Transforming Worlds: Change and Tradition in Contemporary India

Celebrating the unique artistic traditions developed by diverse Indigenous and regional communities across India, Transforming Worlds: Change and Tradition in Contemporary India explores the ways artists and creatives are using these visual languages to respond to India’s rapidly changing social and physical environments. Drawn entirely from the National Gallery of Victoria Collection, the exhibition showcases an important new collecting focus resulting in more than 60 recent acquisitions that have never-before been displayed. Exploring a range of current experiences from local perspectives – including urbanisation, environmental degradation, shifting gender dynamics and public health issues including the recent Covid-19 pandemic – the exhibition reveals the emergence of increasingly socially and politically engaged art practices within regional communities. The exhibition also highlights the ways in which artistic traditions have been strengthened and retained by engaging with contemporary themes.