Today, the collaborative relationship between philanthropy and international institution-building ensures a movement away from the dominant Global-North’ eurocentric lens in the global arts and culture ecosystem. This panel brings together Sangita Jindal (President, ART India & Chairperson of the JSW Foundation, India & Hampi Art Labs, India), Emiko Usui (Deputy Director & Chief Experience Officer, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, USA), Kamini Sawhney (Board Member, CIMAM-International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art & Independent Curator, India) and Manuel Rabaté (Director, Louvre Abu Dhabi, UAE) to speak with art historian Dr. Cleo Roberts-Komireddi about growing focus on South Asian, Middle Eastern and wider Asian artistic visibility.
Generously supported by JSW, the IAF 2025 Talks Series, Growing Focus, curated by independent researcher and curator Shaleen Wadhwana, examines the increasing prominence of South Asia within contemporary art, design and culture. The series highlights the efforts of People of the Global Majority — comprising more than 80 per cent of the world’s population, with roots in Indigenous, African, Asian and Latin American cultures — who are asserting their presence across arts and cultural ecosystems. Amid the ongoing decentering of dominant ‘Global North’ narratives, it frames this moment not merely as a response to decolonisation but as landmark, historic self-determination. We explore this impact for audiences today and every day.
Sangita Jindal :Sangita Jindal, Chairperson of the JSW Foundation, is a leading philanthropist transforming India’s social and cultural landscape. Under her leadership and strategic direction, JSW Foundation, the social development arm of the JSW Group has an established track record and a legacy of enabling holistic change across communities around India. She established one of the foremost publications on art for South Asia – ART India magazine. She founded Hampi Art Labs to nurture emerging and established Indian art talent and holds key global roles representing India and South Asia, including being the Chairperson of the Asia Society India Centre. Her efforts to preserve heritage for future generations led to extensive, award-winning restoration of monuments and buildings across the country.
Emiko Usui : Emiko Usui is the Deputy Director and Chief Experience Officer of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. She leads the reshaping and integration of all facets of how audiences interact with the museum, in person and online. She oversees exhibitions, collections, curatorial, conservation, education, publishing, design, digital, and marketing.
Kamini Sawhney : Kamini Sawhney is the founding Director of Bengaluru’s Museum of Art & Photography (MAP) and the first Indian Board member of CIMAM. With over 15 years in museum leadership, she launched MAP as a digital-first museum in 2020. Previously, she headed the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation and was NDTV’s Mumbai Bureau Chief. Cop
Manuel Rabaté : Manuel Rabaté has been Director of Louvre Abu Dhabi since 2016 and oversees all aspects of its operations and activity. The institution welcomed more than one million visitors in its first year, making it the 77th most visited museum worldwide in 2018. Rabaté was Deputy Director of Cultural Development (2005-2008) of musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac for its opening, managing the launch of the museum’s first touring exhibitions, notably Masques – Beauté des Esprits at the Bahrain National Museum. He was Deputy Director of the auditorium of musée du Louvre (2002-2006), where he participated in developing new programmes accompanying the creation of the Islamic Art department. He is a graduate of Sciences Po (1998) and HEC business school (2001), and a Knight of France’s National Order of Merit.
Dr. Cleo Roberts-Komireddi : Dr Cleo Roberts-Komireddi is an art historian, broadcaster, and commentator. She hosts the Art Worlds podcast and is currently writing a book on Indian Art, from prehistory to contemporary, for Yale University Press which has been awarded an Association for Art History grant.
