India Art Fair 2026, the definitive destination for discovering art from South Asia, returns with presenting partner BMW India hosting a record 133 exhibitors for its 17th edition at the NSIC Exhibition Grounds, New Delhi, 5 — 8 February
The fair’s Talks Programme, supported by JSW, brings together leading artists, designers, gallerists, museum directors, patrons and market specialists including Dr. Tristram Hunt, Atul Dodiya, Dayanita Singh, Radhika Chopra, Dr. Alexandra Munroe, Aindrea Emelife and Ibrahim Mahama
Outdoor Art Projects include Extinction Archive by Kulpreet Singh, commissioned and presented by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art; The Charpai Project by Ayush Kasliwal x Goji supported by Serendipity Arts; and Recycle of Life by Paresh Maity, presented by Art Alive Gallery
- The fair debuts a landmark performance collaboration with HH Art Spaces supported by Soho House, featuring Yuko Kaseki, Uriel Barthélémi, and Suman Sridhar / Black Mamba
- City-wide activations during the fair include major exhibitions at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Modern Art, and the first-ever solo exhibition in India by Ai Weiwei, presented by Nature Morte
- India Art Fair, the definitive destination for discovering South Asian, modern and contemporary art, announces its most expansive programme to date, transforming the fairgrounds into a space of dialogue and cross-cultural exchange for leading regional and international tastemakers. Returning for its landmark 17th edition at the NSIC Exhibition Grounds, New Delhi, from 5 to 8 February 2026, the fair welcomes new commissions and large-scale outdoor projects, led by artists and supported by a wide network of arts
- organisations, foundations and patrons. Across the city, New Delhi’s dynamic landscape comes alive through an extensive Parallel Programme featuring exhibitions and activations that extend the fair’s reach into the wider arts ecosystem.
Led in partnership with BMW India, India Art Fair 2026 convenes audiences to explore a record 133 exhibitors, including 94 galleries, presented alongside leading regional and international art institutions. The fair welcomes 26 new exhibitors, marking its broadest showcase yet, continuing its mission to foreground the most compelling practices and voices from South Asia alongside major contemporary international artists and collectible design, reaffirming its position as the leading site for the discovery of art and culture in the region.
Jaya Asokan, Fair Director, India Art Fair comments, “We are delighted to unveil a programme that is set to bring the city and the wider region alive for our 17th edition. This year marks an important step in building new bridges for South Asian art — taking its talent to the world. South Asian art is entering a new
moment of possibility, and we are proud to have supported its evolution throughout the fair’s 17-year legacy. We look forward to bringing together institutional leaders, industry pioneers, patrons, writers, artists at every stage of their journeys, and the wider community in Delhi this February.”
PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS
Supported by JSW and curated by independent researcher and curator Shaleen Wadhwana, the Talks Programme – titled What Makes Art Happen? — Rising to Challenge – examines the conditions in South Asia and globally that make art possible, considering the challenges of our time. Highlights include the
annual BMW Artist Talk; a panel on arts institutions featuring international museum leaders: Dr. Tristram Hunt, Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum; Nora Lawrence, Executive Director of Storm King Art Center, supported by Saat Saath Arts Foundation; Dr. Alexandra Munroe, Director of Curatorial Affairs at
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, and Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, Managing Trustee and Director of Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum. The JSW Talk features Sangita Jindal, President of Art India and Chairperson of the JSW Foundation; Tarini Jindal Handa, Founder of æquō and Creative Director of Hampi Art Labs; and Prof.
Alberto Cavalli, Executive Director of the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, Geneva. The programme also includes a conversation centering grassroots organisations and perspectives, featuring Dr. Sushree Sangita Mohanty, Founder and Director of Ekkathaa Welfare Foundation and UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab Expert, alongside Prof. Laxmi Sabar, Saura Painting and Traditional Healing, and Prof. Laxman Sabar, Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences; and Himanshu Mahato, Independent Curator and Researcher (India).
Further highlights include themed panel discussions featuring leading voices from the regional and global arts ecosystems; such as artists Dayanita Singh, Atul Dodiya, Bhasha Chakrabarti, Rajyashri Goody, Ibrahim Mahama; art experts Gabi Ngcobo, Director of Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam and Thiago de
Paula Souza, Co-curator of the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, both supported by the Kochi Biennale Foundation. Speakers also include Mario D’Souza, Director of Programmes and Exhibitions at Kochi Biennale Foundation, as well as Aindrea Emelife, Curator, Modern and Contemporary at Museum of West African Art, supported by The British Council; Sunitha Kumar Emmart, Founder and Director of GALLERYSKE; Prateek and Priyanka Raja, Co-founders of Experimenter; and Natasha Ginwala, Artistic Director of Colombo scope and Co-curator of the Sharjah Biennial 16.
