16 OctOber 2-8, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W hat do Miami and Mumbai have in common? It’s not a trick question. Be- yond their cultural richness and allitera- tive names, the global capitals share much more than you might expect from two cities worlds apart. Gayatri Hingorani De- wan, originally from Mumbai, noticed the similarities as soon as she moved here. “It just felt oddly familiar,” she tells New Times. “The sea breeze, seeing the banyan trees, even the peacocks in the backyard — it instantly reminded me of Mumbai.” An- other visual reminder of home? The preva- lence of Art Deco architecture. Miami has more Art Deco buildings than any other city in the world, but only one other comes close: Mumbai. The architectural style marks its centen- nial this year, and to mark the occasion, Hin- gorani Dewan, along with friends Smiti Kanodia and Salma Merchant Rahmathulla, also from Mumbai and now based in Miami, founded Art Deco Alive!, a vehicle for panels, exhibitions, tours, and a symposium explor- ing the aesthetic link between the two cities. The nonprofit will host several events in Mi- ami in October before taking its pro- gramming to Mumbai the following month. Art Deco Weekend — cre- ated by the Miami Design Preservation League and hosted in Miami Beach each January — marked the centennial at the begin- ning of this year. But Art Deco Alive! chose to host its events in the fall to better coincide with a similar homage hap- pening in Paris in late October. “We’re sand- wiching that event,” says Merchant Rahmathulla excitedly. “We’ll be in Miami in early October and then in Mumbai in Novem- ber, and in between is the Paris Expo 100th- year celebration.” Art Deco Alive!’s Miami programming comprises a symposium at the Wolfsonian- FIU Museum, a 1920s-themed cocktail party, heritage walks, and a jewelry showcase of In- dian and Latin American designers influenced by the design style’s sharp lines and geometric shapes. From Ocean Drive to Marine Drive,” on view at the Art Deco Museum October 10 through December 1, explores the architec- tural style’s influence across creative disci- plines, including drawings, memorabilia, furniture, typography, and beyond. The exhi- bition will also travel to Mumbai in November. “We really tried to curate a celebration that will bring everybody to the conversa- tion,” says Merchant Rahmathulla. “Whether you are interested in the architecture, or you like the jewelry, or the fashion, or you’re more interested in the culture and history, we’ll have it all.” The trio is just as interested in drawing parallels as it is in highlighting some of the differences that make each city’s take on Art Deco unique. “Miami’s Deco is more tropi- cal, so you see all the nauti- cal features, like palms and flamingos,” says Hingorani Dewan. “In Mumbai, you see more Indian deities, and lotuses, and peacocks.” She adds that Miami’s presentation feels more like a living museum, whereas in Mum- bai, Art Deco buildings are “more ingrained into the daily life.” Spotlighting those connections and con- trasts has become a passion project for the founders. “I have always been involved in cu- rating different things wherever I have lived in the world, whether it be Paris, or Washing- ton, or New York, or London, or Mumbai,” says Merchant Rahmathulla. “This is a natu- ral extension of that. To be able to connect the city where I live to the city where I’m from is particularly interesting.” “From Ocean Drive to Marina Drive.” On view Friday, October 10, through Monday, De- cember 1, at the Art Deco Museum, 1001 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach. 305-672-2014; mdpl.org. Ad- mission costs $7. Art Deco Alive! Friday, October 10, through Friday, October 24, at various locations. artde- coalive.org. Ticket costs vary via eventbrite.com. Art Deco Alive! photo Art Deco Alive! photo Art Deco Alive! photo DOUBLE DECO An October event series links Miami to a surprising sister city. BY CAROLINA DEL BUSTO “To be able to connect the city where I live to the city where I’m from is particularly interesting.”
