What to Catch at India Art Fair 2025: A Complete Guide
What to Catch at India Art Fair 2025: A Complete Guide
India Art Fair 2025 promises an exhilarating mix of contemporary art, historical reflection, and innovative practices. With an impressive roster of galleries, solo exhibitions, and collaborative installations, the event is a must-visit for art enthusiasts. From curated experiences within the fairgrounds to dynamic parallel events across New Delhi, here’s what you shouldn’t miss.
Outdoor Art Projects
Supported by the IAF Artist-in-Residence Program
Imon Phukan’s immersive installations blend textiles, performance, and painting, drawing you into a world where migration, identity, and loss converge. Deeply rooted in the cultural and natural landscapes of Assam, her works are as emotional as they are sensory. This exclusive feature as part of the Artist-in-Residence program is a must-see for fans of tactile, thought-provoking art.
Supported by Method and The Living Waters Museum
Intiyaz recreates childhood memories of water scarcity with an installation made of waste metal pipes and fibre-cast figures carrying water pots. This poignant piece navigates themes of resilience, inequitable water distribution, and environmental justice. Walking through this maze-like depiction of childhood struggles, viewers are invited to reflect on their role in shaping a fairer future.
Supported by the IAF Artist-in-Residence Program and SoulTree
Liactuallee’s outdoor installation, centering on overlooked materials and the tactile craft of crochet, transforms ecological concerns into meditative spaces. This work challenges visitors to rethink their relationship with craft, materiality, and the environment.
Sculptural Works by Bhushan Bombale
Supported by Strangers House Gallery
Bombale’s sculptures reimagine quotidian shapes and materials, drawing inspiration from architectural movements and the celestial geometry of Sawai Jai Singh II’s Jantar Mantar. Expect a stunning dialogue between human imagination, cosmic reflections, and temporal beauty.
Barve’s installation, inspired by Ambedkar’s writings and James Baldwin’s works, critiques the erasure of important texts from public consciousness. Using railway station LED tickers and other everyday objects, the piece engages viewers with questions of access, anti-caste activism, and the intersection of technology and marginalized histories.
Talks
Holding Space | Art and Power
Art reflects society’s fractures but also creates hope and solidarity. This discussion brings together artists Claire Fontaine, Ram Singh Urveti, Vikrant Bhise, and others in conversation with Anita Dube and Shaleen Wadhwana. They explore how art can champion social justice and foster kinship across generations.
The Present and the Future of Curating | Voices From Around the World
This session gathers global curators like Zasha Colah, Tarini Malik, and Yina Jiménez Suriel to discuss the responsibilities and opportunities of curating. Representing marginalized narratives, they share insights on advocating for equity and dismantling hierarchical structures in the art world.
Coming Home | IAF Artists-In-Residence
Ushmita Sahu speaks with the Artists-in-Residence—Imon Phukan, Liactuallee, and Umesh S.—about their practices rooted in cultural heritage and ecology. The session delves into how grief, memory, and land shape artistic exploration.
Artistic Careers | Building Sustainability
Artists Jiten Thukral & Sumir Tagra, Amrit Pal Singh, and others discuss balancing authenticity with sustainability in their artistic journeys. This round-robin format session tackles pressing questions sourced from audiences in advance.
Collaborative Approaches | Design, Technology & Craft
This panel features Gunjan Gupta, Maria Cristina Didero, and Meneesha Kellay discussing the intersections of design, technology, and craft. They examine how these collaborations preserve local traditions while innovating for a global future.
Evolution of The Multifaceted Art Gallery in South Asia
Gallerists from India and Sri Lanka, including Abhay Maskara and Saskia Fernando, discuss how galleries are evolving as spaces for public education and cross-cultural dialogue. They reflect on expanding collector bases and nurturing artist ecosystems.
Performances
The Hedge of Halomancy: Hylozoic/Desires
Showtimes: February 6 (2:00 PM), February 8 (5:45 PM), February 9 (5:30 PM)
A speculative moving-image work by Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser, exploring colonial histories, plant magic, and indigenous resistance. This performance blurs the lines between myth, archival storytelling, and music.
WIPING OUT: Karoline Schreiber
February 9, 2025, 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Schreiber’s performance involves drawing and erasing extinct animal species with black sand, reflecting on humanity’s destructive impact on biodiversity. It’s as haunting as it is poetic.
NANGA KAPDA: Priyakshi Agarwal
February 9, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
This research-based performance explores women’s autonomy and textile politics. Combining the Chhapa printing technique with movement, the piece confronts the intersection of craft and feminist resistance.
EARTH UNDER OUR FEET: Ashwini Bhat
February 7, 2025, 3:00 PM
Using unfired clay and audience participation, Bhat’s ephemeral installation reflects on impermanence and interconnectedness. It’s an invitation to reimagine our relationship with the land and each other.
IAF Parallels
Fresh Produce 2.0 at Method, Defence Colony
Method debuts its Delhi gallery with Fresh Produce 2.0, featuring over 30 emerging artists selected from an Open Call that received 750+ applications. Expect a bold, chaotic mix of paintings, sculptures, installations, and unclassifiable works that embody Method’s ethos of experimentation and energy. It’s not an exhibition—it’s a statement.
This group show unpacks the complexities of language, exploring the gaps between what is spoken and what is understood. It’s an exhibition that invites you to linger in nuance.
Curated by Sreyansi Singh, this exhibition examines resistance through indigenous clothing practices. These garments, imbued with memory and mythology, serve as living archives of ancestral resilience and creativity.
Probir Gupta’s socially engaged paintings and installations draw from history, economy, and mythology, creating a compelling visual narrative of resistance and urgency.
February 1, 2025
This exhibition disrupts Euro-American paradigms in art, amplifying indigenous and experimental practices that challenge the status quo. It’s a vibrant critique of materiality, language, and representation.
Why You Should Visit
Whether you’re captivated by experimental installations, intrigued by the narratives of emerging artists, or drawn to the broader cultural dialogues at IAF Parallels, the 2025 edition has something for everyone. From innovative showcases at the main venue to unmissable events at Method’s new gallery and beyond, this is an art event that celebrates creativity, diversity, and collaboration on a global scale.