Gallery BMB in the Fort area of South Mumbai is where we start our art tour of Colaba.

Gallery BMB

Located on a leafy side street, the majestic building houses two major powerhouses of the art scene in this very competitive city. Gallery Chemould is located on an upper floor and the expansive ground floor is utilised by artist Bose Krishnamacahri's Gallery BMB.

Launched with perhaps one of India's most groundbreaking private gallery shows, 'Dark Sciences of the Five Continents', the art space opened last September with a show of artists from five continents. The exhibition included works by Jake & Dinos Chapman, John Kessler, Riyas Komu, George Osodi and Wang Quinsong. The current show is the first solo by Delhi native Prasad Raghavan and continues this rarely seen spirit of innovation, internationalism and intellectual rigor.

Chatterjee & Lal

Chatterjee & Lal was formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team Mortimer Chatterjee and Tara Lal. This prominent Colaba gallery presents consistently interesting shows of Indian and international artists.

When we visited the gallery, the next show was in the process of being installed - video and film works by Yale film teacher Ashish Avikunthak. The show is titled Vakratunda Svaha and will be showing till mid June.

The Guild

Located upstairs in the same building of Chatterjee and Lal is The Guild, another Colaba gallery increasing in reputation and popularity. The Guild has built a strong following as it attempts to show emerging and established artists from India and the region. The current show, Categorical Imperatives, is a fine example of this fledgling tradition, bringing together video works by emerging contemporary Middle-Eastern artists.

Project 88

This large gallery is located a few minutes away from the other spaces which make up the new ‘gallery district’ of Mumbai. Mahesh Baliga’s first solo show, Confabulations, was impressive and the consistent programming has lead the gallery to be invited to the prestigious Freize art fair in London.

Gallery Maskara

This large and impressive gallery space (perhaps the most impressive of all the new galleries in South Mumbai) is owned and directed by Abhay Maskara. A new breed of gallerist to arrive on the Mumbai scene, Maskara carefully selects his roster of artists and represents them with care and discipline. The current show by Narendra Yadev, entitled Memory Minus Me, is a testament to this.

Gallerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke

This cute gallery space housed in the upper floor of a colonial era building directly behind the Taj is a fine example of the slow but certain gentrification that is taking hold of this part of the city. Established February 2006 by Usha Mirchandani and Ranjana Steinruecke, the gallery presents Indian and international art with emerging and mid-career artists.