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An artistic experience by Kalakaar

Step into this art salon in New Delhi that's reshaping how we see art

16 Oct 2025

In a cultural landscape dominated by white-cube galleries and marketplace-driven exhibitions, Kalakaar emerges as India’s first true art salon, a space where art is lived, not merely displayed. Conceived by collectors Saira and Shivin Khanna, Kalakaar revives the centuries-old salon tradition and adapts it to the Indian context, creating an environment of intimacy, dialogue and layered storytelling.

Kalakaar is guided by the philosophy of “art as experience.” Here, collectors encounter works in a lived-in setting, amidst Persian carpets, design objects, and books, encouraging slower looking, deeper conversations, and more meaningful relationships with art. Unlike conventional openings, Kalakaar hosts evenings of dialogue, music, and literature where visitors handle drawings, listen to stories, and see works across time periods in conversation. Historic miniatures may hang beside contemporary narrative painters; tribal art may be paired with conceptual modernism. This cross-temporal approach collapses boundaries and places Indian art within a continuum of ideas and aesthetics.

What sets Kalakaar apart is its role as both tastemaker and storyteller. Each exhibition is framed not as a display but as a narrative, whether on spirituality, devotion, or modernity, where provenance, context, and cultural memory shape the experience. Education and connoisseurship take precedence over transactions, with collectors encouraged to form bonds with works over time rather than quick acquisitions. Beyond exhibitions, Kalakaar curates brunch walkthroughs, talks, and intimate salons that bring together artists, scholars, collectors, and cultural thinkers, building a vibrant community of engaged connoisseurs.

The founders’ backgrounds shape this distinct model. Saira, with her global career in Oil & Gas, logistics, AI and strategy, strengthened by an MBA in Machine Learning and Entrepreneurship from Babson College, brings structural rigour, data-driven insight and curatorial clarity. Shivin, an alumnus of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), trained in Industrial Design and later founded, scaled, and successfully exited a fintech venture in earned-wage access before transitioning fully into the art world. Raised in an environment shaped by his mother, world-renowned art conservator Priya Khanna, he brings a deep respect for materiality, authenticity, and longevity. Together, they merge instinct with strategy, positioning Kalakaar as both a cultural space and an advisory platform, one that champions artists, supports collectors, and influences how Indian art is contextualised and valued globally.

While Kalakaar’s current session, Sacred and Spiritual, explores faith and transcendence in Indian art across centuries, the exhibition is only one example of its wider mission: to nurture dialogue, cultivate connoisseurship, and create a living, evolving environment where art is experienced in its fullest sense. Curated by Ashvin E. Rajagopalan, curator of Bhakti at NMACC, Director at the Piramal Foundation, and Founder of Ashvita’s, the show illuminates how spirituality and devotion continue to shape Indian artistic expression.

A core part of this vision is guiding new collectors, many of whom are often unsure where to even begin, by illuminating the timeline of Indian art and helping them understand how works, movements, and narratives connect across history. Through this, Kalakaar not only presents exhibitions but also shapes the journey of collecting itself. More than a gallery, Kalakaar positions itself as a cultural voice and home for collectors, where every encounter with art feels personal, intentional and transformative.

To learn more about their work, visit their website and their Instagram