The ongoing India Art Fair 2026 (till February 8) has stopped trying to be a moment on Delhi’s social calendar and, instead, has evolved to become a year-round ecosystem.
Under the direction of fair director Jaya Ashokan, IAF has evolved from a four-day arts event into a year-long “cultural convening point” that feels more like a living laboratory than a static gallery. This year’s edition – which features a record 133 exhibitors across 94 galleries across the NSIC exhibition grounds – is less about what’s on the walls and more about what’s happening in the spaces between them.
The fair welcomes new commissions and large-scale outdoor projects, led by artists and supported by a wide network of arts organisations, foundations and patrons. Across the city, New Delhi’s dynamic cultural landscape comes alive through an extensive parallel program featuring exhibitions and activities that extend the fair’s reach to the wider arts ecosystem. Considering her primary focus, Ashokan says she hopes to cement IAF as a definitive destination for exploring South Asian modern and contemporary art. “It also aims to build depth, context and continuity around the fair. One of the key things done during my tenure has been to create year-round programming. An important area of ​​focus has also been curatorial clarity, especially in expanded sections like design, which we launched a few years ago,” she adds.
Ashish Shah Swarnabhoomi 2025 Cast Brass Dhokra Cubes | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The four days of the fair feature some of India’s most important contemporary galleries, including Archer Art Gallery, Art Exposure, Chawla Art Gallery, DAG, Kumar Gallery, Akara, Chemold Prescott Road, Vadehra Art Gallery, Chatterjee & Lal and Gallery Espace. International galleries such as David Zwirner, Neugeriemschneider, Galleria Continua and Akon Contemporary are showcasing the works of renowned South Asian and expatriate artists including Huma Bhabha, Shilpa Gupta, Anish Kapoor and Adila Sulaiman respectively.
In the Extended Design section, 14 leading design studios and two leading design galleries are showcasing their work, while the newly-designed Institute Section It sees participation for the first time by institutions such as Sabyasachi Art Foundation Gallery, Ardee Foundation and Mappin Foundation as well as Australian High Commission, Serendipity Arts, Britto Arts Trust and others.
The IAF also features a vibrant display of outdoor projects and commissions with large-scale works that respond to questions of ecology, gender, technology and material experimentation. One of the highlights of this section is a new KNMA commission titled Extinction Archive, written by Patiala-based visual artist Kulpreet Singh, which talks about “animal, fungal and plant species” across the world taken from the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Khadim Ali Untitled 2024 (Machine and hand embroidery on fabric) | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Curator Srinivas Aditya Mopidevi explains that Singh’s journey with Extinction Archive began when the artist was trying to understand what species go extinct with changes occurring within agricultural ecosystems. “One of the questions they’re interested in is to see what extinction looks like when we imagine it,” he says. The project involves 900 small sheets of paper treated with pesticides and mixed with ash from stubble burning in Punjab.
Serendipity Arts is making its presence felt with The Charpai Project, conceptualized by Ayush Kasliwal and reimagined through digital intervention by AI artist Goji, while Paresh Maiti’s monumental outdoor sculpture, supported by Art Alive Gallery, and the large-scale installation by Deepak Kumar, presented by Exhibit 320, expand the possibilities of material and form. Beyond the fair, the parallel programming features an eclectic mix of contemporary art and traditional crafts spread across some of Delhi’s most iconic venues.
Highlights include an important new exhibition titled Projections on Paper Sky by Jitish Kallat at Bikaner House, a massive retrospective exhibition of the renowned Tyeb Mehta at KNMA. A new collection of Sudarshan Shetty’s work at GallerySky and the 2025 Cheongju Craft Biennale Bringing a global perspective to textiles and craftsmanship in the crafts museum.
Nonsense, 2024, Courtesy Ai Weiwei Studio, Nature Morte and Galleria Continua, | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei holds his first solo exhibition in India at Nature Morte with a focused selection of works in various mediums, spanning nearly 30 years of his creative activity, including his large-scale toy-brick creations Surfing (after Hokusai). and Water Lilies, along with works that reflect his long-standing investigations into the politics of material evidence, cultural memory, and images. Peter Nagy, co-director of Nature Morte, says, “Ai Weiwei has an unmatched ability to fuse the ancient and the contemporary in the same frame – craft and criticism, beauty and blunt truth. Presenting her first solo show in India feels urgent and necessary, especially now, when the politics of images, movement and belonging are shaping life everywhere, including here.”
Another first is the fair’s first international artist hailing from Sri Lanka, Dumiduni Ilangasinghe, in partnership with Art, whose practice explores fragility, resilience and regeneration through mixed media and site-responsive installations. It is sprayed for these four days Stimulating conversations with leading designers and artists, as well as live performance arts focusing on sound, movement and improvisation.
JK Next Station Sultanpur 2025 Fabriano-Acrylic on Paper | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
If the lineup seems a little overwhelming or you’re not sure where to start, guided tours in Hindi and English, and a select few in Indian Sign Language (ISL), can help you navigate the fair without the stress of missing the best parts. Whether you’re a seasoned collector or a curious first-timer, this year’s fair proves that art in South Asia is no longer a spectator sport; It’s a vibrant, year-long conversation.
Till 8th February. Friday Select VIP Preview, 11am to 7pm, Saturday 10am to 7pm, Sunday 10am to 6pm. Tickets are available starting at ₹800 on BookMyShow
published – February 06, 2026 10:17 am IST