A major Franco-Indian collaboration was announced during the opening days of the 61st Venice Biennale to celebrate the inauguration of THE BRIJ, a new cultural centre in New Delhi dedicated to sustainability, interdisciplinary creation, and public engagement. Marking this opening, an ambitious exhibition will open a dialogue between leading voices from the French and Indian contemporary art scenes.

This landmark exhibition is the result of a close collaboration between the Centre National des Arts Plastiques (CNAP), Serendipity Arts, and the Embassy of France in India, building on a long-standing partnership, notably developed through the Serendipity Arts Festival.

Co-curated by a Franco-Indian scientific committee led by Pascal Beausse and Vidya Shivadas, the exhibition will bring together around fifty artists, and will draw on the prestigious public collection of the CNAP, which comprises more than 108,000 works acquired over two centuries, the exhibition will present historical works alongside newly commissioned pieces by India-based artists. 

Together, these works will create a dynamic dialogue between heritage and contemporary creation, activating historical and contemporary narratives across collections, practices, and geographies.



Meet the Curators

Pascal Beausse

Pascal Beausse is the Head of Photography Collections at the Centre national des arts plastiques, Paris. Recent exhibitions he has curated include “The Family of the Invisibles” (Seoul Museum of Art, 2016), “Y he aquí la luz” (Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia, Bogotá, 2017), “Hiroshima Art Document” (Hiroshima, 2019). In 2022, he curated “Regards du Grand Paris”, the national photography commission exhibition at the Magasins Généraux in Pantin, with Anna Labouze, Keimis Henni and Clément Postec. Along with Quentin Bajac, he also curated the the “Image 3.0” exhibition at Le Cellier in Reims. In December 2022, Pascal collaborated with Rahaab Allana to curate “Terra Nullius/Nobody’s Land: Excavations from Image 3.0” at Serendipity Arts Festival.

Vidya Shivadas

Vidya Shivadas is a curator based in New Delhi. She is the Director of the Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art, a non-profit arts organisation that works in the field of art education and aims to broaden the audience for contemporary Indian art, enhance opportunities for artists, and establish a continuous dialogue between the arts and the public through education and active participation in public art projects.

Shivadas has curated a number of exhibitions at the Vadehra Art Gallery since 2005 as well as guest curated exhibitions at Devi Art Foundation, Serendipity Arts Festival, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and Edinburgh Art Festival. Shivadas has also been Visiting Faculty at School of Culture and Creative Expressions, Ambedkar University Delhi between 2013 and 2024.

Building Capacity and Creating Opportunities

Beyond the exhibition itself, the project places strong emphasis on training and knowledge-sharing.

Designed as a learning platform for future cultural professionals at THE BRIJ, the programme will focus particularly on collection management, drawing on CNAP’s expertise and the recent opening of its reserve facility in Pantin, France.

As part of this initiative:

  • 25 Indian artists will participate in an exchange and residency programme.
  • Participants will engage directly with French public collections.
  • Artists will benefit from professional mentoring.
  • New works will be created in dialogue with archival materials and artworks.

This initiative aims to strengthen the international visibility of Indian artists, build enduring professional networks, and foster long-term collaboration between the French and Indian contemporary art scenes.

Supporting THE BRIJ’s Long-Term Vision

As part of THE BRIJ’s long-term legacy, developed by Serendipity Arts, the Embassy of France in India is also supporting several flagship initiatives designed to strengthen cultural exchange and professional development.

THE BRIJ Cultural Leaders Fellowship: A programme dedicated to training and mentoring emerging cultural professionals.

THE BRIJ Incubator Creative Enterprise Lab: An initiative supporting the next generation of creative entrepreneurs working across design and craft practices.

Ambassador’s Message

H.E. Thierry Mathou, Ambassador of France to India, Highlights: 

“Institutions such as Serendipity Arts play an essential role within India’s cultural ecosystem. They act as genuine bridges between our cultures, while embodying the values of artistic creation that are central to France’s cultural policy. By supporting such initiatives through significant public investment, we aim to contribute meaningfully to the structuring of India’s cultural scene, from ambitious programming to training and capacity-building in cultural entrepreneurship, thereby fostering a new generation of cultural passeurs between our two countries.”

THE BRIJ Inaugural Exhibition benefits from exceptional support from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs through the Fonds Équipe France (FEF).