Celebrating India Art Fair’s expanded collectible design offering, multi-disciplinary media agency, Border & Fall curate the inaugural OPEN Design Talks. Featuring international speakers alongside several
distinguished Indian names — this programme explores design practices in South Asia and worldwide.
The fair additionally introduces two new lounges alongside its VIP Lounge and BMW Collectors’ Lounge. Birla Estates hosts a series of panel discussions and private gatherings at the Birla Estates Patrons’ Lounge. Nuvama Private hosts special design-led talks, focused on regional practices and cross-culturalexchange.
COLLABORATIONS
India Art Fair 2026 advances its commitment to artistic research, craft-led inquiry, and cross-border exchange through a slate of collaborations, prizes, and residency programmes. The inaugural Swali Craft Prize, presented by Karishma Swali and the Chanakya Foundation in partnership with India Art Fair, awards Natasha Preenja a.k.a Princess Pea for her practice bridging design, craft and participatory modes of storytelling. The Curatorial Research Grant 2025-2026 by Saat Saath Arts and India Art Fair announces Habda Rashid, Senior at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, as recipient. The Prameya Art Foundation’s DISCOVER 09 Award for 2026 is presented to Sidhant Kumar, whose work draws on oral history traditions to explore ecological precarity. Taking forward India Art Fair Young Collectors’ Programme’s collaboration with 1-54 Fair, Strangers House Gallery brings special project Monção to the fair this year. The fair also welcomes its first international artist in residence from Sri Lanka Dumiduni Illangasinghe, in partnership with KALĀ. Her practice explores fragility, resilience, and regeneration through mixed media and site-responsive installation. She joins artists-in-residence, Arun B, presenting an interactive sculptural work examining bodily tension, control, and movement through kinetic form; Farhin Afza, whose archival and material research explores memory, violence, erasure; and Shreni Sanghvi, whose speculative installation imagines future ecologies where the organic and the digital converge. Both Arun B and Shreni Sanghvi’s participation is supported by SoulTree.
PERFORMANCE ART
India Art Fair’s Performance Art Programme for 2026 explores artists’ responses to their natural, social, and emotional environments through live, sonic, and movement-based practices. Curated by Nikhil Chopra and HH Art Spaces and supported by Soho House, the programme builds on HH’s legacy of gathering, hosting, and collaborative performance-making. HH Art Spaces presents Breakfast in a Blizzard, an open-air kitchen-island installation conceived as a gesture of care and sustenance, where invited artists “cook” an all-day breakfast through sound, movement, and improvisation. Led by Yuko
Kaseki, Uriel Barthélémi and Suman Sridhar / Black Mamba, the programme draws on memory, mourning, and desire — transforming acts of nourishment into moments of collective imagination.
‘THE FUTURE IS BORN OF ART’ COMMISSION
Marking ten years of partnership, India Art Fair and BMW India reimagine The Future Is Born of Art Commission, shifting to a bold new format that places the commission onto the fair’s facade. Conceived around the theme Crafting in Continuum, the project explores the unison of hand and machine, imagining a future shaped through tactile knowledge, narrative memory, and contemporary mediation. The 2026 commission is awarded to Afrah Shafiq, whose work foregrounds embroidery motifs and practices, alongside often-hidden details in textile and stitching samplers, scaled for public display on the facade. The project illuminates the narratives and traditions that shape women’s lives, from everyday labor to rites of passage, while an interactive AR layer invites visitors to explore the histories and meanings embedded in each motif.
Hardeep Singh Brar, President and CEO, BMW Group India comments: “As BMW Group India celebrates a decade of partnership with India Art Fair and five years of The Future is Born of Art Commission, we reaffirm our commitment to fostering creativity, innovation, and sustainability through meaningful cultural engagement. Over the years, this collaboration has evolved into a powerful platform where art and technology inspire one another, shaping ideas that define the future. At India Art Fair 2026, we proudly continue this journey, championing artistic voices that imagine a world driven by progress, purpose, and possibility.”
