26 things to watch out for in 2026
From Linkin Park and John Mayer concerts to India’s return to the Venice Biennale, from spiritual sequels of ’90s hits to architectural initiatives making the local global, 2026 promises to leave a mark in all things culture.
A still from Taskaree A Life in Strings
The year will open with Anoushka Shankar Chapters Tour 2026 — a six-city musical extravaganza by sitar exponent Anoushka Shankar. Opening in Hyderabad on January 30, it will mark her 30 years in professional music. From accompanying her father Pandit Ravi Shankar at her first concert to finally coming into her own, the three decades have been a mix of heartache and happiness, poignancy and playfulness. Her show in Mumbai on February 1 will coincide with the Grammys; she is nominated for Best Global Performance with Alam Khan and percussionist Sarathy Korwar. The trio is also in the running for the Best Global Album. Shankar will also perform in Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi and finally in Kolkata.
Of Magic and Music
One of the biggest shows that the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) is scheduled to hold at its The Grand Theatre is Wicked: The Musical. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked has been directed by John Stefaniuk and written by Winnie Holzman. The spectacular show, a reimagining of the beloved Wizard of Oz tale, features over 350 costumes, immersive sets and special effects. It is set to score by Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz.
T2 at Ahmedabad airport
Flying High
An airport is the first face of a city, and architects and researchers are using craft, art and cutting-edge design to make the first ‘hello’ intimate and global. In Ahmedabad, for instance, the spirit of Gujarat will unfold in the reimagined Terminal 2. INCUBIS Consultants+Architects have collaborated with origami designer Ankon Mitra and illustrator Allen Shaw to reimagine Ahmedabad airport’s terminal 2 as a space with the spirit of Gujarat with figures of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and more.
Strokes of Home
India returns to the Venice Biennale after six years with a pavilion curated by Rwanda-born art historian and curator Amin Jaffer. Featured Indian artists include Sumakshi Singh, Skarma Sonam Tashi, Alwar Balasubramaniam, Ranjani Shettar and Asim Waqif. The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) will bring an exhibition of artist Nalini Malani. Meanwhile, Dayanita Singh will be showcasing at Archivio Stato (Venice State Archive) in the city of canals.
String Theory
Popular American band Linkin Park, with their new lead singer and drummer Colin Brittain (following the tragic death of Chester Bennington in 2017), will tour India. Opening in Bengaluru on January 23, the band will then perform in Mumbai on January 25.
Art Hub
With record 123 exhibitors, the 17th edition of the India Art Fair will take place from February 5 to 8 in Delhi. The Platform section will continue to spotlight art from South Asia. The Sabyasachi Art Foundation will debut with an exhibition of select works by Atish Mukherjee. Among the outdoor projects will be installations by Paresh Maity and Deepak Kumar, American artist Judy Chicago’s What If Women Ruled the World? and Ayush Kasliwal’s The Charpai Project that will see digital intervention by AI artist Goji.
A still from Wicked: The Musical
Reading Nook
Vigil: The next book by Booker Prize-winning George Saunders is set over a single night at the bedside of an oil company CEO approaching death, as he is escorted to the afterlife. The novel continues the author’s interest in power, accountability and moral self-justification.
Departure(s): Published in the year Julian Barnes turns 80, Departure(s) is a compact novel tackling memory, ageing and the boundaries between fiction and autobiography, with a decades-long love story between two university friends at the centre. With diary material and reflections on illness, grief and missed opportunity, the narrative remains true to Barnes’s Booker-winning style.
Land: Land is a historical novel from the award-winning Maggie O’Farrell known for Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait. It is set around the time of the Great Hunger in Ireland and follows Tomás, a surveyor working on the Ordnance Survey’s mapping of Ireland, and his 10-year-old son, Liam, as they cross a windswept Atlantic peninsula.
John of John: Set on the Isle of Harris, the latest story from Booker-winning Douglas Stuart will follow John-Calum Macleod. He returns home after leaving art school without money or direction, only to be caught between his father and grandmother, as tensions around faith, masculinity and belonging intensify.
Anoushka Shankar (Credits: simonyc)
Larger Than Life
For international cinema, this year will be bigger and better. There’s Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Tom Cruise’s Iñárritu, Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, Robert Eggers’s Werwulf. Also, much awaited are The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Michael, based on the life of Michael Jackson.
Of Other Worlds
Bridgerton will return with a fourth season, with Benedict Bridgerton at the centre. In good news for bibliophiles, the second part of One Hundred Years of Solitude is set for a release this year as is the Emmy-winning The Pitt.
Runway Alert
In mid-February is the India Men’s weekend, dedicated to contemporary menswear. Watch out for the latest innovations in prêt and emergent designers at the summer and festive editions taking place in March and August. India Couture Week in July brings together couturists and our heritage weaves.
