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, one of the world’s top museums dedicated to the arts of Asia and the Asian diaspora. She leads the reshaping and integration of all facets of how audiences interact with the museum, including exhibitions, collections, curatorial, conservation, education, publishing, design, digital, and marketing. She was previously Chief Content Officer and Publisher for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
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.
Manuel Rabaté: Manuel Rabaté has served as Director of Louvre Abu Dhabi since 2016, overseeing all aspects of its operations and development. Since the museum’s opening in 2017, Louvre Abu Dhabi has welcomed over 6 million visitors, including a record 1.4 million in 2024, and has produced more than 25 groundbreaking exhibitions. Rabaté began his career at the Musée du Louvre in Paris in 2002 as Deputy Director of the Auditorium, where he was involved in cultural programming and public engagement. He later contributed to the launch of Musée du quai Branly–Jacques Chirac as Deputy Director of Cultural Development (2005-2008), managing the museum’s inaugural touring exhibitions. In 2008, he joined Agence France-Muséums shortly after the landmark 2007 intergovernmental agreement between France and Abu Dhabi. During his tenure there, he served as CFO, Secretary General, and eventually CEO (2008-2016), playing a pivotal role in shaping the foundation of Louvre Abu Dhabi, first in Paris and, from 2014, in Abu Dhabi.
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.
