Kian Foundation’s forthcoming exhibition Shakti: The Art of Resilience is to be organized in New Delhi from 24–29 October 2025. This showcase, curated by the virtuoso art critic Johny ML (an Indian art curator and writer), highlights the resilience and strength of women in India’s defence community. Shakti bridges painting, sculpture, photography, and mixed-media works on the theme of fortitude and remembrance. The event is set to take place at the Living Tradition Centre (Bikaner House) in New Delhi, where visitors can reflect on the “unseen resilience” of army wives, daughters, and mothers through the medium of art.
Featured Artists
The exhibition displays works by leading contemporary artists, combining variegated styles and media to tell a shared story of resilience. Notable participants include Subodh Kerkar, a renowned Indian painter, sculptor, and installation artist (founder of the Museum of Goa). Sudharak Olwe, an Award-winning social-documentary photographer (Padma Shri awardee) known for intimate portraits of marginalized communities. The lineup also includes Vijender Sharma, Nilesh Vede, Niranjan Jonnalagadda, Prakash Bal Joshi, Milind Mulick, (the late) Pratap Mulick, Shampa Sircar Das, Vipta Kapadia, Meera George, Vivek Nimbolkar, Ajit Deswandikar, Nilisha Phad, Ketaki Pimpalkhare, Dinkar Jadhav, Shrikant Kadam, Satyajeet Varekar, Rashmi Khurana, and Sukesan Kanka.
Each artist lays a distinct visual language (painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media) that evokes empathy and a colloquy of thoughts pinned by imagination. In this way, Shakti transforms art “not as spectacle but as a catalyst for change,” using creative expression to honour bravery and vulnerability, crossing straight to the amygdala.
The Artworks
| Artist | Featured Work / Medium |
|---|---|
| Subodh Kerkar | Fatima – Coconut husk and acrylic on plywood (4ft × 6ft) |
| Sudharak Olwe | Photographic series capturing resilience and dignity among the marginalised |
| Vijender Sharma | Figurative paintings exploring feminine endurance |
| Nilesh Vede | Mixed media installations on social transitions |
| Niranjan Jonnalagadda | Sculptural narratives of inner strength |
| Prakash Bal Joshi | Abstract watercolour compositions evoking emotion and movement |
| Milind Mulick | Landscape-inspired watercolours blending realism and introspection |
| Shampa Sircar Das | Feminine forms reflecting devotion, power, and identity |
| Vipta Kapadia | Experimental works in texture and geometry symbolising balance |
| Meera George | Contemporary paintings portraying emotion and resilience |
Partnership and Social Impact
A key mentionworthy highlight of Shakti is the partnership forged with the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA). AWWA is an official non-profit organisation of the Indian Army, and is dedicated to the welfare of on-duty soldiers’ families. It provides ex gratia grants to families of deceased soldiers and scholarships to children of widows. Through a watershed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), KIAN Foundation will direct the net proceeds (after costs and artist compensation) for the benefit of War widows and families of martyrs, helping them attenuate the hardships faced by India’s bereaved families. (As of end-2024, there are about 740,766 registered widows of ex-servicemen in India. Also, women married to disabled or amputee veterans, whose sacrifices often go unacknowledged, are taken into the ambit; dependents from defence families seeking education and professional advancement will also be acknowledged.
Therefore, the aim is to channel Shakti art sales into concrete support. By collaborating with AWWA, which runs vocational training, psycho-social support groups, and educational schemes for widows, the exhibition turns public wonderment into pragmatic assistance. This is a remarkable specimen of art-driven philanthropy that seeks to empower marginal communities. Hitherto, initiatives (like an exhibition on Radha) have similarly donated revenue to war widows. KIAN Foundation’s co-directors, Siddharth and Aarti Naik, emphasize that Shakti “builds long-term support” by connecting policy, philanthropy, and creativity around this cause.
Visiting Information
Shakti runs 24–29 October 2025 (11 AM–7 PM) at Bikaner House, New Delhi. Admission details (RSVP, tickets) will be available via the KIAN Foundation closer to the dates. The public is encouraged to attend, to view the powerful artworks, and to support women of the armed forces community.
Exhibition Highlights
- Showcases over 20 leading Indian contemporary artists.
- Focuses on women connected to India’s Defence Services, their courage, faith, and unseen resilience.
- Curated by Johny ML, a respected art historian and critic.
- Presented by Aarti and Siddhartha Naik of the Kian Foundation.
- Marks a historic MOU with the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA).
- Proceeds to support war widows, defence families, and women with disabled veterans.
- The exhibition merges artistic expression with social impact, symbolising Shakti — divine feminine power and strength.
Shakti is the kind of exhibition that reiterates that art is much more potent than just being a mirror of society. Art can be a meaningful catalyst that can create a healing drive, reform fractured notions, and nudge us towards empathy. By putting the lived experiences of women tied to the defense ecosystem as the foci of this exhibition, a highly sensitized narrative is constructed, which is paired with able curation with a tangible MOU-backed commitment. The noble step taken by the Kian Foundation seeks to transform sympathy into action; it aims to create art with a purpose. It is a remarkable instance that adequately points towards the fact that curation with conscience, and exhibition with intent, can be a driving force of social change.
