The historic City Palace in Jaipur will open its doors to a pioneering art exhibition next week, marking a significant moment in contemporary Indian art presentation. “Non-Residency,” opening August 9 at the Jaipur Centre for Art (JCA), represents the first exhibition at the palace to be curated by a single gallery and explores the aesthetic landscape of the Indian diaspora.
The exhibition is curated by Rajiv Menon, founder of Los Angeles-based Rajiv Menon Contemporary, marking his first professional project in India. This collaboration between JCA and the American gallery examines how cultural displacement creates new forms of artistic expression rather than simply diluting traditional practices.
Fourteen contemporary artists will showcase works across painting, sculpture, and textiles, including Aman Aheer, Keerat Kaur, Kelly Sinappah Mary, Maya Seas, Maya Varadaraj, Melissa Joseph, Rajni Perera, Ricky Vasan, Sahana Ramakrishnan, Shyama Golden, and Suchitra Mattai. Two additional artists, Anoushka Mirchandani and Nibha Akireddy, will participate as artists-in-residence, creating new works inspired by Jaipur’s history and culture.
The Jaipur Centre for Art was established in 2024 by HH Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur and Noelle Kadar. Previous exhibitions at the center have been curated by prominent artists including Anish Kapoor, Sean Scully, Shilpa Gupta, and Jitish Kallat.
“At Jaipur Centre for Art, it is our mission to create a global culture around Indian contemporary art,” said co-founder Noelle Kadar. “We are linking the art of India’s past to its future, to demonstrate to the world the excellent work that is being made by Indian artists today.”
The exhibition’s central thesis challenges conventional perspectives on diasporic culture, which is often viewed in the homeland as diluted or derivative. Instead, “Non-Residency” positions the diaspora as a space of aesthetic innovation, where artists draw from experiences of immigration, exile, and cultural displacement to create new artistic languages.
Rajiv Menon, who recently opened a permanent gallery space in Hollywood, emphasized the exhibition’s role in establishing diasporic art’s significance. “This collaboration is an opportunity to create an international dialogue around Indian contemporary art that isn’t tangled in the logistics of authenticity, but rather meditates on evolution and fluidity,” he stated.
HH Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh noted that the exhibition furthers Jaipur’s position as a destination for cultural exchange. “Through Non-Residency and this collaboration with Rajiv Menon Contemporary, we are further opening Jaipur to the world, and nurturing a spirit of creative collaboration and cross-cultural exchange,” he said.
The exhibition will run through September 8, 2025, at the Jaipur Centre for Art within the City Palace complex. This presentation represents part of a broader initiative to transform historic spaces into platforms for contemporary artistic dialogue while maintaining their cultural significance.
For Rajiv Menon Contemporary, this marks a significant expansion of its program beyond its Los Angeles base. The gallery focuses specifically on South Asian and diasporic perspectives in contemporary art.
Exhibition Details
Non-Residency
Duration: August 9 – September 8, 2025
Location: Jaipur Centre for Art, City Palace, Jaipur
Curator: Rajiv Menon, founder of Rajiv Menon Contemporary
Cover Image: Suchitra Mattai, Set Free, 2024. Courtesy the artist.
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