Bridging Europe and South Asia with contemporary and modern art

In the heart of Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, lies a cozy art space dedicated to South Asian Contemporary Art.

- By Kamanthi Wickramasinghe

Established in 2024 by its founder Tasneem Hatimbhai, SAC ART Amsterdam seeks to create an open and inviting cultural space by promoting contemporary and modern art from the Indian sub-continent.

For the love of contemporary art

Tasneem and her husband Joeri Aulman’s love for contemporary art from the Indian sub-continent sparked the initial idea of establishing SAC ART Amsterdam. From their first paintings by Sri Lankan artists such as Rupert Soysa and JagathRavindra, their private collection of contemporary art has grown ever since. Over the past 10 years, Tasneem has been scouting the art scene for Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi and South Asian contemporary artists despite not being able to find consistent visibility.

SAC ART Amsterdam aims to extend the awareness and scope of contemporary and modern art from the Indian subcontinent, encouraging international and European recognition for its many talented artists - both stalwarts and younger artists. SAC Art Amsterdam works towards creating an open and inviting cultural space which sparks curiosity and discovery.

An attempt to inspire and engage audiences

Speaking about how spaces like SAC ART support young and veteran artists in projecting their creativity in the European context, Tasneem said that as a gallery and platform we seek relationships with the artists, and the rest just follows quite organically.

"We are a private gallery, not funded by any agencies - which puts us in the beautiful position of curating our own shows and working with artists whose work moves and inspires us, and also work which we hope will inspire and engage the audience in EU," she said in an interview with the Daily Mirror.