OUTDOOR ART PROJECTS
India Art Fair 2026 features a vibrant display of outdoor projects and commissions, with large-scale works that respond to questions of ecology, gender, technology and material experimentation. At the forefront is a major commission by Kulpreet Singh, presented by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. Rooted in the ecological fallout of the Green Revolution, Singh’s practice charts the fragile entanglements between animal, fungal and plant species nearing extinction. Serendipity Arts returns with The Charpai Project, conceptualised by Ayush Kasliwal and re-envisioned through a digital intervention by AI artist
Goji. Merging traditional craft with technology, the work explores rest and play, while addressing sustainable structures and inclusivity. Additional highlights include Paresh Maity’s monumental outdoor sculpture, supported by Art Alive Gallery, and a large-scale installation by Deepak Kumar, presented by
Exhibit 320, each expanding the possibilities of material and form.
The section also includes FOREST II by Raki Nikahetiya, presented by Max Estates, a living ecosystem created using the Miyawaki method that evokes memory through dense native flora.
LEARNING PROGRAMME
Inclusivity and access remain central to India Art Fair’s mission. The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art returns as the fair’s official Learning Partner, supporting an expanded suite of learning and accessibility-led programmes. Under KNMA’s guidance, the Learning Space hosts dynamic workshops and engagements
that welcome visitors of all ages, abilities and learning styles. The Rediscovery Workshop Series, curated by Kriti Sood, founder of LAND (Learning through Arts, Narrative and Discourse), invites participants into intimate, process-led sessions. Building on its long-standing commitment to accessibility, the fair deepens its collaboration with Access For ALL to present the Inclusion Lab, facilitated by Siddhant Shah and Rohan Marathe and supported by KNMA. This open and participatory space brings together inclusive design, tactile learning and multisensory exploration. India Art Fair’s guided tours expand in scale and accessibility, with all tours offered bilingually in English and Hindi for the first time, alongside select sessions in Indian Sign Language (ISL). Tours run every hour from 12 pm to 5 pm, helping visitors navigate the space with ease.
EXHIBITOR HIGHLIGHTS
India Art Fair 2026 features some of India’s most important contemporary galleries alongside established international exhibitors. Highlights include Indian galleries presenting masterpieces from leading Indian
modernists including M.F. Husain (ARCHER ART GALLERY, Art Exposure, Chawla Art Gallery, DAG, Kumar Gallery), S.H. Raza (ARCHER ART GALLERY, Art Exposure, Chawla Art Gallery, Kumar Gallery), B. Prabha (Chawla Art Gallery), Meera Mukherjee (Akara); works by artists from the Madras Art Movement such as P. Perumal TRP Mookiah (Ashvita’s). Also on view are contemporary South Asian artists with a global presence including L.N. Tallur (Chemould Prescott Road), Astha Butail, Gauri Gill (VADEHRA ART GALLERY), Prabhakar Pachpute, Sohrab Hura (Experimenter), Hetain Patel (Chatterjee & Lal), Lubna Chowdhary (Jhaveri Contemporary), Ravi Agarwal (Gallery Espace), Mariam Suhail
(GALLERYSKE), Sagarika Sundaram (Nature Morte), Mahesh Baliga, Amol K. Patil (Project 88) and T. Venkanna (Gallery Maskara). International galleries showcase renowned South Asian and diaspora artists, including Huma Bhabha (David Zwirner), Shilpa Gupta (neugerriemschneider), Anish Kapoor
(Galleria Continua), Adeela Suleman (Aicon Contemporary), Jagath Ravindra (Saskia Fernando Gallery), Nibha Akireddy (Rajiv Menon Contemporary), alongside internationally acclaimed artists such as Ai Weiwei (neugerriemschneider, Galleria Continua), Yayoi Kusama (David Zwirner, Ota Fine Arts), Masayuki Tsubota (Whitestone Gallery), and Michelangelo Pistoletto (DMINTI, Galleria Continua). The Focus section brings presentations by stalwarts like Marina Abramović (Saatchi Yates), Bharti Kher (Nature Morte), Khadim Ali (Latitude28), Jayasri Burman (Art Alive Gallery) and Ravinder Reddy
(APPARAO GALLERIES) along with senior artist Naina Dalal (Gallerie Splash) and emerging practices of Shailesh BR (VADEHRA ART GALLERY), Thandiwe Muriu (193 Gallery), Girjesh Kumar Singh (Rukshaan Art) and Giuliano Macca (Gowen). The Platform section spotlights South Asia’s artistic heritage and traditional craft-based practices through the works of contemporary masters, with presentations by six exhibitors. The expanded Design section presents 14 trailblazing design studios, and 2 major design galleries. This year the newly
designed Institutions section welcomes first-time participants including Sabyasachi Art Foundation Gallery, Ardee Foundation, and Mapin Foundation, along with returning institutions like Australian High Commission, Serendipity Arts, Britto Arts Trust and others.
