Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre to open in Mumbai

Dedicated to the arts, it will launch with shows by Feroz Abbas Khan, Hamish Bowles and Jeffrey Deitch

The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre will house three spaces for performing arts, as well as a gallery. Photo: Reliance Industries

Bustling with foodies at all times of day, Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex is also set to become the go-to spot for culture vultures.

The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) will welcome visitors starting March 31, according to a statement by Reliance Industries, which is owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani.

The multidisciplinary centre is named after Ambani’s wife, Nita, who has long been a patron of the arts as well as owning the Mumbai Indians IPL team, and the statement also specified that the couple’s daughter, Isha, announced the official opening this month.

“NMACC is the culmination of my mother’s passion for arts, culture and her love for India. She has always dreamt of creating a platform that would welcome creatives at large … to showcase the best of what India has to offer to the world and bring the world to India,” said Isha.

The centre will comprise The Studio Theatre; a 2,000-seat Grand Theatre; and a space called The Cube, all for the performing arts; plus a 1,486-square-metre Art House for exhibitions.

What’s on the culture calendar

The launch will coincide with a grand three-day programme open to all. On March 31, Indian playwright and director Feroz Abbas Khan will present Civilisation to Nation: The Journey of Our Nation.

This, we are told, is a “a sensory narrative of Indian culture told through the tenets of the classical Natya Shastra with more than 700 performers”. The ancient Sanskrit text on the performing arts, Natya Shastra takes in art forms such as dance, music and puppetry.

On April 1, eminent fashion journalist, costume expert and Vogue magazine's global editor Hamish Bowles will curate India in Fashion: The Impact of Indian Dress and Textiles on the Fashionable Imagination.

The exhibition will trace the influence of India’s sartorial traditions in textiles, jewellery and surface ornamentation on global fashion, from the 18th to the 21st centuries. An accompanying coffee-table book by Rizzoli will be published to coincide with the exhibit.

On April 2, cultural theorist Ranjit Hoskote and American gallery owner Jeffrey Deitch, former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, will present Sangam Confluence.

The group art show will celebrate diverse cultural impulses and traditions, and explore the multiplicity of India through the works of 11 contemporary artists.

The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre will open at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai on March 31; www.jioworldcentre.com

Her penchant for the arts aside, Nita Ambani is also a jewellery connoisseur. Scroll through the gallery below to see some of her magnificent pieces

Mukesh and Nita Ambani attend an arangetram (debut classical Indian dance) ceremony in June in Mumbai. Getty Images

The couple at a Diwali bash for Nita's Mumbai Indians cricket team, Mumbai, 2019. They play in the Indian Premier League. Getty Images

The Ambanis with their children Akash and Isha. The family were united for Akash's wedding in March 2019. Reuters

The proud parents at their daughter Isha Ambani's wedding reception in December 2018. AFP

The Ambanis at actress Sonam Kapoor's wedding in May 2018. AFP

The Ambanis attend the Mumbai Film Festival opening ceremony at the Royal Opera House in October 2016. AFP

From left, Mukesh Ambani, actor Aamir Khan, Nita Ambani and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar at the Reliance Foundation's Real Heroes Awards ceremony in Mumbai, March 2012. AFP