Best art galleries in Mumbai to geek over

The National Gallery of Modern Art’s Mumbai branch has been welcoming art geeks from all over the country (and world!) since 1996. Housed in the historic Sir Cowasji Jehangir Public Hall, this gallery curates art by influential modernist and contemporary artists across India, including Raja Ravi Verma, Amrita Sher-Gil, M. F. Hussain, and F. N. Souza. It also famously hosted the Metamorphoses series by Pablo Picasso in early 2002, catapulting it to prominence on the global art scene.

There’s a quiet meditativeness to the building. All the exhibits are displayed under a soft, warm spotlight, drawing your attention to the smallest thing – tiny brushstrokes, artists’ minute signatures, and other things that make you want to crane your neck. It’s spread across five (five!) floors, and every display’s neatly labelled with exhaustive descriptions. You can easily spend over two hours here.

Timings: Tue-Sun. 10am-6pm. Closed Monday.

Entry: ₹20 for Indian citizens, ₹500 for foreign nationals, free if you’ve got a student ID. 

Address: Sir Cowasji Jahangir Public Hall, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Mantralaya, Fort, Mumbai 400032

Between 1940 and 1962, this building was known as the Stranger’s Guest House,  and once sheltered sailors, artists, and intellectuals fleeing the Holocaust. Today, it’s found new life as a space to engage with political and social discourse, as well as global art practices. It curates contemporary art rooted in universalism, black consciousness, and solidarity movements, drawing inspiration from activists like Cheikh Anta Diop and B. R. Ambedkar. 

Most art galleries tend to put their exhibits on pedestals – encased, spotlit, and glorified. In contrast, Stranger’s Art House showcases its curation in a space that embodies its ideology: accessibility. The gallery mirrors this principle with a vast display of books and colonial chairs carefully chosen to reflect resistance.

Once you’ve wandered through the curation, you’re invited to write a short entry on your experience at the art gallery. It’s a simple but powerful pause, and gives you a moment to reflect on what you’ve seen by jotting it down. And if you’re a busybody like me, it’s also a chance to flick through what other people have written over the years.

Timings: Daily. 11am-7pm. Free.

Address: Strangers House , c/o RBT & Co , Ground floor, Clark House , 8 Nathalal Parekh Marg, old, Wodehouse Rd, opp. Sahakari Bhandar, Colaba, Mumbai 400039

47-A’s one of the few galleries in Mumbai solely focused on design, and is appropriately situated in Khotachi Wadi in Girgaon, a historic neighbourhood with cobbled streets and 19th-century Portuguese-style bungalows that are still beautifully preserved. 

The space is small, but cleverly set up, and every exhibit feels like an invitation to really take your time, read, observe, and consider the ways in which design shapes everyday life. Their shows also reflect genuine care in curation and research, and they often blur the boundaries between art, craft, and design. 

 47-A also regularly hosts talks, workshops, and screenings. If you’re a design professional, a student, or just curious about how things are made, chances are you’ll walk away seeing design a little differently. 

Timings: Tue-Sun. 11am-7pm. Closed Monday. Free.

Address: 47-A, Khotachiwadi, Ambewadi, Girgaon, Mumbai 400004

Since 2019, Method in Kala Ghoda has been experimenting with diverse mediums and styles. Shows here are often contemporary, deeply political, and always thought-provoking. The art doesn’t just sit on the walls, but speaks actively to what’s happening in Indian society.

The gallery itself is warm and welcoming. The staff are a big draw: they’re happy to fill you in, and do a particularly good job of encouraging dialogue among viewers and artists by organising workshops and discussions throughout the month. The walls that bound the space serve as art in their own right – they’re covered in graffiti and easily missable if you’re in a hurry on your way in, but the sudden burst of colourful spray paint jolts you back into the city once you’ve emerged from your introspection inside.

Timings: 2pm-8pm from Wed-Fri and 11am-8pm on Sat & Sun. Closed Mon & Tue. Free.

Address: 86, Nagindas Master Rd, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai 400001

Once a nomadic gallery that moved fluidly and sporadically across the city, Art and Charlie settled into a permanent home in 2022 after converting a red heritage bungalow into a cultural hub, and in the process, claimed its own space on Mumbai’s art scene.  Located in a secluded street in Bandra, the gallery’s now well-known as an intimate space to explore art that reflects shifts in society and questions how we live today. 

It also often hosts film screenings and discussions, the aftermath of which can be found in an animated debate over a cup of coffee in the mini Subko café housed in the same building. 

Timings: 11am-8pm from Wed-Sun. Closed Mon & Tue. Free. 

Address: 71A Pali Village New Red House inside Pali Village, directly, Off, Pali Mala Rd, behind Joshi House, Bandra West, Mumbai 400050 

The Jehangir Art Gallery’s been around since 1952, founded by Sir Cowasji Jehangir, and it’s where a lot of contemporary artists first get noticed. The shows keep rotating, so there’s always something fresh to see when you visit.

Being one of the most popular art galleries in Mumbai, if not the most, Jehangir feels more like a market than a hushed, reflective space. Exhibitions here are artist-arranged on a rental basis, so the curation sometimes lacks a cohesive theme and varies in depth and messaging – but that’s part of the fun!

The building itself is vast, with six exhibition halls that can easily take an hour or two to explore. You’ll find everything from bold, contemporary paintings to mixed-media installations, and sometimes even the odd experimental student showcase.

Timings: Daily. 11am-7pm. Free. 

Address: 161B, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai 400001

Opened in 1979, Gallery 7 exclusively showcases works by some of the biggest names in the Indian Modernist art movement – M. F. Hussain, S. H. Raza, F. N. Souza, K. K. Hebbar, and Amrita Sher-Gil. That said, this gallery is more about admiring individual works than diving into detailed interpretation. Descriptions here are minimal, so it helps to brush up on the artists before you visit if you really want a rich experience, or go with a friend who knows their art history. 

The space is compact and intimate; you can cover it in under an hour, and it’s a short walk away from the Jehangir Art Gallery, making it a perfect stop in a Kala Ghoda art gallery crawl. And honestly, even if you’re an art noob, Gallery 7 is an opportunity to get up close and personal with the pioneers of the Indian Modernist Art movement.

Timings: 11am-7pm from Mon-Sat. Closed Sunday. Free.

Address: 12/14,G3, Ground Floor, Oricon House,Rampart Row, Next to Kaya Skin Clinic,, K Dubash Marg, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 400001