India Art Fair to return for 17th edition with record 123 exhibitors

New Delhi, Nov 11 (PTI) The 17th edition of India Art Fair will return to the national capital in February with a record 123 exhibitors, including international participation from David Zwirner, Galleria Continua, neugerriemschneider, and Carpenters Workshop Gallery.

Running from February 5-8 at the NSIC Exhibition Grounds, India Art Fair will host 87 galleries, 24 major art institutions, an extended Design section, spotlighting 12 design studios and two galleries.

Some of South Asia's most important contemporary galleries alongside established international names will be showcasing rare masterpieces and cutting-edge contemporary works from India and beyond, including Indian galleries like Gallery Espace, Latitude 28, Exhibit 320, DAG, Emami Art, Jhavery Contemporary, Project 88, and Lakeeren Contemporary.

The fair will also feature international galleries, including 1x1 Art Gallery Aicon Contemporary, Saskia Fernando Gallery, Grosvenor Gallery, Whitestone Gallery, Rajiv Menon Contemporary, DMINTI, 193 Gallery, LAMB, Gowen Contemporary, and Danfe Arts.

"The 17th edition of India Art Fair marks a watershed moment for us – not just in scale, but in reach. With a record number of exhibitors and a truly global line-up, India Art Fair continues to serve as the definitive meeting point for the international art community in South Asia,” Jaya Asokan, Fair Director, India Art Fair, said in a statement.

Returning for a third year, the Design section will bring together studios Ashiesh Shah, Aspura, Chanakya School of Craft, DeMuro Das, Gunjan Gupta, ROOSHADSHROFF, Studio Renn, Vikram Goyal with Galerie Maria Wettengren, Kunal Maniar and Associates, Kohelika Kohli Karkhana, Morii Design, and SHED.

The section also features a special institutional collaboration between the French Institute's residency programme and the Mumbai-based design gallery Æquō, inviting French designer Marie Gastini to explore a cross-cultural dialogue between traditional Indian textile techniques and contemporary scenography.

The Focus section will present a series of solo artist showcases, including Bharti Kher, Jayasri Burman, Shailesh B R, and Ravinder Reddy, Girjesh Kumar Singh, Thandiwe Muriu, and Khadim Ali.

Major outdoor projects and collaborations at the 17th India Art Fair will include new site-specific works by artist Kulpreet Singh, commissioned and presented by Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, that are deeply rooted in the ecological aftermath of the Green Revolution.

World acclaimed artist Judy Chicago's project “What If Women Ruled the World? Participatory Quilt", presented by DMINTI, will invite audiences to engage with urgent questions while fostering discussion of a different tomorrow.

Serendipity Arts will showcase "The Charpai Project", conceptualised by Ayush Kasliwal, in a new format with a digital intervention by AI artist Goji.

Highlights from the Institutions section include the Sabyasachi Art Foundation’s debut with an exhibition of select works by artist Atish Mukherjee, and MASH showcasing artist Ann Carrington whose work explores ready-made histories and associations with household objects through metal sculptures.

The Australian High Commission will present sculptural works by indigenous artist Grace Lillian Lee, while Serendipity Arts will feature an immersive audio-visual installation by Alan Rego, and The Arts Family will exhibit works by its recent TAF Emerging Artist Award - South Asia winners, Deena Pindoria, Ritika Sharma, Akshay Bhoan, and Mohit Shelare.

Other institutions include the Museum of Art & Photography, Sabyasachi Art Foundation, The Gujral Foundation and Birla Academy of Art & Culture.

The Platform section will spotlight South Asia's living artistic traditions and craft-based practices, bringing together artists and collectives reinterpreting inherited practices with contemporary language, including Gondwana Art Project, which evokes the ecological and cosmic worlds of the Gond, Baiga, and Bhil communities through paintings, and Delhi Crafts Council's (DCC) reimagining of Bastar metalwork in collaboration with traditional artisans.

Gallery Ragini will present wooden sculptures from the village of Thammampatti in the interiors of Tamil Nadu, and a hand-knotted carpet that weaves together personal narratives and cultural memory, while Porgai Artisans' Association -- a women-led collective from Tamil Nadu's Sittilingi Valley -- will bring sculptural textiles and embroidered works celebrating the Lambadi tradition through ecological consciousness and community life. PTI MAH MAH MG MG