Art Deco Alive! (ADA!), a new global initiative marking the 100th anniversary of the Art Deco movement, launches this fall with an ambitious calendar of cultural programming across two of the world’s most architecturally rich cities: Miami, Florida (USA) and Mumbai, India.
Founded by Mumbai-based entrepreneur Smiti Kanodia, together with Miami-based co-founders Salma Merchant Rahmathulla and Gayatri Hingorani Dewan, the initiative marks the centenary of the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts — widely regarded as the beginning of the global Art Deco movement. Art Deco Alive! is bridging continents and time zones to connect two iconic coastal cities – each home to the world’s largest collections of Art Deco clusters – through an immersive, celebration of design, heritage, and contemporary creative expression. The festival is being organized in collaboration with key institutional partners including the Miami Design Preservation League, Art Deco Mumbai Trust, The Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum and The Wolfsonian–FIU.
“Mumbai and Miami, two cities across continents on opposite sides of the world, are united by their dynamic spirit, architectural heritage, and cultural confluences. After living in both cities, we noticed that as they undergo gentrification and evolve, the skylines are becoming shinier, marked by new high-rises, infrastructure projects, and urban development. What we want to celebrate is the heritage as a living, breathing entity, not just static history, to inspire people to care for it, advocate its preservation, and pass on the awareness to future generations, “says Mumbai-based Smiti Kanodia, founder, Art Deco Alive!
In the early 20th century, both Miami and Mumbai – then Bombay – underwent rapid urban growth that paralleled the global rise of the Art Deco movement. In Miami, a hurricane in 1926 sparked a wave of reconstruction, ushering in the pastel-hued, nautically influenced Tropical Deco style that would come to define South Beach. Meanwhile, in Mumbai, Deco took root in the 1930s as Indian architects blended international modernist influences with local motifs and materials, resulting in a unique, streamlined aesthetic visible in the city’s iconic neighbourhoods of Marine Drive, Churchgate, and Shivaji Park. Today, both Miami Beach and Mumbai house some of the largest and best-preserved Deco districts in the world, each shaped by colonial histories, tropical climate, and cosmopolitan aspirations.
Through a dynamic program including a twin city museum exhibition, heritage walks, curated talks, and engaging cultural events in both cities, Art Deco Alive! fosters dialogue around preservation, history, style and collaboration through the months of October and November ‘25 in Miami and Mumbai respectively. “Art Deco Alive! is more than a tribute to the past,” says co-founder Salma Merchant Rahmathulla. “It’s a celebration of cultural kinship and creative reinvention, linking Miami and Mumbai through architecture, memory, and style,” she adds.
Art Deco Alive! kicks off in Miami October 8–12, 2025, with a Twin-City Centenary Museum Exhibition at the Art Deco Museum, in collaboration with the Art Deco Mumbai Trust and Miami Design Preservation League, this immersive exhibit explores Art Deco’s evolution from Paris to Miami and Mumbai. It highlights the pioneering work of Henry Hohauser (Miami) and Master Sathe & Bhuta (Mumbai), and honors Barbara Baer Capitman and Perin Mistri—two women who shaped the Deco story in their cities. Other events include heritage tours and family scavenger hunts through the famed South Beach Deco District; and a Art Deco Symposium featuring talks on architectural conservation, urban revival, and cross-cultural design histories and identity.
The Mumbai edition of the centenary exhibit (November 6–25, 2025) spotlights Hohauser and Sathe & Bhuta’s architectural legacies, along with Capitman and Mistri’s pioneering contributions. It will also feature Deco artefacts from private collections — jewellery, furniture, silverware, and memorabilia. An Art Deco Symposium will bring together voices from architecture, academia, the arts and conservation for illustrated lectures that explore the history and future of the movement. Deco Walks through the city’s UNESCO-recognized neighborhoods and suburban residential pockets, uncovering hidden design gems, and other exciting events.
“Having grown up in Mumbai and now living in Miami, I feel that Miami’s Art Deco identity seems a lot more celebratory and vibrant. It’s something you can pause and truly enjoy as part of the city’s personality. In contrast, Mumbai’s Deco is woven into the city’s hustle and bustle, so it feels like more of a hidden treasure—something that demands a bit more attention to be fully appreciated,” said Gayatri Hingorani Dewan, co-founder.
As Art Deco Alive! unfolds across two continents, it does more than commemorate a century of design — it sparks a global conversation on identity, memory, and modernity. By weaving together architecture, culture, and community, the initiative invites audiences in both Mumbai and Miami to rediscover the spaces that hold meaning, celebrate creative legacies, and envision a future where preservation and progress go hand in hand. In reanimating Deco’s spirit for a new era, Art Deco Alive! becomes a testament to the power of cultural exchange—proof that great design transcends borders, and that heritage, when kept alive, can continue to inspire for generations to come.