In 2025, Aakriti Art Gallery marks twenty years of its ongoing commitment to fostering critical, curatorial, and collecting practices in Indian art. Since its inception in 2005, Aakriti has emerged as one of the most consistent platforms for exhibiting, supporting, and documenting modern and contemporary Indian artists. To commemorate this milestone, a year-long series of curated programs—spanning exhibitions, residencies, publications, and a unique collector engagement initiative—has been envisioned under the guiding theme: “20 Years of Collecting the Future.”

A key highlight of the anniversary celebrations is the Loyalty Gratitude Offer, a one-of-a-kind collector engagement initiative designed to express appreciation toward long-standing supporters of the gallery and welcome first-time collectors into its fold. The program includes two exclusive catalogues featuring historically significant and rare works by some of India’s leading modernists and contemporary artists. These include Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Bikash Bhattacharjee, and Lalu Prasad Shaw, among others. Works featured in this offering are specially priced and available only to confirmed members who have supported the gallery through acquisitions in the past or who make qualifying purchases before October 26, 2025, on www.aakritiartgallery.com. The sales period for these limited offerings runs from October 13 to October 30, 2025.

The gallery’s commitment to shaping future discourse in art is also evident in the inaugural Short-Term National Artist Residency Program, jointly hosted by Aakriti Art Gallery and the Bachhawat Foundation. Scheduled from October 31 to November 5, 2025, at the Bachhawat Foundation’s campus in Barasat, West Bengal, this residency provides a focused, immersive space for ten emerging artists selected through a competitive open call. These early-career practitioners will engage in collaborative dialogue and creation under the mentorship of senior artists and academicians, culminating in an Open House on November 5, 2025, where they will present their new works in an informal exhibition setting.

The curatorial calendar for 2025 begins with a major solo exhibition by Gurcharan Singh, titled “A World Made Visible”, curated by noted art critic and poet Prayag Shukla, from November 19 to December 6, 2025. The exhibition offers a poignant reflection on Singh’s five-decade career in figurative painting and his distinctive narrative style that draws from Indian miniature, mural, and folk traditions.

Accompanying these initiatives is a landmark scholarly publication: Shaping Bengal: A Chronicle of Modern Sculpture, authored by noted art historian Mrinal Ghosh. This publication charts the evolution of sculptural practices in Bengal across the 19th, 20th, and early 21st centuries, offering a comprehensive account of sculptors who have redefined the medium within and beyond Bengal.

As Aakriti enters its third decade, these initiatives reaffirm its founding ethos: to cultivate meaningful dialogues across artistic generations, provide platforms for emerging voices, and preserve the legacy of modern Indian art. The 2025 celebrations are not only a tribute to the past two decades but also a forward-looking gesture toward the art and artists of the future.