In Conversation with Sana Rezwan, the Driving Force Behind Jaipur Art Week on Building Cultural Infrastructure

Sana Rezwan occupies a distinctive position in India’s contemporary cultural landscape—working at the intersection of public space, institutional building, and emerging artistic practice. Founder of the Public Arts Trust of India (PATI) and the force behind Jaipur Art Week, Rezwan has been instrumental in reimagining how contemporary art is encountered in India. 

In this conversation with Robb Report India, she reflects on building cultural infrastructure, nurturing early-stage artists, and shaping platforms that privilege access, education and long-term impact over spectacle.

Robb Report (RR) : You’ve lived between London, New York, and Rajasthan. How have those global experiences shaped the way you think about art, culture, and public engagement in India?

Sana Rizwan (SR) : Moving between these geographies made me acutely aware of how context shapes cultural life. London and New York exposed me to the importance of public institutions, sustained critical discourse, and the often invisible infrastructure that allows artists to take risks over time. Rajasthan offered a counterpoint. Here, art is not siloed; it exists within daily life—embedded in labour, ritual, architecture, climate, and social exchange. Jaipur, in particular, carries a dense visual intelligence accumulated over centuries.

Through PATI and Jaipur Art Week, articulated through our manifesto Avato Bairo Baje—the storm that is about to come is making a sound—my attempt has been to hold these realities together. The “storm” we refer to is not abstract; it is the artists themselves. Emerging voices arriving into public view, bringing new ways of seeing, questioning, and making. Our role is to create the conditions for that arrival—where global contemporary practice can meet India’s deeply lived, public-facing cultural memory.

RR: Jaipur Art Week has grown into an international platform while remaining open and non-commercial. How do you protect its ethos as it scales?

SR: Ethos has to be embedded structurally. Jaipur Art Week is not a fair, and we are deliberate about keeping the programme non-commercial. The platform is anchored in a transparent open-call process, followed by a structured mentorship model that supports artists from selection through presentation. For the current edition, participating artists are mentored by established practitioners including Vibha Galhotra, Gigi Scaria, Thukral & Tagra, and Shuddhabrata Sengupta—creating a sustained space for critical dialogue, conceptual refinement, and the development of ambitious, site-responsive work.

Equally important is how we work within the city itself. By partnering closely with the Jaipur Development Authority and Nagar Nigam Jaipur, we are able to activate public, civic, and cultural spaces across Jaipur—parks, institutions, and heritage sites—in ways that make contemporary art accessible to audiences who may not typically enter gallery environments. Enhancing shared urban spaces through thoughtful programming allows art to be encountered as part of everyday life rather than as a specialised destination.

RR: Each edition of Jaipur Art Week responds to a larger social or cultural moment. How do you choose themes that feel both timely and lasting?

SR: We begin by listening. Conversations with artists, educators, and young practitioners help shape the questions we explore. Rather than following trends, we return to enduring concerns—human experience, ethical reflection, memory, ecology, and shared responsibility. Avato Bairo Baje emerged as a way of naming attentiveness to change and emergence.

This approach is reflected in ‘Andha Yug’, a site-specific group exhibition at Jaipur Art Week: Edition 5.0 (27 January – 3 February 2026), curated by Anita Dube and showcased at Jawahar Kala Kendra. Developed through an extended arc of research and exhibition thinking that originated with a project commissioned by Art Heritage, the exhibition does not seek to illustrate a single narrative. Instead, it draws inspiration from the conceptual and dramatic structure of ‘Andha Yug’ by Dharamvir Bharati, a landmark work in Indian literary and theatrical history.

RR: You’ve championed emerging South Asian artists through both PATI and your personal collection. What draws you to an artist at the very beginning of their journey?

SR: At early stages, I’m drawn to urgency rather than polish. Artists who feel compelled to make work because something remains unresolved—personally, socially, or formally. There is often openness and experimentation in early practices, along with a willingness to sit with uncertainty. That sense of inquiry is compelling.

RR: How do you see the role of private collectors evolving in shaping India’s contemporary art narrative globally?

SR: Private collectors today increasingly operate within broader public–private ecosystems rather than in isolation. Beyond acquisition, there is a growing opportunity to collaborate with public institutions and government bodies—particularly through public–private partnerships supported by the Ministry of Culture.

One such example is the India Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2026, where collaboration between the Ministry of Culture, institutional partners, and private patrons creates a platform for representing India’s contemporary artistic practices on a global stage. India’s international art narrative will be shaped not only by market visibility but by the strength and continuity of these collaborative cultural infrastructures.

RR: As someone deeply invested in philanthropy, how do you measure impact in cultural work?

SR: Cultural impact often unfolds gradually, but scale and access do matter. In the first edition of Jaipur Art Week, our reach was approximately 1,000 individuals. By the fourth edition last year, that number had grown to over 600,000 people across physical attendance, public programming, and digital engagement.

While we continue to track tangible markers—artists supported, workshops conducted, geographic reach—the most meaningful outcomes are often quieter: when artists feel encouraged to continue their practice, when audiences return year after year, and when new collaborations take root.

RR: Looking ahead, what kind of cultural legacy do you hope to build—beyond events or collections?

SR: I’m interested in building infrastructure rather than spectacle. A cultural ecosystem where contemporary art feels accessible and welcoming, where dialogue can flourish beyond metropolitan centres, and where artists feel supported over the long term. This thinking continues with Jodhpur Arts Week Edition 2, taking place 3–10 October 2026, curated by Ranjit Hoskote. If Jaipur and Jodhpur come to be recognised as active sites of contemporary cultural thought, and if artists who pass through these platforms go on to create their own, that would be a meaningful and lasting legacy.