3 min readMumbaiUpdated: Mar 12, 2026 06:29 PM IST
During a visit to Durga Puja celebrations in Kolkata a few years ago, Amrita Deora noticed how entire neighbourhoods had turned into open art spaces. Streets were filled with large installations, sculptures and colourful pandals created by local artists. For Deora, the experience was eye-opening.
“Seeing the scale of creativity and the incredible talent within our own country was a moment of clarity for me,” she says. “I realised how much potential existed here and committed myself to bringing that talent to the forefront, while also honouring the global influences I had encountered during my travels.”
That idea later became The Designera, a pop art gallery in Lower Parel.
When Deora first spoke about opening a gallery focused entirely on pop art, many people were sceptical.
“A lot of people initially dismissed pop art as something that belonged in a child’s bedroom rather than a serious art collection,” she says. “It took time for people to see it as a legitimate and important artistic medium.”
Her goal for the gallery was simple. “The vision has always been simple to bring India’s best pop art to the world and the world’s best pop art to India,” she says.
Deora’s interest in pop art grew during her travels abroad. One moment she remembers clearly is seeing Andy Warhol’s famous Marilyn Monroe artwork in the window of a gallery in Milan.
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“I remember thinking that I absolutely had to have it,” she says. “It was a quintessential Marilyn Monroe piece and immediately stopped me in my tracks.”
The gallery itself is designed to feel open and inviting. Large glass walls facing the street often draw the attention of people walking past.
Art director and curator Aditi Nikam says the space was designed to make people curious enough to walk in.
“The wide glass walls often make people walking past stop and admire the art,” Nikam says. “Inside, you might see our in house artist Vijay painting live and jazz music playing in the background.”
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Visitors entering the gallery first notice a suspended Spider Man sculpture hanging from the ceiling, captured mid swing.
“Inspired by Spider Man’s classic swinging pose, the sculpture captures him mid air and creates a striking presence in the gallery,” Nikam says.
Another popular artwork is Gaze of Artistic Titans, a lenticular piece showing shifting images of artists Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí and Vincent van Gogh.
“As people walk past, the visuals shift, revealing two or three different images,” Nikam says.
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But some of the gallery’s most memorable moments come from visitors.
Nikam recalls a woman who stopped in front of a pop art sculpture featuring an old telephone and cassette tape.
“She stood there for quite a while just quietly looking at them,” Nikam says. “Then she started sharing little memories from her childhood.”
Moments like this are what make the space meaningful, Deora says.
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“One of the most beautiful things to witness is people walking into the gallery and immediately smiling from ear to ear. It reminds people that art does not always need to feel intimidating or overly intellectual. Sometimes it is simply meant to be enjoyed.” Deora says.
