The Soul of Aarey: Seeds of Banyan's Aarey Art Exhibition Runs 1 to 10 December
Mumbai is one of the very few megacities in the world with leopards living inside its limits. Many of them move through Aarey, the green belt between Goregaon and Powai that the city has argued over for years.
From 1 to 10 December, that forest gets an exhibition of its own.
What has been announced
Seeds of Banyan presents The Soul of Aarey, Art Exhibition 2026. The poster, with creative credits to The Little Elfins, shows two leopards beneath a great banyan, and lists four themes: art, nature, culture and community. It also carries the logo of the Aarey Music Festival.
The organisers put it simply: "A forest is more than trees. It is art, culture, wildlife, memories and community."
Dates: 1 to 10 December 2026
Presented by: Seeds of Banyan
Venue: to be announced
Why an exhibition, and why now
Most public conversation about Aarey has been about what might be lost. Art offers a different register. It can document the forest's wildlife and the Adivasi communities who have lived in Aarey's padas for generations without turning either into a headline.
An exhibition also invites people who would never attend a protest or a public hearing to spend time with the place. That is how attachment forms, and attachment is what protects green spaces in the long run.
Plan ahead
The venue and timings were not in the first announcement, so follow Seeds of Banyan on Instagram for updates. In the meantime, our report on Make Mumbai Green Again looks at other ways the city's green cover is being championed.
Frequently asked questions
When is The Soul of Aarey art exhibition?
From 1 to 10 December 2026.
Who is organising it?
Seeds of Banyan presents the exhibition. The poster also carries the Aarey Music Festival logo.
What is the exhibition about?
Aarey through art, nature, wildlife, culture and community.
Where is it being held?
The venue had not been announced in the first post. Watch Seeds of Banyan's Instagram for details.
Kenneth Hopkins is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AltBollywood. Indofuturist, posthumanist and unapologetically Indocentric, he describes himself as an epimemeticist, a swaraji, a freakonomist, a lexicographer and a cartochronicler, mapping the ideas, words and quiet shifts that shape Indian entertainment. Follow him on Instagram at @kennethhopkins.
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