India pavilion to return to Venice Biennale with ‘Geographies of Distance’ exhibition

New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) After a seven-year hiatus, the Indian Pavilion is set to return to the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (Venice Biennale), starting May 9.

The Pavilion will feature the group exhibition, "Geographies of Distance: Remembering Home", which seeks to capture the nation’s cultural richness at a pivotal moment on the global stage.

Returning to Venice for the first time since 2019, the pavilion is being presented by the Ministry of Culture in partnership with the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) and Serendipity Arts Foundation -- two of India’s leading multi-disciplinary cultural institutions.

"India’s return to La Biennale di Venezia is a proud moment of reflection and a statement of cultural confidence. Our national pavilion will showcase a contemporary India that is deeply rooted in its civilisational memory while fully engaged with the world today.

"Through this pavilion, India affirms the strength of our cultural diversity, the vitality of our creative communities, and the role of art and culture in contributing to how our nation is seen and understood on the global stage," Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said in a statement.

The group exhibition, curated by renowned author-curator Amin Jaffer, explores how home, for those shaped by distance or change, becomes a portable condition informed by memory, ritual, material and personal mythology.

It also reflects India’s rapid urban transformation and increasing mobility, both within the country and across its global diaspora.

The exhibition brings together five Indian artists -- Alwar Balasubramaniam (Bala), Sumakshi Singh, Ranjani Shettar, Asim Waqif and Skarma Sonam Tashi -- who draw on material culture traditions spanning millennia to evoke an emotional connection to the idea of home.

While the artists come from diverse geographic backgrounds and practices, they are united by their shared use of organic materials rooted in India’s traditional craft and material heritage in both the creation and presentation of their works.

"Using materials associated closely with Indian civilisation, the chosen artists create a singular meditation on the fragile nature of home, which is both personal and universal, quiet and resolute.

"Through this work, our artists come together to form a collective Indian voice that resonates with Koyo Kouoh's vision for this Biennale," explained Jaffer, who has devised the project in response to La Biennale di Venezia’s theme, "In Minor Keys", conceived by the late curator Koyo Kouoh.

Through music, movement and murmurs, the India Pavilion aims to create ephemeral interventions that dissolve into the city’s daily rhythm - appearing at dawn on a bridge, resonating at dusk, materialising during afternoon light.

Another key highlight of the India Pavilion will be a curated programme of music, performance, poetry and conversation over the course of the Biennale.

The La Biennale di Venezia will come to a close on November 22. PTI MG MAH MAH