On Wednesday, April 26, 2023, Atul Kumar spoke at the Jewish Museum of Florida for the 16th World Congress on Art Deco lecture series.
In his lecture, Kumar discusses the reparation and restoration of Swastik Court, an apartment-style Art Deco building in Mumbai.
Swastik Court was built around 1936 and was designed by the architectural firm Sykes, Patkar, and Divecha. It is one of the few buildings in the area with most of its character-defining features still intact.
Atul Kumar is the Founder Trustee of Art Deco Mumbai, a not-for-profit Trust which has created the only online public domain repository showcasing research, building inventories, and photo documentation dedicated to Art Deco architecture in Mumbai, India.
The Trust’s advocacy and outreach initiatives have successfully pioneered sensitizing citizens to Mumbai’s rich modern living heritage. Atul has worked actively on civic issues, particularly pertaining to the protection of open spaces, heritage conservation of south Mumbai’s Art Deco precinct, and its nomination to UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. He is passionate about conservation, civic and governance issues, and is a Trustee of OVAL Trust, NAGAR Trust & Horniman Circle Garden Trust.
He is also a Member of the Board of Directors of the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies (ICADS). He has delivered lectures on best practices for tour guides working with modern heritage, ‘Mumbai: Art Deco Jewel of India,’ ‘Deco by the Sea: Sea and its Influence on the Architecture of Mumbai’ and ‘Indian Vernacular in the Style Moderne.’
The 16th World Congress on Art Deco was made possible with the support of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, the City of Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County, the State of Florida, the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies, and the Art Deco Society of the Palm Beaches.
