Amrita Shergil, Bride’s Toilet

We are pleased to announce that Indian artist and writer Arjun Shivaji Jain will visit Rijeka as part of his travels through Croatia, where he will be hosted with the support of the Kamov Residency Programme. On Thursday, 16 April at 8 PM, he will give a talk titled The State of Contemporary Fine Art in India in the large hall of Filodrammatica (Korzo 28/1, Rijeka). In this lecture, he will address the context of contemporary art in a country where tradition, modernism, and digital culture often coexist rather than replace one another.

The programme will be held in English and admission is free.

Red House, an independent cultural centre in New Delhi, founded by Jain

Indian art has frequently carried elements of the past into the present, with earlier modes of perception and production remaining active and relevant. Beginning with the realism introduced during the colonial period and moving towards current experimental practices, the talk will outline key developments across important centres such as Santiniketan, Baroda, and Bombay. It will also address a range of influences—regional, spiritual, and political—that inform artistic production and interpretation in India.

Situated within a broader global context, the discussion will also consider possible connections with Croatia, another cultural space shaped by layered histories and evolving identities. Rather than offering a comprehensive survey, the session invites reflection on what it means to be “contemporary” today, understood not necessarily as a break from tradition but as an ongoing engagement with it.

Arjun Shivaji Jain (→ https://arjunjain.in/) is an Indian artist, writer, and founder of Red House, an independent cultural centre in New Delhi. Since 2022, Red House has hosted over 100 public programmes — from talks and exhibitions to workshops and travel tours — building a community of more than 13,000 people. He originally trained in nuclear physics at IIT Roorkee before moving into the arts, later studying Art & Science at Central Saint Martins in London. His work today focuses on craftsmanship, cultural life, and the role of beauty and responsibility in public space. Jain has delivered invited talks at institutions in the United Kingdom and India, and has exhibited his work in Delhi and London. Alongside his cultural work, he builds with his hands. He designed and constructed much of Red House using brick, lime, and wood, trained in earth and bamboo building in Auroville, and worked as a lumberman at Leo Tolstoy’s estate museum in Yasnaya Polyana, Russia. His visit to Croatia in 2026 continues his interest in building connections between India and the Mediterranean through shared traditions of craft, hospitality, and cultural exchange.