The New Art Walkthrough

ARCHIVES, SUSTAINABILITY, MEMORY AS LOSS, MEMORY AS HOPE.... HIGHLIGHTS OF AN ART TRAIL OF HOW CONTEMPORARY ART IS SEEN, MADE AND CAN BE THOUGHT ABOUT IN A RUNUP TO THE INDIA ART FAIR. WITH SOME HELP FROM BUZZWORDS.

- S KEERTHIVAS

Dwimu Boro's installation

In an art fair, some of the most compelling work isn't inside the main fair tents or behind VIP previews. It unfolds quietly across the city inside a darkened gallery, or among woven cane furniture, or through a room strung with fragile threads, and in an exhibition that treats consumption as both habit and hazard.

The 'Young Collectors' Programme' (YCP), part of the 'India Art Fair,' hosting its sixth edition at the Triveni Kala Sangam, has grown into a parallel art trail: part exhibition, part experiment, part community space aimed at making contemporary art feel less intimidating and more lived-in.

Curated by Wribhu Borphukon, the programme stretches beyond the fairgrounds into intimate, site-specific presentations, encouraging visitors to move, pause and engage. "It's about sustaining curiosity and experimentation," he says. "Collecting should begin with excitement, not intimidation." Highlights of the walkthrough at the exhibition:

At Shridharani Gallery, the traditional white cube has been dismantled. Works appear layered rather than neatly spaced, inviting visitors to navigate intuitively. Borphukon describes it as an archive rather than an exhibition. "I want people to enter like archivists, building their own order and meaning. When a visitor first enters the art space, I want them to feel a bit confused and disoriented while simultaneously giving them a glimpse of the future," he explains.