DAG

DAG has done seminal work in gaining recognition for India’s modern masters whose legacies had been lost to time and apathy in the absence of sufficient viewers, collectors, promoters, curators or scholars.

The gallery’s focus has always been research-led. It has documented the works of the finest twentieth-century artists, lifting them out of recent oblivion to get them their due appreciation while aligning them with various art movements across the country. Ranging all the way from pre-modern art to modern art practices and tracking the changes in response to constant innovation and experimentation, DAG’s long-term perspective has been at the forefront of most of its activities. This includes its historical curatorial exercises, its publishing and filmmaking programs, its art appreciation workshops and education initiatives, interfaces with the financial and corporate sectors by way of talks and curated walks, relationship building with institutions and museums around the world, participation in international art fairs, or creating tactile aids for the specially-abled. DAG’s galleries in New Delhi, Mumbai, and New York are at the forefront of this movement and have provided a destination for those wanting to discover the enduring pull of Indian modern art.

More recently, DAG has been successful in foraying into institution-building with the launch of its museum program. Currently, it has launched, in association with Archaeological Survey of India, the country’s first public-private museum initiative at the Red Fort. Called Drishyakala, this art museum sees average footfalls of 3,000-5,000 daily. In Varanasi, another museum depicting the city’s visual history, Eternal Banaras, is on display. More museum projects are on the anvil.