Mumbai: The Bombay Art Society, one of the oldest non-profit art institutions in the Asian subcontinent are hosting their 134th All India Annual Art Exhibition from 24 February to 2 March 2026 at Jehangir Art Gallery. The inauguration of the annual art exhibition will be held at 5.00pm on 24 February at Jahangir Art Gallery. The event will be inaugurated by popular Bollywood playback singer Chief Guest Smt Anuradha Paudwal and Prof Kishore Ingle will be the Guest of Honour.
The BAS annual art exhibition started in 1888, the only art exhibition in India held continuously for 138 years is considered as the talent hunt contest in the country. This year 275 artworks from upcoming and talented artists have been selected from over 2500 entries received from all over India. Winners will be announced on 24th February 2026 and the artworks of four scholarship awardees are also displayed in the exhibition.
Mr. Rajendra Patil, President The Bombay Art Society shared, “It gives me immense pride to present the 134th All India Annual Art Exhibition of the Bombay Art Society, a legacy initiative that has nurtured artistic excellence since 1888. For over a century, this exhibition has served as a vital platform for discovering and encouraging emerging talent while honouring the enduring spirit of Indian visual arts. This year, the overwhelming response from budding artists across the country reaffirms the Society’s relevance as a national forum for creative expression. The Bombay Art Society remains committed to strengthening Mumbai’s cultural landscape and supporting artists through exhibitions, scholarships, and more.”
The Bombay Art Society introduced Roopdhar Lifetime Samman in the field of visual art for the last 21 years. This year, one of the great Sculptor artist Chandrajit Yadav will be awarded with the Roopdhar Lifetime Achievement award and will be awarded at the annual event. In other key awards, Prasad Mestri, who works in figurative style, bagged this year’s Bendre-Husain Scholarship, Sonal Salekar was awarded the Sandhya Misra Scholarship for her unique artworks. Last year we introduced Artist Ravi & Smita Paranjape Chitradiksha scholarship and it will be presented to Krishnapada Maity. This year, 46 awards to the artists in the categories like paintings, sculptures, graphics, photography
The all India annual art exhibition has been the important art event on the calendar of visual arts events in country since its beginning in 1888; today it has assumed the form of mega art event for the artists community in the western parts of India not only western parts of India but it is an important event for artists in eastern and southern parts of India as The Bombay Art Society receives exhibition entries as far away as Delhi, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala from many years.
Bombay Art Society’s scholarships & awards have been great inspiration in the formative years of today’s many master painters like J. P. Ganguly, Ravi Shankar Rawal, H. Majumdar, Amrita Sher-Gil, S. L. Haldankar, K. K Hebbar, N. S.Bendre, Badri Narayan, A. A. Almelkar, S. H. Raza, K. H. Ara, Mohan Samant, Jatin Das, Prabhakar Kolte and many other younger established names. The art journey of many Indian artists of renown has at some time or the other benefited from the munificence and magnificence of the Bombay Art Society’s past.
The Bombay Art Society (BAS) was granted a piece land by the Maharashtra State Government and a huge symbol of architectural grandiose stands today on this 10,000 Sq. feet area at Bandra Reclamation, opp Hotel Rangsharda. The Art complex housing three art galleries, an amphitheater, the art-books Library is a significant addition to the Mumbai’s art and cultural infrastructure, providing artists and art enthusiasts with much needed space for art exhibitions, art residencies, film screenings, live demonstrations, presentations, lectures, workshops, educational activities etc in Mumbai.