The AD Design Show took over Mumbai’s Art and Design scene with an exemplary curated programming schedule. The three day show witnessed a confluence of art and design connoisseurs, patrons and practitioners alike, participating in the intersection of art, design and architecture. Every element of this edition was underlined by celebrating India: The Power Talks with its stellar lineup of speakers, the Power to the Karigar Pavilion, the monolithic AD Museum, the six art galleries exhibiting this year and the entire curation of brands.
Held in association with title partner Asian Paints and associate partners Artize, DAG, JSW, Nesterra, Glenfiddich Artists in Residence and Hendrick’s at the Jio World Convention Center, BKC, Mumbai, the event launched with a special welcome from Alex Kuruvilla, the Managing Director of Condé Nast India followed by Amit Syngle, MD and CEO of Asian Paints and Komal Sharma, Head of Editorial Content, AD India.
Amit Syngle, MD and CEO of Asian Paints said, “It gives me immense pleasure to see a superlative design show like the AD Design show back to its glorious physical format. It’s a special year with a retrospective on 75 years of design in Independent India, and exciting displays and programming right at the cutting edge of design. Asian Paints has been an integral part of this event from its beginning and we are proud partners and design collaborators as we see it get bigger and better with every passing year.”
Komal Sharma, Head of Editorial Content, AD India said “Bringing The AD Design Show back after three years has been a mad, crazy ride. The momentum that an event like this brings, it really cannot be compared to anything else. It’s a journey from ideas to a real physical show with collaboration at every level; from brands, from speakers, production, sales, marketing, editorial – it’s really a stupendous team effort and quite remarkable to witness and be a part of.”
The central highlight of the show celebrating 75 years of India’s independence was the AD Museum. This had been created like a sanctum and exhibited a collection of 75 photographs and objects curated to showcase India’s history since 1947. From architectural landmarks to objects of importance, the museum threw a spotlight on the ‘India Gaze’ and gave an anecdotal tour of India’s history through textiles, photos, architecture, and more.
The pièce de résistance at the show was ‘The Birth of a Star’ by leading artist Subodh Gupta. The installation features two astronomical stainless steel pots transformed into what appears to be a collision between two celestial bodies, resulting in a blinding white light emerging from the mirrored void between them. With this artwork, Gupta seeks out the universal, the cosmic in everyday banal objects, to witness the divine in the most humble of means.
Additional installations included Alex Davis’ iconic piece Champa Vatika which is five petal champa flowers from his collection of Hyper Blooms. Also Istituto Marangoni showcased the winning design collection of their lockdown project for students in association with Cocoon Fine Rugs named ‘Brutal Utopia’.
Day 1 of the Power Talks included
Pinakin Patel in conversation with popular journalist & columnist – Gayatri Rangachari Shah. Vikram Goyal in conversation with Mortimer Chatterjee on ‘creating value in Indian art traditions and contemporary design’. Monika Correa in conversation with Mayank Mansingh Kaul. The day ended with London based designer Michael Anastassiades and Indian architect Bijoy Jain moderated by AD’s Komal Sharma.
Day 2 of the Power Talks included
Channa Daswatte was in conversation with Jay Mehta and Deepthi Sasidharan on ‘The making of a museum’. Followed by Naman Ahuja on the modern designers’ search for classical inspiration. Ritu Sethi on continuing modernities: The cultural afterlives of Pupul Jayakar & Kamaladevi Chattopadhayay. The day ended with Dayanita Singh in conversation with Komal Sharma on being awarded the Hasselblad Laureate 2022 and the associative book Sea of Files.
Day 3 of the Power Talks included
Amit Syngle, Payal Khandwala and Sarah Sham talk ‘Who’s afraid of colour?’ moderated by Manju Sarah Rajan. The headliner of the day was actor Sonam Kapoor Ahuja in conversation with her aunt, Kavita Singh.
There was an exclusively curated AD Cafe at the show which included hospitality partners, Plural which is a contemporary Southeast Asian restaurant and delivery kitchen with a sustainability focus. Taftoon is an ode to the flavours of the Grand Trunk Road, the northern axis of the Indian subcontinent from the 16″ Century. In restaurant Joshi House, architect Ashiesh Shah with Suren Joshi evokes Jaipur’s havelis and pays homage to Rajasthani architecture and crafts. The Conservatory’s food takes inspiration from Southeast Asian cuisine combined with a touch of European tapas. KCROASTERS strives on creating a community & delivering a coffee experience that is nothing less than memorable.
Title Partner: Asian Paints
Associate Partners: Artize, DAG, JSW, Nesterra, Glenfiddich Artists in Residence and Hendrick’s
Galleries: DAG, Galerie Isa, Emami Art, Nature Morte, Vadehra Art Gallery and Apparao Galleries