Even as Delhi readies for the India Art Fair, a marquee art event dominated by established names that opens next month, the spotlight at the Lalit Kala Akademi is on the work of lesser-known artists at the Collage International Art Carnival (CIAC). The six-day event, which is on till January 18, brings together over 1,000 artworks by around 500 artists from across the country, many of whom are students currently enrolled in art colleges. “One of the primary aims is to bring together members of the art community from across different age groups and levels of experience. While each segment often works in isolation, the idea here is to create space for interaction and learning from one another,” stated Ashwani Kumar Prithviwasi, founder and director of Delhi Collage of Art, who is also the founder of CIAC. Recalling the humble beginnings of the event 20 years ago, he added, “We literally began by exhibiting works of art students on the streets of Uttam Nagar.”
Despite the winter chill, the opening evening, on Tuesday, saw a steady stream of established artists and figures from the art fraternity in attendance. “Creating such spaces for conversation is important. From previous editions, I have noticed the consistent efforts made to connect with people. There are also students participating from across the country and, for them, showing their work in Delhi brings visibility and the interactions help build confidence,” stated artist Bose Krishnamachari, who was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the carnival.
On Day-One itself, several art students were seen making possibly their first sale, even as others introduced their work, engaged with viewers and gained firsthand experience in presenting their art. “There are very few places where art students can really interact with audiences on this scale, so we are encouraging them to take the lead. In fact, we even asked them to select their works that are being showcased in our space,” stated artist Anita Kaur, who teaches printmaking at Jamia Millia Islamia. The institute is one of the over 25 participants at the event. While the other art colleges participating include College of Art (Delhi) and Sarada Ukil School of Art, there is also institutional participation from the likes of Triveni Kala Sangam, National Gallery of Modern Art, Bal Bhawan, Naveen Chhaya pottery studio and Garhi Studios. The line-up also includes workshops, film screenings and lectures by artists.
Exhibiting her work in Delhi for the first time, Divyanshi Verma, 25, who is pursuing a professional diploma at the Dehradun College of Art, said, “For students like us, this is a great platform to receive feedback and encounter the work of other artists as well. With so many mediums represented, simply observing the range of experiments is a learning experience.”
While the NGMA has a booth with mementos and prints based on its art collection, at the booth of Shilpa Bharti Institute of Fine Art and Craft alumni are sharing space with the present students. “Till 20 years earlier, at most there were youth festivals where one could participate but now the art market has grown so much and there are ample opportunities for students to explore,” said artist Pooja Mudgal, who completed her diploma in applied art from the institute in 1999 and has participated in several group exhibitions since.
Though the mediums on view range from paintings to photographs, drawings, etchings, videos, ceramics and installations, among others, at the booth of Shankar’s Academy, faculty member Saurabh Pandey notes it was a deliberate decision to focus on the art of book illustrations through the works of students. “This genre has been receiving little attention,” he noted. Artist Aakshat Sinha, founder and curator at UrbanFringe: The Underground Studio, and a former student of Prithviwasi, is presenting a selection of works by five international artists, including Maria Arendt (Germany-based), Ivan Yazykov (Russia-based), Reinar A Foreman (Iceland-based), Ivan Kirillov (Russia-born) and Olga Petrova (France-based). “I deliberately chose these works and artists as I wanted to present diversity from far shores at the carnival,” he stated.
Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice.
With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India.
Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale.
She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters.
Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory.
The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions.
Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović).
Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers.
Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India:
1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival
"At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors.
"Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers.
"At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025).
"Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention.
2. M.F. Husain & Modernism
"Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum.
"Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025).
3. Art Market & Records
"Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million.
"All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025).
"What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork.
4. Art Education & History
"Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025).
"A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art.
Signature Beats
Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More
