Serendipity Arts is set to launch its flagship festival, the Serendipity Arts Festival London, from 19 to 27 June 2027 marking a new chapter in the organisation’s international engagement. Presented in partnership with the Great Exhibition Road Festival, led by Imperial College London, the nine-day event will bring together artists, cultural institutions and audiences from India, the UK and beyond. Taking place across Exhibition Road and the surrounding South Kensington Cultural Quarter, the festival will feature visual arts, new media, dance, music and culinary arts.
A New Platform for India-UK Cultural Exchange
The festival will be organised by Serendipity Arts, the not-for-profit cultural organisation behind South Asia’s largest multidisciplinary arts festival in Goa. Its London edition will build on the organisation’s work supporting artistic practice, research, education and cross-cultural dialogue.
The festival will be presented alongside the Great Exhibition Road Festival and several prominent cultural institutions, including the Science Museum, V&A South Kensington, Natural History Museum, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Geographical Society, Royal College of Music, Royal College of Art and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.
The organisers describe Exhibition Road as a cultural laboratory where different disciplines, histories and communities can come together. The programme will connect South Asian artistic practices with the collections, expertise and institutional histories of its London partners, creating opportunities for conversations across art, science, music, film, design and education.
Six Women Curators to Shape the Programme
An intergenerational, all-women curatorial team will lead the festival’s programme across five disciplines. The six curators are expected to bring different perspectives to artistic expression, cultural exchange and contemporary creative practices.
The announced curators and their respective areas include:
- New Media: Veeranganakumari Solanki and Nancy Adajania, exploring connections between images, media art, cultural exchange and public life.
- Visual Arts: Latika Gupta, bringing Indian art and material cultures into dialogue with new contexts.
- Dance: Preethi Athreya, examining movement and the body through contemporary approaches to performance.
- Music: Sneha Khanwalkar, developing experimental compositions using local sounds, instruments and voices.
- Culinary Arts: Elizabeth Yorke, exploring the role of food in shaping a more sustainable future.
The programme will feature established and emerging artists, performers, musicians, filmmakers, designers, craftspeople and food practitioners from South Asia and its diaspora. London’s South Asian communities will be central to the festival, alongside audiences from across the city.
Building on Previous London Collaborations
The 2027 festival follows two public projects presented by Serendipity Arts in London in June 2026, in collaboration with the Science Museum and Great Exhibition Road Festival.
These included नैनन की ठगी / Eyes Shall Deceive, a project by composer Sneha Khanwalkar and artist Sudarshan Shetty combining 16mm film, live music, sound and visual storytelling. Another project, Giants on the Move, directed by Dadi Pudumjee and presented with the Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust, brought giant puppets, moving sculpture and live percussion to Exhibition Road.
The earlier collaborations provided an introduction to Serendipity Arts’ multidisciplinary approach in London. According to Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive of the Science Museum Group, the partnership will build on the museum’s earlier experience of bringing art and science together, creating further opportunities for South Asian creativity and cultural exchange.
UK Institutions to Participate in Goa Festival
The cultural exchange will also extend to India. UK institutions will contribute projects to the 11th edition of Serendipity Arts Festival in Panjim, Goa, scheduled for 13–20 December 2026.
The announced collaborations include:
- The Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.
- A moving-image and archive project developed with the Royal Geographical Society and British Film Institute (BFI).
- An artist residency project involving the Serendipity Arts Foundation and Royal College of Art.
The exchange will connect institutional collections and creative practices across the two countries. Royal Geographical Society Director Professor Joe Smith noted that the collaboration would use creative methods and cross-cultural perspectives to explore historical objects connected with the Indian subcontinent.
Serendipity Arts’ Growing International Presence
The London announcement follows a milestone period for the organisation. Its flagship festival in Panjim, Goa, celebrated its tenth anniversary in December 2025. Since its launch in 2016, the festival has welcomed more than one million visitors and participants from over 50 countries, supported more than 10,000 artists and generated over 5,000 project-based jobs across more than 50 sites in Panjim.
Beyond Goa, Serendipity Arts has developed international partnerships and projects, including collaborations with Birmingham City University, the National Pavilion of India at La Biennale di Venezia, Rencontres d’Arles, the Royal College of Art and the Centre national des arts plastiques in Paris.
Further details about participating artists, commissions and individual events for the London edition are expected to be announced in the coming months.
A Nine-Day Celebration Across South Kensington
| Event Name | Details |
| Artist / Curators | Veeranganakumari Solanki, Nancy Adajania, Latika Gupta, Preethi Athreya, Sneha Khanwalkar and Elizabeth Yorke |
| Venue | Exhibition Road and South Kensington Cultural Quarter |
| City | London, United Kingdom |
| Exhibition Dates | 19–27 June 2027 |
| Organiser | Serendipity Arts |
| Website / Registration | Official Festival Website |
Takeaway
The London edition represents an opportunity to bring South Asian creative practices into dialogue with international cultural institutions and new audiences. By connecting art, science, performance, design and food, the festival aims to create meaningful spaces for artistic exchange and public participation. Its wider India–UK collaboration also highlights the role of cultural partnerships in strengthening international understanding and expanding the visibility of South Asian creativity.
