India Art Fair 2026: Bigger, brighter
The event hosts compelling voices from South Asia in tandem with contemporary international artists
As the Delhi winter slowly retreats and nature’s beauty unfurls in all its vivid hues, it’s time for the 17th edition of the unmissable art event — the India Art Fair (IAF) 2026, being held at the NSIC Exhibition Grounds in the national capital from February 5 to 8. Numbers reveal the sheer scale of the event: 133 exhibitors, including 94 galleries, regional and international art institutions and 26 new exhibitors.
The show focuses on diverse voices from South Asia in tandem with contemporary international artists, and moves beyond visual art to performances, crafts, textiles and educational programmes.
The outdoor projects are always a key element. This year features works amalgamating materials, themes, emotions, and reactions of artists towards the socio-cultural structures, gender inclusivity and exclusivity, political landscape, technology and much more that define the ethos of a culturally vibrant India and South Asia. At the forefront is Kulpreet Singh’s work, presented by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, depicting the “ecological fallout” of the Green Revolution.
Not to be missed are Exhibit 320’s large-scale installation by artist Deepak Kumar, examining myriad materials and form, and ‘The Charpai Project’ by Ayush Kasliwal x Goji, supported by Serendipity Arts.
Sunaina Anand, founder-director, Art Alive Gallery, says, “In the Galleries section, our focus is on multidisciplinary artistic practices. ‘Impermeable’, Jayasri Burman’s solo project in the Focus section, explores her engagement with discourses on gender, ecology and global concerns. Paresh Maity’s ‘The Infinite Cycle’ will be unveiled at the fair.”
The gallerists showcase a potpourri of established, contemporary and upcoming artists, including modernists like MF Husain, whose works can be spotted at Art Exposure, Chawla Art Gallery, DAG, and more. SH Raza’s art will be on view at Archer Art Gallery and Kumar Gallery, among others. LN Tallur’s work is presented by Chemould Prescott Road and artists Astha Butail and Gauri Gill showcase their oeuvre at Vadehra Art Gallery. Experimenter’s repertoire features works by Prabhakar Pachpute and Sohrab Hura; Chatterjee & Lal present Hetain Patel and artist Ravi Agarwal is backed by Gallery Espace, along with more names from India and abroad.
Judy Chicago, ‘What if Women Ruled the World’. Participatory quilt, sateen cotton. Image courtesy: Judi Chicago
As Roshini Vadehra of Vadehra Art Gallery comments, “Our curation will include a range of mediums. Special highlights include a mechanical, painted rolling shutter by Atul Dodiya, concealing a second painting within it; a large-scale embroidered textile work by Shilpa Gupta; NS Harsha’s new oil on canvas featuring his iterative pattern of eating figures; a large-scale layered textile work by Anju Dodiya and much more.”
Bhavna Kakar, founder-director of Latitude 28, adds, “I am excited to introduce new voices such as Juhikadevi Bhanjdeo, Hasseena Suresh, and Jayati Bose at our main booth. These are artists who reflect the diversity of material, thought and practice. Alongside, we present Khadim Ali’s ‘Wandering Wisdom’, his first major solo since 2016. It brings together questions of displacement, memory, and inherited knowledge.” Encompassing Delhi’s architectural landscape, IAF’s Parallel Programme includes eminent artist Jitish Kallat’s show at Bikaner House. Galleryske will display works by Sudarshan Shetty; and artist Tyeb Mehta’s retrospective has been curated by KNMA.
Ushmita Sahu, director and head curator of Emami Art, dwells on how they are presenting works by 15 artists, engaging with key concerns in contemporary practice. The idea is to put “particular emphasis on the critical practices of young and mid-career practitioners”. Represented by Emami, artist Debashish Paul is part of the group show ‘Disobedient Objects: The Biography of Clothes’ within the IAF Young Collectors’ Programme at STIR.
The Talks Programme entitled ‘What Makes Art Happen? — Rising to Challenge’ is presented by JSW and curated by Shaleen Wadhwana. The panelists include Dr Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria & Albert Museum; Dr Alexandra Munroe, director of curatorial affairs at Guggenheim Abu Dhabi; Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, director of Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, along with Sangita Jindal, president of Art India and chairperson of the JSW Foundation; Tarini Jindal Handa, founder of æquo and creative director of Hampi Art Labs, and others.
There will also be speakers from grassroots organisations such as Dr Sushree Sangita Mohanty, founder and director of Ekkathaa Welfare Foundation, and Prof Laxman Sabar from the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences.
Jaya Asokan, fair director, India Art Fair, says the 17th edition marks a watershed moment, not only in scale, but in the ambition of its programming and partnerships too. “Bringing together leading galleries, alongside an expansive programme of talks, commissions and institutional collaborations, the fair continues to strengthen its role as the definitive meeting point for South Asia’s art ecosystem,” she says.
— The writer is a freelance contributor
