It was fairly simple—we always wanted to have a gallery at The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai,” says Kishore Singh, senior vice president at art company DAG, about the twin galleries that opened last week at the iconic five star address. This, for some, would be in contrast with gallerists toiling over the last decade to make art less intimidating, more accessible. “Ashish [Anand, managing director] has had a long association with the Taj group. The hotel’s fascinating collection of artworks, the renowned artists they’ve hosted and worked with, and the fact that it is one of the most important addresses, not just in Mumbai but across the country, [drove the decision]. He pursued his decades-long desire to have a gallery there.”

Following its successful presence in Delhi, DAG’s first Mumbai gallery opened in 2013 at a Kala Ghoda heritage building, only to shutter in 2020.  What first started with a show window in the hotel while the gallery was still housed at Kala Ghoda, eventually led to being offered not one, but two spaces within the hotel, a few hundred steps away from each other.