Online Presentation: Art Deco & the Making of Modern India
While India is often discussed in relation to its ancient and medieval architectural heritage, its contribution to 20th-century modernism remains less widely understood.
Art Deco in India offers a compelling point of entry into this story. Far from being a purely imported style, it took root most vividly in Mumbai, where it was rapidly adopted across housing, cinema, commercial and institutional architecture. From here, it spread across the country, becoming a visible marker of modernity.
Art Deco in India is significant not only for its scale and stylistic coherence, but for the role it played as a transitional phase. It introduced new materials, construction techniques and spatial ideas that helped lay the groundwork for the distinctly Indian modernism that emerged in the mid-20th century.
This presentation traces that broader arc of modernism in India, examining how architectural ideas travelled, adapted and evolved across different political, cultural and climatic contexts.
It moves from the imperial planning of New Delhi to the Art Deco urbanism of Bombay (present-day Mumbai) and considers in parallel the iconic modernist vision of Chandigarh under Le Corbusier. Together, these trajectories reveal how India did not simply absorb modernism, but actively reshaped it, producing architectural responses that were at once global in outlook and deeply rooted in local conditions.
Presented by Jon Wright and Professor Sangeeta Bagga, this session also serves as an introduction to a forthcoming expert-led Art Deco & Modernism luxury tour of India organised by Shall We Travel, offering participants the opportunity to experience these sites first-hand.
ADMSA are pleased to be working with Shall We Travel this year to curate a series of educational content about 20th century design in India. Shall We Travel is a boutique experiential travel company based in India, that designs personalised, high-touch tours of India. Co-founder Imran Khan, along with our presenter Jon Wright, led a similar tour of key 20th century architectural locations in 2019 for the UK-based Twentieth Century Society that works on conservation of C20 buildings.
Speakers:
Jon Wright
A heritage consultant and specialist guide based in London, Jon Wright focuses on the history and conservation of 20th-century architecture. He works with Purcell Architecture Ltd, one of the world’s leading firms in the conservation of historic buildings.
Sangeeta Bagga
Professor Bagga is the first woman Principal of the Chandigarh College of Architecture, established as part of the Chandigarh project in 1961. An urban designer by training, she was awarded a PhD for her research on Chandigarh as a heritage city of modernity and serves as an expert member of ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage.This 45-minute presentation will be followed by a 15-minute Q&A session.
Cost: Members $15, Non-members $20.
Note: Please purchase a ticket for your household rather than 2 tickets if 2 or more people are watching from the same home.
The online presentation will be by Zoom and you will be sent the Zoom link the evening before, Monday 6th April. Join online at 7:25 for a 7:30 pm AEST start.