Jaffer believes the idea of home resonates with particular urgency today, in a world marked by fractured identities, constant movement, and digital omnipresence. The pandemic, he noted, transformed how people live and work, while technology has made it possible to sustain relationships across continents in ways unimaginable even a decade ago. Against this backdrop, the pavilion explores what it means to belong in an ever-evolving world. The featured artists come from vastly different regions of India, reflecting the country’s extraordinary cultural and geographic diversity. “India is more of a civilization than a single culture,” he remarked.
The selection process “began intuitively” with artist Sumakshi Singh, whose family home in New Delhi was demolished to make way for a larger building. In response, she recreated the house in grand scale, through thread and hand embroidery; a decision inspired by her grandmother’s passion for needle craft. From there, the pavilion expanded outward: Alwar Balasubramaniam explored fractured and traumatized soil in Tamil Nadu; Ranjani Shettar suspended delicate floral forms that evoke weightless gardens; Asim Waqif worked with bamboo scaffolding as a metaphor for rebuilding and imagining future homes; and young Ladakhi artist Skarma Sonam Tashi reflected on how new construction methods are transforming indigenous Himalayan architecture and community life. Despite their distinct visual languages, the works share a strong sense of harmony, as well as enchantment and whimsy.
The pavilion opening was celebrated with a lavish Indian soirée at the magnificent Scuola Grande della Misericordia—one of those Venetian landmarks where grandeur is accumulated over centuries. Beneath soaring ceilings and frescoes, guests drifted through an evening of cocktails and live music by candle light: it was Indian hospitality at its most magical. Venetian opulence and an Indian flair for rich decoration met to form a dialogue between two cultures that understand embellishment not as ornament, but as structure. It is a language few navigate with the same fluency as Isha Ambani, who hosted the reception, attended also by her mother, Nita Ambani.
Fresh from New York, where she made her Met Gala red carpet debut in a gold-thread-woven sari by Gaurav Gupta—its bodice set with over two hundred old-mine cut diamonds from the Ambani family collection—this time around, she greeted guests clad in a draped and bejeweled deep-red Chanel Haute Couture gown from Spring Summer 1989, before later changing into a glamorous Schiaparelli Couture creation for the after-party.
A conversation between past and present couture histories, the well-curated choreography of wardrobes hinted at Ambani’s role in shaping the vision behind the India Pavilion. Working closely with Jaffer, she helped bridge the commitment to cultural preservation with a contemporary perspective on Indian craftsmanship. “These artists express the importance of remaining conscious of the past, not through nostalgia, but as a testament to our shared heritage,” Ambani noted.
For her, the idea of home is inseparable from culture itself. “Home to me has always been important,” she explained. “Craft is alive, vibrant, and perhaps more important than ever in today’s increasingly digital and technological world.” That dedication extends into her work with the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, founded by her mother Nita Ambani. “Our mission is simple: to bring the best of India to the world and the best of the world to India,” she said. “Arts, crafts, and culture are essential in uniting people through a shared medium that transcends language.” Presented on one of the world’s largest contemporary art platforms, the pavilion becomes, in her words, both statement and responsibility. “I am very proud that we could present the work of these remarkable Indian artists here,” she said. “It is important to emphasize that the rapid evolution of our world, and especially the extraordinary development of our country, does not mean erasing the past, or the traditions that bring us together, or our sense of community and belonging.”
