This talk spotlights how the rising prominence 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, impacts the changing arts and culture ecosystem. Dr. Simon Njami (Independent Curator, Lecturer, Art Critic & Novelist, Switzerland/Cameroon), Sharmini Pereira (Chief Curator, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka), Dr. David Teh (Co-Artistic Director, Thailand Biennale, 2025), Sangeeta Thapa (Founder & Chairperson, Kathmandu Triennale), Nancy Adajania (Independent Curator, Cultural Theorist & Art Critic, India), address what are the best ways of attempting inclusivity of multiple narratives in cultural institution building. Parmesh Shahani (Head, Godrej DEI Lab & Independent Author, India) moderates this conversation.
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.
Dr. Simon Njami: Simon Njami, an independent curator, lecturer, and art critic, curated the 12th Dak’Art Biennale (2016) and served as a visual-arts consultant for Cultures France, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ cultural branch. Njami has curated numerous exhibitions of African art and photography, including Die Andere Reise/The Other Journey: Africa and the Diaspora, Kunsthalle Krems, Vienna (1996), Les Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie, Bamako Photography Biennial, Mali (2001 and 2009), Njami is also co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Paris based cultural magazine Revue Noire, and has contributed essays to the catalogue for the Sydney Biennial and other exhibitions.
Sharmini Pereira: Sharmini Pereira is Chief Curator of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka. She is the founder and Director of Raking Leaves and co-founder of the Sri Lanka Archive of Contemporary Art, Architecture and Design. She was born in 1970 and currently lives and works in Sri Lanka.
Dr. David Teh: Dr. David Teh, Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore, specializes in Southeast Asian contemporary art as a writer, curator, and researcher. Formerly based in Bangkok (2005–2009), he has curated projects internationally and contributed to Third Text, Afterall, Art Asia Pacific, and more. His book on Thai contemporary art was published by MIT Press in 2017. He is named the co-Artistic Director of the 2025 Thailand Biennale. He is part of the KADIST Asia Advisory Committee.
Sangeeta Thapa: Sangeeta Thapa founded Siddhartha Art Gallery in 1987 with eminent artist Shashikala Tiwari. In 2009, she launched Nepal’s premier art event The Kathmandu International Arts Festival (KIAF) as a tri-annual event. She has co-curated international exhibitions, authored books and essays on Nepali art, and served as co-commissioner of the Nepal Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Thapa’s contributions to the arts earned her Nepal’s prestigious Kala Sumbardhak and Kala Prabhandak awards in 2023. In 2023 Thapa appointed Sujan Chitrakar and Prof. Natalie King from Australia as Artistic Directors of the Kathmandu Triennale 2026.
Nancy Adajania: Nancy Adajania is a cultural theorist and curator. She was Joint Artistic Director of the 9th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea (2012). She has curated a number of exhibitions including, most recently, ‘One Hundred Years and Counting: Rescripting KG Subramanyan’ (Emami Art & Seagull, 2024) and ‘Woman Is As Woman Does’ (CSMVS Museum with JNAF, 2022).
Parmesh Shahani: Parmesh Shahani (he/him) is an award-winning author, curator, and LGBTQ inclusion activist, leading the Godrej DEI Lab. He authored Gay Bombay (2008) and Queeristan (2020), pivotal texts on LGBTQIA acceptance in India. An MIT graduate, he is a TED Senior Fellow, Aspen Fellow, Yale World Fellow, and serves on the boards of KHOJ and Breakthrough.
