Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2027: Dates, Venues & How to Plan It

The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2027 runs from Saturday 30 January to Sunday 7 February in the Kala Ghoda precinct of Fort, South Mumbai. Its theme is “MultipliCity”. Entry is free, as it has been since the festival began in 1999. The full programme has not been released yet, so this guide covers what is confirmed, how the festival is organised, and how to plan around the crowds. We will list events on our Kala Ghoda Arts Festival page as soon as the schedule is out.

The essentials


Dates	Saturday 30 January – Sunday 7 February 2027 (nine days)
Theme	“MultipliCity” — “Same streets. New energy”
Where	Kala Ghoda precinct, Fort, South Mumbai
Venues named so far	Cross Maidan, Jehangir Art Gallery, CSMVS, Horniman Circle “and more”
Entry	Free; workshops and walks usually need registration
Organiser	Kala Ghoda Association
Nearest stations	Churchgate (Western), CSMT (Central, Harbour), Hutatma Chowk (Aqua)
Programme	Not yet released as of 12 October 2026

What the festival is

Kala Ghoda, “black horse”, is the crescent of museums, galleries and heritage buildings between the Oval Maidan and the docks. The festival was started in 1999 by the Kala Ghoda Association, a non-profit set up to improve the precinct and establish it as the city’s art district. It has been held every winter since, most recently from 31 January to 8 February 2026, which was its 26th edition.

It is unusual among Indian festivals of its size for two reasons. It is multi-arts: the programme is divided into sections, each with its own curators. And it is free: costs are met through sponsorship, and entry to every event is open to all, limited only by how many people a venue can hold.

The sections

The line-up for 2027 is not out, but the structure has been stable for years. Expect most or all of these.

Section	What to expect	Where it has been held
Visual arts	Large installations on the street, plus exhibitions	Rampart Row, galleries and museum lawns
Music	Evening concerts, from classical to indie and film music	Cross Maidan, Horniman Circle Garden
Dance	Classical and contemporary performances	Cross Maidan, Horniman Circle Garden
Theatre	Plays and performances in several languages	Auditoriums in and around the precinct
Cinema	Screenings and conversations with filmmakers	Auditoriums, including the NGMA’s
Literature	Author sessions, poetry, children’s literature	David Sassoon Library garden
Children	Shows, storytelling and hands-on activities	CSMVS lawns and nearby venues
Workshops	Short classes in art, craft, writing and more	Various; registration needed
Heritage walks	Guided walks through Fort and beyond	Start points around the precinct
Urban design and architecture	Talks, exhibits and tours	Various
Food	Tastings, talks and demonstrations	Various
Street	Craft and design stalls, street art	Rampart Row (K Dubash Marg)

During the festival, Rampart Row is closed to vehicles and turns into a walking street of installations, stalls and food. In recent years the festival has spread beyond the Kala Ghoda crescent to Cross Maidan and Horniman Circle, which take the bigger concerts. The Y. B. Chavan Centre at Nariman Point also appeared among the venues in 2026.

The venues, and how far apart they are

Everything is within a 15-minute walk.

Rampart Row (K Dubash Marg). The spine of the festival, running past Jehangir Art Gallery. This is where the installations and stalls are, and where the crowds are thickest.
CSMVS. The museum’s lawns have hosted children’s events and performances. The museum itself is ticketed as usual.
National Gallery of Modern Art. Its auditorium has been used for cinema and talks.
David Sassoon Library garden. The traditional home of the literature section.
Cross Maidan. The open ground near Churchgate station used for the main evening concerts.
Horniman Circle Garden. A circular garden ten minutes north of Kala Ghoda, used for music and dance.

Our Fort and Kala Ghoda area page has a fuller picture of the neighbourhood.

When to go

The festival covers two weekends and five weekdays, and the experience differs sharply between them.

