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Sana Rezwan is Executive Director of Prestige Group, India's leading real estate and property development company. She is also the founder of Art Lab Studio, an art marketing firm specializing in strategy and partnerships. She serves on the Advisory Arts Board of the Harvard University South Asian Institute, the board of directors of Art Production Fund and Healing Arts, and was a Patron of Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Championing and showcasing South Asian artists is my life's mission. You may have read in Artnet News previously about my focus on collecting South Asian women artists while I was living in New York. Nearly 20 years later, I've returned to India, where I grew up, and I don't see much change in the art scene. From educating children about art to collecting art from this region, I feel there is a lot to be done to revitalize the ecosystem.
In 2022, I founded the Public Arts Trust of India (PATI), which will host a range of initiatives from artist residencies and arts education to curation and professional exchanges.
Our main initiative is based in the Indian state of Rajasthan, between Jaipur and Jodhpur. Earlier this year, we organized the 3rd Jaipur Art Week, an open call-out platform for emerging and under-recognized artists. This initiative offers a fresh perspective on contemporary art in India today.
Another initiative we are launching is Jodhpur Art Week, which will kick off with a special project edition running from October 15-21 ahead of its launch in September 2025. The event will focus on celebrating art, crafts, jewellery and design from the region and around the world.
Shiloh Shiv Sulaiman's “SHANKAR” was exhibited at Hawa Mahal as part of Jaipur Art Week Edition 3.0 in January 2024. Image courtesy Public Arts Trust of India.
We also have an arts education program for children in public schools, with the goal of creating a space for them to think more creatively and express themselves, something that is lacking, especially among the next generation.
Life in India and many other Asian countries is not like life in Europe or America, where you are in charge of your own life and decisions. Here, parents micromanage every aspect of you and the pressure that comes with it is insane. Initiatives that democratize arts and culture, bring families together through art and create experiences that parents and children can have together, will help to bring about change.
During my time in New York, where I was a patron of organizations like the Harvard University Council on the Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Art Production Fund, I realized there was still a lot of room for greater visibility of South Asian art. There is still some hesitation when it comes to collecting South Asian art. There is a secret checklist that art advisors use when recommending art or deciding what to buy, and somehow, South Asian art is at the bottom of that list.
I think things are slowly changing. I have encouraged collectors to travel to India. Last year I organized a trip that took around 15 collectors from the West to the India Art Fair. And now they have started collecting art from the Global South and some are even returning to collect more. We need interventions like this to increase exposure. We also need galleries around the world representing artists from this region. That will make a big difference in increasing visibility.
—Narrated by Vivian Chow
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