Find a piece of art that holds your gaze as you sip on your morning cup of coffee, and there's healing in those quiet moments. Spot someone admiring that same work, and you know a friendship is waiting to happen. Gather after office hours and let the prints and paintings around you spark conversations, helping you connect with colleagues on a deeper level. It’s easy to see why NMACC Arts Cafe, the newest addition to the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, has quickly become a dynamic hub for culinary discovery and creative exchange.  

Guided by Ms. Isha Ambani’s passion for the arts, the cafe is an immersive space where you can engage with art up close and personal. Your artistic experience begins right at the entrance wall, where a 60-foot-long mural Salon Style harks back to the 18th-century French salons – a cultural gathering where art fuelled conversations. As you step into the dining area, you are greeted by Damien Hirst’s radiant Cherry Blossom, and then the journey truly begins. Everywhere you turn, a work of art awaits – a vivid Rana Begum piece ornaments one seating nook, while Dia Mehhta Bhupal’s conceptual bookshelf print presides over another. There’s also a special curation of works in the luxe 12-seater private dining room. 

There’s no better complement to a delectable gourmet meal than an equally eye-catching feast for the eyes. Whether you are indulging in a pre-show beverage, convening with friends and family after a tour of the Centre, or simply catching up with colleagues at the end of a workday, it is the ideal place to unwind and enjoy. Every piece of art here is rich with texture and ripe for exploration! 

Even with its captivating collection of some of the biggest names in contemporary art, the Arts Cafe maintains a cosy, intimate charm. With warm lighting and plush seating, it welcomes you like a tucked-away sanctuary, offering a moment of pause within the thriving cultural landscape of NMACC. Yet, there's no denying the glamour infused in every detail – brass-and-gold accents, ornate light fixtures, arched windows, and decorative panels – lending a quiet elegance to the space. The interiors, designed by Gauri Khan, strike a delicate balance between sophistication and comfort, creating the perfect setting to sip a bespoke beverage and get lost in the art surrounding you. 

This curated collection of fine art blends seamlessly with your dining adventure, reflecting Mrs. Nita Ambani’s vision of weaving the beauty of art into everyday life. Featuring a mix of renowned artists and emerging talent, the cafe offers a unique creative escape, bringing you face-to-face with art world luminaries and works that get better the longer you look at them. The more you observe, the more you discover! Even if you have only come for a cocktail or a coffee, art will find its way to become a part of your experience, inspiring you to foster connections through the shared language of art. 

Damien Hirst 

Damien Hirst has been a prominent figure in the world of contemporary art since 1987, having exhibited over 90 solo shows and 300 group shows globally. The artist is now focused on creating works that capture the ethereal beauty of nature. At the cafe, Hirst’s depiction of blooming cherry blossoms draws inspiration from Impressionism, Pointillism and Action Painting, immersing the viewer in a spectacle of colour. Titled The Virtues, the prints seek to envelope the audience in the bright yet fragile beauty of the blossoms in bloom. 

Takashi Murakami 

Best known as the artist behind Kanye West’s Graduation (2007) album cover, Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami works across a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture, as well as avant garde forms like fashion, merchandise, and animation. At NMACC Arts Cafe, you will find his brightly coloured smiling flowers – a recurring motif in Mukarami’s oeuvre – symbolising the fleeting nature of life and the ephemeral nature of happiness.  

Rana Begum 

Best known for her abstract sculptures and site-specific installations, Bangladesh-born Rana Begum has a visual language that is highly influenced by minimalism and the structure of urban landscapes. Light is a key component of her work, shifting and evolving in relation to perception, reflection, and illumination. Begum brings a panoply of colour to the cafe through her spray-painted works, created intuitively over a period of four to five months. The soft colours and organic patterns add a touch of whimsy to the space. 

NorBlack NorWhite (NBNW) 

What began as an experiment with Bandhani prints and reversible silk suits has evolved into a practice that spans textile, contemporary art, and design. NBNW has fashioned projects for brands such as FILA and Adidas, and conceptualised gear for legends like Major Lazer and Real Madrid’s Marcelo. At the cafe, their hand-embroidered Garden Party series graces the dining room, where its ikat weave pattern enhances the space with soothing spring greens. Another untitled hand-tufted piece in pink and green adorns the bar, evoking the warm glow of a sunset sky fading along the horizon.  

 Jennifer Guidi 

Jennifer Guidi practices a system of underpainting she developed, applying a thick layer of sand to the canvas and creating marks with a dowel in controlled, repetitive movements. She often adds more sand and paint to the edges of the divots. The result of Jennifer’s intensely physical process is a hypnotic swirl of saturated colour that prompts audiences to contemplate the diversity of cultural and corporeal meanings assigned to shape and pattern. Her work Four Seasons brings a textured rendition of primary colours to the cafe for you to admire and unravel. 

Srishti Rana Menon  

Srishti Rana Menon specialises in textile design, using a slow and mindful process that explores concepts of containment, control, release and flow. Srishti’s work is deeply influenced by the weather conditions, with her practice shifting in agency with the changing elements. Her acrylic, ink, and dye work The Heart (Determined) elevates the women’s powder room at the cafe, enlivening the space with simple colours and shapes that seem to pulsate with raw energy. A sense of freedom and spontaneity was integral in the making of this piece, and those emotions carry through to the observer. 

Dia Mehhta Bhupal 

Dia Mehhta Bhupal creates a one-of-a-kind fusion of art and literature, referencing our relationship with books and the stories we carry. Dia’s practice involves collecting everyday objects, such as magazines, and repurposing them into entirely new artistic forms. The work is made through a meticulous process of segregation according to colour fields and spinning tubes, resulting in vivid details that invite a slow, thoughtful gaze

Sameer Kulavoor 

Sameer Kulavoor brings his signature playful, graphic style to the cafe with a contemporary depiction of architectural doorways and arches from different periods of Indian history. Through his practice, Kulavoor constantly investigates the impact of time, culture, politics and socio-economic conditions on our surroundings – both the visible and the undercurrents of society. His colourful works at the Art Cafe invite you to look more closely, revealing intricate details with each passing glance.  

 Aditi Sheth 

Aditi Sheth breathes new life into Meenakari, a centuries-old form of enameling in her installation, The Garden. The vibrant tones mirror the cheerful interiors of the cafe, inviting guests to reconnect with their surroundings through subtle visual cues. Inspired by the delicate beauty of nature, the work is rich with floral motifs in a soothing palette. Sheth’s practice combines ancient craft techniques with a modern sensibility, fusing powdered glass and metal in a kiln. 

Come, discover the vibrant world of NMACC Arts Cafe for yourself!