When	What it is like	Good for
Opening Saturday (30 Jan)	Busy from noon; everything is fresh	Seeing the installations before they get worn
Weekday mornings	Quiet; street section opens but few performances	Photography, a slow look at the art
Weekday evenings	Lively but manageable	Concerts, talks and a walk down Rampart Row
Saturdays and Sundays after 4 pm	Shoulder to shoulder on the street	Only if you are heading to a specific concert
Closing Sunday (7 Feb)	The most crowded day	Closing concerts

If you can go only once, choose a weekday evening. Arrive around 5 pm, walk the street section while there is light, and stay for a performance.

How registration works

Entry to the festival is free and unticketed. Two things are different:

Workshops and heritage walks have limited places and, in past editions, have required online registration that opened shortly before or during the festival. Popular walks have filled quickly, so register as soon as it opens.
Indoor sessions in auditoriums are first come, first served. For well-known speakers or performers, queue 30–45 minutes ahead.

We will link to the registration pages from our festival hub when they go live. For guided walks at other times of year, see heritage walks in Mumbai.

Getting there

By train: Churchgate on the Western Line is the closest terminus to Cross Maidan and about a 10–15 minute walk from Rampart Row. CSMT on the Central and Harbour lines is a similar distance from Horniman Circle.
By metro: the Aqua Line (Metro Line 3) stops at Hutatma Chowk, the nearest station to Kala Ghoda itself, and at Churchgate and CSMT. From the western suburbs it runs direct from Aarey via BKC, Dadar and Worli.
By road: avoid it if you can. Roads inside the precinct are closed, parking in Fort is scarce at the best of times, and traffic police add restrictions for the festival.
Accessibility: the street section is flat but densely crowded at weekends; weekday mornings are far easier for wheelchairs and pushchairs.

With children

The festival has a dedicated children’s section, and the installations on Rampart Row are made to be walked around and photographed. Go on a weekday afternoon or early on a weekend morning, agree on a meeting point, and write your phone number on a card in your child’s pocket. Our weekend guide for kids has more ideas in the same part of town.

What else is on around the festival

Late January and early February are the best weeks of the year for events in Mumbai.

Lollapalooza India is at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse on 23–24 January, the weekend before the festival opens.
The Indian Derby is traditionally run at the racecourse on the first Sunday of February, which in 2027 is 7 February.
Galleries across Colaba and Kala Ghoda time shows to the festival; see our art listings.
Valentine’s week starts on 7 February, the day the festival closes.
The Mahindra Blues Festival has usually been held at Mehboob Studios in February; its 2027 dates had not been announced when we checked.

Practical tips

Carry water and a small bag. There are food stalls, but queues are long in the evening.
Keep valuables zipped away. The street section is a dense crowd.
Wear comfortable shoes. You will stand through concerts and walk between venues on old pavements.
Check the day’s schedule in the morning. Timings and venues change, and the festival publishes updates on its website and social pages.
Photography of installations is welcome; ask before photographing performers backstage or stallholders.
Evenings in late January are mild, but Cross Maidan and Horniman Circle are open to the sky, so a light layer helps after sunset.

The rest of Kala Ghoda is worth your time on the same visit: Jehangir Art Gallery is free, and the museums and cafés stay open through the festival. Our list of free things to do in Mumbai has more for the days you are not at the festival.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2027?

From Saturday 30 January to Sunday 7 February 2027, according to the festival's announcement. It runs for nine days.

Is the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival free?

Yes. Entry to festival events has always been free, with numbers limited only by the size of each venue. Workshops and heritage walks usually need advance registration.

What is the theme of the 2027 festival?

'MultipliCity', with the tagline 'Same streets. New energy'. It plays on the many versions of Mumbai that exist side by side.

Where is the festival held?

Across the Kala Ghoda precinct in Fort, South Mumbai. Venues named for 2027 include Cross Maidan, Jehangir Art Gallery, CSMVS and Horniman Circle, with Rampart Row as the street section.

Which is the nearest station to Kala Ghoda?

Churchgate on the Western Line and CSMT on the Central and Harbour lines are each about 10–15 minutes' walk away, and Hutatma Chowk on the Aqua Line is closer still.

Has the 2027 programme been released?

Not yet. When this guide was written on 12 October 2026, only the dates and theme had been announced. The full schedule is normally published shortly before the festival opens.