India’s art takes to the streets of Venice
The National Pavilion of India at the 61st Venice Biennale extends its exhibition beyond walls, staging performances, music and poetry across Venice from September 13‑17, in partnership with Serendipity Arts and the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre.
The programme, echoing the pavilion’s theme 'Geographies of Distance: Remembering Home', activates historic squares and cultural venues, probing movement, memory, migration and cultural continuity. New commissions include the musical piece One World and the dance Hakchang – Polang (Body Vessel).
One World, by singer‑songwriter Ankur Tewari, opened at Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello, blending Indian folk, Hindustani classical and original songs to dissolve borders; it later traveled to India. Tewari also curated Encounters at Mercato di Rialto, an intimate gathering of folk and classical sounds.
Choreographer Surjit Nongmeikapam’s Hakchang – Polang (Body Vessel) draws on Manipuri tradition, merging folklore, artisan craft and contemporary movement, performed in public squares and concluding at Campo Sant’ Agnese and Palazzo Diedo.
Poetry featured on September 15 with La ‘Casa in India / Beit-e-Bhārat, curated by Ranjit Hoskote at Palazzo Grassi, presenting readings in ten South Asian languages alongside Italian translations, spanning texts from the Upanishads to modern voices.
Subsequent events include Common Time, a technology‑free ensemble led by Tewari at Teatro Piccolo Arsenal, and Seeds of the Sacred – A Bharatanatyam Offering to the Human Spirit by Anwesha Das, exploring humility and earth‑rooted spirituality through classical dance.
Organisers emphasize that the city‑wide itinerary turns the pavilion into a living dialogue, inviting Venetians and visitors to encounter contemporary Indian art in the public realm while the main exhibition remains on view through November.