I have been living in London for three years now, and ever since I landed here it has felt like a show of swelling Indian pride, with the momentum only growing stronger across fashion, luxury, the arts, and craft. Just last month, at London Craft Week, Friday Sari Project and Moi x PDKF showed Indian craft and design as part of the official programming. That same week, London Original Print Fair had Indian artist Ian Malhotra’s meticulous etchings on view at Somerset House.Now, as London Gallery Weekend gets underway, Indian gallerists and artists are forming part of the very tapestry of the gallery walk that thousands of collectors, curators, enthusiasts and institutions will undertake this week. And with the Serendipity Arts Festival bringing film, music and puppetry from India to South Kensington next week, I have my sturdy walking shoes on.It would be easy to call this a moment, but perhaps the more useful word is momentum. Indian art is no longer a novelty in London, nor is it a soft-power accessory to an economic story. Instead it is being shown, sold, collected, studied and, most importantly, argued with. That, in my mind, is the real shift.
Jagdeep Raina’s She Pours Him Water at Indigo + Madder
