KEEPING ART DECO ALIVE!

Three dynamic women share how they founded a cross-continental festival that celebrates the Art Deco parallels between Mumbai and Miami to tell the story of varied cultures connected through a shared legacy of design and heritage

- 

In bustling Mumbai, curved balconies, porthole windows, and tropical motifs on pastel façades gleam under the humid light, echoing colonial nostalgia.

Across the globe, in Miami, neon hues radiate against the Atlantic breeze on similar geometric structures. Although worlds apart, the two cities are united by the timeless allure of Art Deco — a parallel recognised by a new festival dedicated to the unique aesthetics of this architectural style.

To commemorate 100 years of the design movement, Art Deco Alive!, a twin-city festival, has been organised in Miami and Mumbai. The event, held in Miami recently with over 80 partners, culminates in Mumbai with a symposium, heritage walks, curated talks, and citywide cultural activities, in addition to an exhibition in partnership with Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum. And all of these were conceptualised and put together by Smiti Kanodia, Salma Merchant Rahmathulla, and Gayatri Hingorani Dewan.

“What resonates most deeply for me is how Art Deco captures a time when cities looked toward the future with confidence,” says Smiti. “The festival was born from that shared feeling, celebrating Mumbai and Miami’s twin heritage, two tropical, cosmopolitan cities that tell parallel stories of creativity, resilience, and hope through their architecture.”

THE MUMBAI-MIAMI CONNECT

Although Mumbai is home to the world's second-largest collection of Art Deco buildings, this fact remains under-acknowledged, even to its own residents. For Smiti, who grew up here, the cinema halls, seafront apartments, and the curve of Marine Drive are not mere structures but storytellers of a city that balances modernity with grace.