AN INDIAN RENAISSANCE

EVEN WITHOUT A NATIONAL PAVILION, THERE’S A SUBSTANTIAL PRESENCE OF INDIAN ART AT THE 60TH EDITION OF THE VENICE BIENNALE

- Prachi Joshi

The global art world's biggest and most prestigious event is currently underway in Italy. Helmed by Adriano Pedrosa, its first South American curator, the Venice Biennale's theme 'Foreigners Everywhere' speaks of our current times. It features 331 artists and collectives living in and between 80 countries. The biennale's primary focus is on artists who are themselves foreigners, immigrants or refugees-migration and decolonisation are key themes here. Given these themes and India's burgeoning art scene, the absence of a national pavilion is a missed opportunity. Nonetheless, Indian artists, and some from the diaspora, are making their presence felt at the biennale.