nights remain well-attended. “It has become an event, particularly for younger people, and some even plan their Mumbai visit to coincide,” says Geetha Mehra, director of Sakshi Gallery. The Mumbai Art District plans to create a website for more timely updates.

For enthusiasts like Supriya Menon, a museum consultant who works in South Mumbai and lives in the north-eastern suburb of Mulund, being able to stay back in South Mumbai and enjoy art after work is amply more appealing than having to make that journey separately on a weekend. Most galleries time their previews and openings to match with extended-hours days. Over the years, this has helped Menon become familiar with the works of promising artists like Parag Tandel and Sumakshi Singh. It is a mixed bag, she observes, as is often the case with contemporary art. “But the good thing is you can gallery-hop and find something interesting.”

New exhibitions are expected to open at Mumbai Art Room, Galerie Isa and TARQ on the forthcoming Art Night Thursday (June 13)