Emerging artists from the Indigenous tribes of India will represent the country at the upcoming Venice Biennale, Indian cultural authorities announced on Friday.
The news was announced by Union Culture and Tourism minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who was speaking at a conference dedicated to conservation and tribal arts.
India, the most populous nation in the world, has had an inconsistent presence at the 125-year-old exhibition. Its first national pavilion was staged in 2011 and the second in 2019. It hasn’t had a pavilion at the storied art festival since then.
India wasn’t totally lacking representation at the last Venice Biennale: Adriano Pedrosa 2024 iteration, titled “Foreigners Everywhere,” featured 12 Indian artists, a record-high for the main exhibition, which is not related to the national pavilions.
However the lack of stable representation has increasingly drawn scrutiny from the international art world, given the recent, high-profile development of its arts infrastructure. India boasts one of the fastest-rising collector bases, and some of its wealthiest patrons are gearing up to open new art institutions, further driving global interest in the South Asian art market. The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), for example, is scheduled to open its new building in New Delhi in 2026, the same year of the next Venice Biennale.
India is home to some 700 officially recognized ethnic groups, with distinct cultural customs and artistic expressions. Shekhawat, speaking at the conference, said the Indian government is newly investing in this artistic diversity, as cultural heritage to protect and an economic opportunity to explore.
