Chennai, July 2026: From August 8–25, 2026, Chennai will become a thriving centre for contemporary art with the return of Contemporary Now · Edition III, which will bring together 66 artists, 7 prestigious galleries, more than 10 venues, and more than 15 activities throughout the city. One of the most ambitious collaborative art platforms in the nation, the third edition is anchored at the Lalit Kala Akademi and goes beyond the exhibition space with talks, artist walkthroughs, workshops, open houses, and special presentations.
Originally intended to serve as a forum for discussion, exploration, and exchange, it has now developed from a cooperative curatorial endeavour into a regular occasion that links artists, galleries, and viewers through mutual engagement with current artistic work. With two floors of the Lalit Kala Akademi and cultural venues all throughout Chennai, this year’s edition is the biggest to date.
The exhibition’s central theme, “Practices in Continuum: Tracing the Present,” explores contemporary art as an evolving process impacted by ongoing artistic investigation and curatorial dedication rather than as a collection of discrete pieces. The exhibition highlights the continuity of artistic practice while addressing pressing contemporary issues like memory, migration, ecology, materiality, politics, identity, language, and lived experience. It brings together participating galleries, including Ashvita’s, Chemould Prescott Road, Chatterjee & Lal, Experimenter, Project 88, TARQ, and Vadehra Art Gallery.
The curatorial remark that accompanies it challenges viewers to see artworks as more than isolated pieces. Rather, it places each piece in the larger context of an artist’s developing career and the gallery’s long-term curatorial goals. According to the exhibition, acquiring contemporary art also entails engaging with concepts and modes of thought that characterise the present.
Priyanjoli Basu, Director of Contemporary Now, characterises the exhibition as “not only an exhibition; it is a learning structure,” reflecting this vision and encouraging visitors to progress from the gallery program to the artist’s voice, from the artist’s voice to the artwork, and finally to the wider world it reflects.
In addition to the main exhibition, Contemporary Now Edition III offers a comprehensive citywide program to enhance public interaction with contemporary art. Highlights include C. Krishnaswamy’s sculptures in Continuiverse; the Chennai Photo Biennale Foundation and WWF-India’s limited-edition photographs and portfolios in Dialogue with Nature; George K.’s studio exhibition I Have a Dream; Gallery Veda’s Madras Abstraction; Apparao Galleries’ Masters in Madras; and K. Benitha Perciyal’s artist walkthrough.
A number of discussions examining the institutional and cultural context of contemporary art will also take place at the event. Sessions will include public and private patronage, South India’s place in modern creative debate, and the growing importance of photobooks as artistic and archive practices.
Anita Dube, Anju Dodiya, Atul Dodiya, Aziz Hazara, Dhruvi Acharya, Jitish Kallat, Mithu Sen, N.S. Harsha, Nikhil Chopra, Raqs Media Collective, Reena Saini Kallat, Shakuntala Kulkarni, Thukral, and Tagra are just a few of the 66 artists who represent a wide range of practices from throughout India and beyond.
Chennai is set to be a major destination for contemporary art this August, thanks to Contemporary Now Edition III, which expands its program to include exhibitions, talks, workshops, and artist-led interactions. The show encourages viewers to engage critically with the concepts, histories, and changing practices that continue to shape the present rather than merely survey contemporary artistic output.
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