India is returning to the Venice Biennale after a seven-year hiatus with a national pavilion in the Arsenale. The presentation, titled 'Geographies of Distance: Remembering Home,' will feature five artists: Alwar Balasubramaniam (Bala), Sumakshi Singh, Ranjani Shettar, Asim Waqif, and Skarma Sonam Tashi. The exhibition is curated by Amin Jaffer and is backed by India's Ministry of Culture and two cultural institutions.
The pavilion marks a significant step towards establishing a permanent presence for India at the world's most important contemporary art platform. The artists' use of organic and recycled materials connects to millennia of Indian material culture, exploring themes of home, displacement, and ecological change. This curated national presentation follows a record inclusion of Indian artists in the 2024 Biennale's main exhibition, signaling a growing institutional focus on India's contemporary art scene on the global stage.