BEYOND THE FAIR
This year’s Parallel Programme spans landmark retrospectives, major solo exhibitions and special presentations by leading galleries, museums and foundations. At Bikaner House, Jitish Kallat unveils a significant new exhibition, while the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) presents a major retrospective of
Tyeb Mehta. Nature Morte presents Ai Weiwei’s first solo exhibition in India, and GALLERYSKE presents a new body of work by Sudarshan Shetty. At the Crafts Museum, the 2025 Cheongju Craft Biennale presents a showcase of global craft and textile practices. The Inlaks India Foundation celebrates 50 years of supporting Indian talent at Artshila, and Aranyani’s large-scale activation at Sunder Nursery links craftsmanship, ecology and design within one of Delhi’s most celebrated heritage landscapes.
Now in its seventh year, India Art Fair’s Young Collectors’ Programme finds a new home in Triveni Kala Sangam with an exhibition titled Omens. Organisms. Objects. Order, curated by Wribhu Borphukon.
2026 EXHIBITORS
GALLERIES
079 | STORIES ART GALLERY (Ahmedabad)
1×1 Art Gallery (Dubai)
Aicon (New York)
Aicon Contemporary (New York)
Akar Prakar (Kolkata / New Delhi)
Akara (Mumbai)
ANANT ART (New Delhi / NOIDA)
Anupa Mehta Contemporary Art (Mumbai)
APRE Art House (Mumbai)
ARCHER ART GALLERY (Ahmedabad)
Art and Charlie (Mumbai)
Art Alive Gallery (New Delhi)
Art Centrix Space (New Delhi)
Art Explore (New Delhi)
Art Exposure (Kolkata)
Art Heritage (New Delhi)
ART HOUZ (Chennai / Bengaluru)
Art Incept (New Delhi / Gurugram)
ARTDISTRICT XIII (New Delhi)
Ashvita’s (Chennai / Dubai)
Blueprint12 (New Delhi)
Carpenters Workshop Gallery (London / Paris / New York / Los Angeles)
Chatterjee & Lal (Mumbai)
Chawla Art Gallery (New Delhi)
Chemould CoLab (Mumbai)
Chemould Prescott Road (Mumbai)
Crayon Art Gallery (New Delhi / Mumbai)
Cultivate Art (Mumbai / Dubai / Bengaluru)
DAG (New Delhi / Mumbai / New York)
Danfe Arts (Kathmandu)
David Zwirner (New York / Los Angeles / London / Paris / Hong Kong)
Dhi Contemporary (Hyderabad)
Dhoomimal Gallery (New Delhi)
DMINTI (New York)
EMAMI ART (Kolkata)
EXHIBIT 320 (New Delhi)
Experimenter (Kolkata / Mumbai)
Galerie ISA (Mumbai)
GALLERIA CONTINUA (San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins / Habana / Roma / São Paulo / Paris)
Gallerie Nvya (New Delhi)
Gallerie Splash (Gurugram)
Gallery Dotwalk (Gurugram)
Gallery Espace (New Delhi)
Galerie Geek Art (Tokyo / New Delhi)
Gallery Maskara (Mumbai)
GALLERY VEDA (Chennai)
Gallery WHITE (Vadodara)
GALLERYSKE (New Delhi / Bengaluru)
Grosvenor Gallery (London)
Iram Art (Ahmedabad)
Jhaveri Contemporary (Mumbai)
Kalakriti Art Gallery (Hyderabad)
Kumar Gallery (New Delhi)
KYNKYNY Art Gallery (Bengaluru)
Lakeeren Contemporary (Mumbai)
LAMB (London)
Latitude28 (New Delhi)
MAG Contemporary (New Delhi)
Method (Mumbai / New Delhi)
Nature Morte (New Delhi / Mumbai)
neugerriemschneider (Berlin)
Palette Art Gallery (New Delhi)
PHOTOINK (New Delhi)
PICHVAI TRADITION AND BEYOND (New Delhi)
Project 88 (Mumbai)
Rajiv Menon Contemporary (Los Angeles)