A still from The Odyssey
A Show on the Shores
The Mumbai Gallery Weekend, from January 8,
will feature artist exhibitions across galleries in the city, including solos by Mithu Sen, Prabhakar Pachpute, Lubna Chowdhary, Anpu Varkey, Jyoti Bhatt and Maya Burman.
Capital Creativity
Delhi will see a retrospective of modernist Tyeb Mehta by KNMA. The year marks the birth centenary of cartoonist Mario Miranda and artist Satish Gujral, with the latter having a retrospective at the NGMA from January 15.
Foundation Blocks
In Dehradun, the new civic landmark will be the Rashtrapati Udyan, combining biodiversity zones, water bodies and recreation spaces. The Delhi-based firm, CPKA, is designing the ONGC International Convention and Expo Centre, Goa, touted to be the state’s largest, as well as the East Delhi Hub, India’s first large-scale transit-oriented development.
East delhi Hub by CPKA
Global Blueprint
Architects-urban designers Rupali Gupte and Prasad Shetty will present An Urban Interregnum: New Vocabularies and Formations of Collective Life from the Global South, a site-specific installation, in Barcelona. They will also participate in the Sharjah Architecture Triennial.
High Octane Action
The year had a sombre start with Sriram Raghavan’s Ikkis. But that’s about it. The rest of it is all punches and sometimes propaganda with Dhurandar continuing its momentum from last year with a Part 2 in March. There’s also Shah Rukh Khan’s King, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War, Yash’s Toxic and the first part of Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayan. Sequels, spiritual or otherwise, like Border 2, Jailer 2 and Salaar 2 are also part of the line-up.
Centrestage
Culture has a new address on the Krishna riverfront as the Avakai Festival— a new event for cinema, culture and performing arts — kicks off in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh. The 16th International Theatre Festival in Thrissur features international and national plays. There’s also Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) Festival, which will showcase top productions and debutantes.
Sketches of Frank Gehry
The Wellness fest
With holistic health dominating conversations as India battles the burden of chronic illnesses, the 9th International Health & Wellness Expo 2026 focusses on natural wellness through ancient Indian traditional healing systems. At the centre of the event, to be held in Delhi, in August, will be all things Ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, panchkarma, organic and spiritual living.
Let’s Talk Architecture
This year architecture and design events plan to open roads, bringing in new faces and voices. The Architecture & Design Film Festival’s (ADFF:STIR) multifaceted programme will feature pavilions, dialogues and special projects, besides films such as Sketches of Frank Gehry, Dior and I and Glenn Murcutt: Spirit of Place. And in March, the Architecture Foundation India will host Site Lines — Talking Architecture in the Subcontinent, an exhibition and a conference. It will showcase works of 75 emerging architectural practices from across South Asia. Meanwhile, the conference, convened by Ranjit Hoskote, Kaiwan Mehta and Rahul Mehrotra, will focus on themes ranging from environment to AI.
India at its Heart
This year Art SG in Singapore will spotlight Indian and South Asian contemporary art. Prominent participating Indian galleries include Delhi-based Vadehra Art Gallery, Nature Morte, Gallery Art Positive, Gallery Nvya, Gallery Ragini and Latitude 28; Mumbai’s Sakshi Gallery and Ashvita’s from Chennai.
American band Linkin Park
Into the Dark
Taskaree: The Smuggler’s Web, created by Neeraj Pandey and directed by Raghav Jairath, releases on Netflix on January 14. The crime entertainer centres around Superintendent Arjun Meena (played by Emraan Hashmi), a razor-sharp, calm and calculating officer. The much appreciated Kohrra, a powerful crime drama series set in Punjab, is set to return for a second season, also on Netflix. While Barun Sobti will reprise his role in the show created by Sudip Sharma, Gunjit Chopra, Diggi Sisodia and Mona Singh will join the cast. On SonyLiv, Freedom at Midnight Season 2, directed by Nikkhil Advani, will release on January 9.
A Gender Flip
Adishakti’s latest production, A Woman Or Not To Be, written and directed by Vinay Kumar, reimagines Shakespeare’s Hamlet as the story of a woman, a 20-year-old college student navigating grief, doubt and the desire for justice. This reinterpretation is informed by Adishakti’s ongoing research into the psychology of grief and physical manifestation of loss. Inspired by the visual language of manga, anime and martial art, the play will be staged in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Nashik and Pune.
Love on the Weekday
Seven time-Grammy-winning John Mayer — the musician behind songs like Gravity, Slow dancing in a burning room, The Heart of life, Daughters and Stop this train among others — will make his India debut with a concert on January 22 at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai.
Rock n Roll
Lollapalooza India returns for its fourth edition with a high-voltage lineup for rock fans. The two-day festival will feature a diverse roster of global and Indian acts, including American rapper Playboi Carti, DJ Sammy Virji, and homegrown favourites Ankur Tewari and Nucleya.
Share
