The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg will host its first contemporary Indian art exhibition, 'Sediments of Becoming: Fossilised Present, Summoned Pasts', opening June 4. Curated by Marina Schulz and Tunty Chauhan in collaboration with Delhi's Threshold Art Gallery, the four-month show features eleven Indian artists—including Afrah Shafiq, Ravinder Reddy, and Pushpamala N.—who have created new works responding to the museum's collections and architectural context.
This exhibition marks a historic shift for the 260-year-old Hermitage, which has never before dedicated a show to contemporary Indian art. By presenting Indian artists as living practitioners rather than ethnographic artifacts, the project challenges traditional museum narratives and asserts India's contemporary artistic voice within one of the world's most prestigious cultural institutions. The collaboration emerged from personal connections and collecting passions rather than official diplomatic channels, highlighting a grassroots model for cross-cultural exchange.