Kalakaar Art Salon will present Performing Belief, a group exhibition curated by Rahul Kumar, from 13 August to 30 September 2026 at its gallery in Defence Colony, New Delhi. Bringing together works by 22 artists spanning modern, folk, tribal and contemporary practices, the exhibition explores ritual not only as a religious act but also as a cultural framework expressed through memory, repetition, labour, devotion and material practice. The exhibition marks the first presentation under the salon’s renewed curatorial direction and reflects its commitment to research-led exhibitions that connect historical and contemporary artistic practices.
Ritual as an Evolving Cultural Practice
Rather than presenting ritual through familiar religious imagery, Performing Belief examines how repeated gestures, inherited traditions and everyday practices shape individual and collective identities. The exhibition proposes that ritual is constantly reinterpreted across generations, responding to changing social, political and ecological realities. According to the curatorial framework, artistic practice itself can be understood as ritual, where repeated engagement with materials, symbols and processes becomes a way of negotiating memory and cultural continuity.
Bringing Together Generations of Indian Artists
The exhibition features works by some of India’s most significant modern masters alongside established and emerging contemporary practitioners. Artists including S. H. Raza, F. N. Souza, M. F. Husain, Sohan Qadri, G. R. Santosh, Jamini Roy and Haku Shah are presented in dialogue with contemporary voices whose practices examine migration, ecology, gender, urbanisation and lived experience.
Among the participating artists are:
| S. H. Raza | F. N. Souza |
| M. F. Husain | Sohan Qadri |
| G. R. Santosh | Jamini Roy |
| Haku Shah | Shanti Dave |
| Bhuri Bai | Lado Bai |
| Jivya Soma Mashe | Manu Parekh |
| Madhvi Parekh | Thota Vaikuntam |
| Shobha Broota | Manisha Gera |
| Yudhishthir | Sheetal Gatani |
| Satyanarayana Gavara | Savia Lopez |
| Himmat Gyari | Dibin Thilakan |
Together, these artists demonstrate how inherited visual traditions continue to evolve through contemporary artistic practices.
Modernism Meets Contemporary Practice
The exhibition traces how Indian modernists sought a distinctly Indian visual language by engaging with mythology, tantric philosophy, folk traditions and collective memory. Rather than treating tradition as fixed, these artists transformed inherited forms into new artistic vocabularies that reflected a rapidly changing nation.
Contemporary practitioners extend these conversations by examining ritual through present-day concerns including environmental change, migration, identity and embodied experience. Working across painting, photography, installation and interdisciplinary practices, they reconsider inherited cultural forms while questioning their continued relevance in an increasingly globalised world.
Material, Memory and Making
A central theme of Performing Belief is the relationship between material and memory. The exhibition highlights how materials such as pigment, cloth, paper, earth, thread and wood carry cultural histories through repeated acts of making. Rather than separating artistic production from everyday life, the exhibition suggests that creative practice shares common ground with domestic labour, craft traditions, agricultural cycles and devotional rituals.
Highlights of the exhibition include:
- Modern, folk, tribal and contemporary artworks presented together
- Research-led curatorial framework exploring ritual as cultural practice
- Dialogues between historical and contemporary artistic traditions
- Works addressing ecology, migration, memory and identity
- A multidisciplinary presentation spanning painting and contemporary media
A New Curatorial Direction for Kalakaar Art Salon
Performing Belief also marks an important milestone for Kalakaar Art Salon. The exhibition inaugurates the gallery’s renewed curatorial programme, which aims to foster meaningful dialogue between India’s artistic past and present through carefully researched exhibitions. Curated by Rahul Kumar, the project positions the salon as a space where historical narratives and contemporary artistic practices can be examined together rather than as separate histories.
Visitor Information
| Event | Details |
|---|---|
| Event Name | Performing Belief |
| Curator | Rahul Kumar |
| Venue | Kalakaar Art Salon, D-64, Second Floor, Defence Colony |
| City | New Delhi (Google Map) |
| Opening Date | 13 August 2026 |
| Exhibition Dates | 13 August – 30 September 2026 |
| Timings | Monday – Saturday | 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM |
| Organiser | Kalakaar Art Salon |
| Entry | Not specified |
| Website | www.kalakaarart.in |
The exhibition will be open from 13 August to 30 September 2026 at Kalakaar Art Salon, D-64, Second Floor, Defence Colony, New Delhi, from Monday to Saturday, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Takeaway
By bringing together artists from different generations and artistic traditions, Performing Belief offers visitors an opportunity to reconsider ritual as a living cultural process rather than a fixed tradition. Through its exploration of memory, materiality and artistic practice, the exhibition encourages broader conversations about cultural continuity, identity and the ways art continues to reinterpret inherited knowledge within contemporary society.