Runjeet Singh Gallery (Royal Leamington Spa)
Sakshi Gallery (Mumbai)
Saskia Fernando Gallery (Colombo)
Shrine Empire (New Delhi)
SRISHTI ART (Hyderabad)
Strangers House Gallery x Gallery Art & Soul (Mumbai)
STUDIO ART (New Delhi)
Subcontinent (Mumbai)
TAO ART GALLERY (Mumbai)
TARQ (Mumbai)
Threshold Art Gallery (New Delhi)
Unit 7. / Prahlad Bubbar (London)
VADEHRA ART GALLERY (New Delhi)
Vida Heydari Contemporary (Pune)
Whitestone Gallery (Tokyo / Singapore / Hong Kong / Taipei / Beijing / Seoul / Karuizawa)
Wonderwall (New Delhi)
FOCUS
193 Gallery (Paris / Venice / Saint Tropez)
APPARAO GALLERIES (Chennai / New Delhi)
Art Alive Gallery (New Delhi)
Latitude28 (New Delhi)
Nature Morte (New Delhi / Mumbai)
Rukshaan Art (Mumbai)
Saatchi Yates (London)
VADEHRA ART GALLERY (New Delhi)
Gallerie Splash (Gurugram)
GOWEN (Geneva)
PLATFORM
Porgai Artisan’s Association (Sittilingi)
Delhi Crafts Council (New Delhi)
Gallery Ragini (New Delhi)
GONDWANA ART PROJECT (New Delhi)
Inherited Arts Forum (New Delhi)
Ojas Art (New Delhi)
DESIGN
Ashiesh Shah (Mumbai)
Aspura (Jaipur)
Chanakya School of Craft (Mumbai)
DeMuro Das (New Delhi / London / New York)
Galerie Maria Wettergren (Paris)
Ghiora Aharoni Design Studio (New York)
Gunjan Gupta (New Delhi)
Kohelika Kohli Karkhana (New Delhi)
Kunal Maniar and Associates (Mumbai)
Morii Design (Gandhinagar)
Nitush-Aroosh (New Delhi)
SHED (Surat)
ROOSHADSHROFF (Mumbai)
Studio Renn (Mumbai)
Vikram Goyal (New Delhi)
Villa Swagatam x Æquō (Paris / Mumbai)
INSTITUTIONS
AMA Artist Award
Ardee Foundation (New Delhi)
Australian High Commission (New Delhi)
Birla Academy of Art & Culture (Kolkata)
BRITTO ARTS TRUST (Dhaka)
Chennai Photo Biennale x WWF India (Chennai / New Delhi)
KOREAN CULTURAL CENTRE INDIA (New Delhi)
Mapin Foundation (Ahmedabad)
MASH (New Delhi)
Museum of Art & Photography (Bengaluru)
Prameya Art Foundation (New Delhi)
Purushottam Trust for Printmaking (Vadodara)
Sabyasachi Art Foundation Gallery (Kolkata)
Serendipity Arts (New Delhi)
THE ARTS FAMILY (TAF) (London / Mumbai)
The Gujral Foundation (New Delhi)
OUTDOOR PROJECTS
Aarti Vir, Shadow Crossing, supported by Indian Ceramics Triennale (New Delhi / Mumbai / Jaipur)
Afrah Shafiq, The Future is Born of Art Commission presented by BMW India and India Art Fair
Arun B, supported by India Art Fair Artist-in-Residence Programme and SoulTree (New Delhi)
Ayush Kasliwal x Goji, The Charpai Project, supported by Serendipity Arts (New Delhi)
Deepak Kumar, Breathing_Space, supported by Exhibit 320 (New Delhi)
Dumiduni Illangasinghe, supported by KALĀ and India Art Fair Artists-in-Residence (Colombo / New Delhi)
Judy Chicago, What If Women Ruled The World? Participatory Quilt, presented by DMINTI (New York)
Kulpreet Singh, Extinction Archive, commissioned and presented by Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (New Delhi)
Paresh Maity, Recycle of Life, supported by Art Alive Gallery (New Delhi)
Raki Nikahetiya, Forest – II, presented by Max Estates (NOIDA)
The 17th edition of India Art Fair takes place at NSIC Exhibition Grounds in New Delhi, 5 – 8 February 2026.
