Kolkata Art Exhibitions
Cradle of Modern Indian Art & Bengal School
The historic birthplace of Abanindranath Tagore's Bengal School and home to CIMA Gallery, Emami Art at Kolkata Centre for Creativity, Experimenter, and Birla Academy, Kolkata remains an intellectual powerhouse of painting, printmaking, and sculpture.
Current & Upcoming Presentations
Direct from leading Kolkata galleries and museum spaces
Ongoing
Art in Life 2026
Artists: Curated Master Artisans, Sonam Dubal, Rimi Nayak, Sunita Shanker, Silvern, ESEDS
CIMA signature annual festival exhibition brings living craft heritage and indigenous textiles into dialogue with contemporary design. The exhibition features a curated range of handlooms, folk jewelry, Bidri craft, and bronze artifacts from across rural India, reframing utilitarian and ornamental traditions within a modern fine art gallery.
Upcoming
Under the Moon Across Many Waters
Artists: Arpita Akhanda
A solo exhibition drawing on more than a decade of research-led practice surrounding Partition trauma, migration, and memory. Utilizing paper-weaving, performance, and video, Akhanda reconstructs mnemonic landscapes of border displacement, with curatorial writing by Natasha Ginwala.
Upcoming
Insubordinate Matter (IMAGINARIUM 6.0 Awards & Exhibition)
Artists: Bhagyashri Dange, Sonu Pujar, Subhash Deka, Ten Selected Open-Call Artists
The sixth iteration of Emami Art national emerging artist platform presents works that approach tactile materiality as an active, living socio-political witness. Featuring clay, cast glass, reclaimed rubber, and natural dyes, the works examine fragile ecosystems, labor structures, and marginalized identities.
Ongoing
Anwar Chitrakar: In the Language of the Pata
Artists: Anwar Chitrakar
A solo exhibition showcasing contemporary Patua master Anwar Chitrakar vibrant evolution of 19th-century Kalighat painting idioms. Chitrakar deploys bold fluid lines and mineral colors to critique modern social concerns, consumerism, and human relationships alongside classic mythic lore.
Ongoing
GURU – Uttam Kumar at 100: The Making of Bengal Eternal Star
Artists: Curated by Trinankur Banerjee
Commemorating the centenary of iconic actor Uttam Kumar, this exhibition surveys his transformation into Bengal Mahanayak. The display unites rare restored photographic archives, original cinema posters, lobby cards, and film memorabilia across a chronological timeline.
Upcoming
My Gaze (AMI Arts Festival 2026)
Artists: Aparna Sen
The debut public exhibition of personal photographs by veteran filmmaker and actress Aparna Sen. Exploring fleeting interactions of ambient light and unscripted daily moments, the exhibition provides an intimate view of her visual sensibilities outside cinema.
Ongoing
Raihan – Ghatak – Tarkovsky
Artists: Naeem Mohaiemen
Featuring the Kolkata premiere of Mohaiemen film A Missing Can of Film (2025), the exhibition explores the disappearance of Bangladeshi director Zahir Raihan after the 1971 war. The work places Raihan in dialogue with Ritwik Ghatak and Andrei Tarkovsky to examine cinematic memory and Cold War modernism.
Ongoing
Lone Runner Laboratory
Artists: Prabhakar Pachpute
Set within the historical Alipore Jail complex, this solo installation pivots toward the psychological interior of manual laborers and activists. Blending Orwellian and Kafkaesque allegories, Pachpute hybrid sculptures and charcoal works examine bodily endurance and institutional pressure.
Ongoing
Shadows of Heritage
Artists: Traditional Karnataka Puppeteers (Killekyata Community), Curated by Vijayashree CS
A collaborative exhibition with Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath and Seagull presenting Karnataka ancient Togalu Bombeyaata shadow puppetry. Intricately carved leather figures made from animal hide depict epic scenes from the Ramayana alongside secular folklore on illuminated screens.
Upcoming
I Had a Dream...
Artists: Kiran Dixit Thacker
A comprehensive retrospective of 79-year-old sculptor and painter Kiran Dixit Thacker, the only living female student of pioneer modernist Ramkinkar Baij. The exhibition presents over 180 sculptures in bronze, clay, and stone alongside paintings reflecting her journey from Santiniketan to England and back.