How India’s terminals are emerging as unexpected art hubs

India’s airports are no longer just places of transit; they’ve quietly turned into spaces where art meets movement. From striking clay installations that greet arriving passengers to glowing shadow-puppet tributes tucked between terminals, these aviation hubs are becoming unexpected stages for creative expression.

A New Destination for Art and Culture

The concept of airport galleries in India has gained remarkable momentum over the past decade, driven by a vision to make art accessible beyond the traditional confines of museums. These spaces are democratising cultural experiences, bringing world-class showcases to travellers who might not otherwise have the time or opportunity to visit conventional galleries during their stay. For transit passengers especially, these installations offer a meaningful glimpse into India's artistic landscape, transforming idle waiting time into moments of cultural enrichment.

What makes these airport galleries particularly significant is their ability to reach extraordinarily diverse audiences. Business travellers, tourists, families, and diaspora Indians returning home all encounter these artworks, creating an organic intersection of culture and commerce. The captive audience and high footfall make airports ideal venues for promoting both established and emerging artists, turning what could be dead time into an unexpected opportunity for education.

Museum of Art & Photography at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru

Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport has established perhaps the most technologically artful partnership between travel and art through its collaboration with the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP). Located across both the Domestic and International Terminals in Terminal 2 at the Kempegowda International Airport, the installation reimagines how travellers engage with culture, creating multiple points of interaction that transform waiting time into discovery.

At the heart of the installation in the Domestic terminal stands the Gallery on Demand, a digital portal featuring extensive exhibitions of luminaries such as Jamini Roy, Jangarh Singh Shyam, Jyoti Bhatt, Suresh Punjabi, and LN Tallur. But it goes beyond individual artworks. The gallery also houses MAP's remarkable film ephemera collection, weaving narratives through Bollywood posters, stills, and lobby cards that trace everything from the evolution of the courtesan figure to fantastical journeys through Arabian nights.

The Digital Lamp Lighting experience takes this interactivity further, modernising Indian tradition by allowing visitors to select and virtually illuminate lamps from MAP's collection via QR code.

Meanwhile, Cumulus, the digital collection application, opens MAP's entire digitised archive to exploration, while Virtual Greetings enables sharing animated artworks as digital cards for festivals and celebrations. The installation features rotating exhibitions, including special showcases highlighting artists like Bhuri Bai. And for those seeking tangible connections, a boutique offers home and lifestyle products inspired by MAP's collection, last-minute souvenirs that carry a genuine artistic pedigree.

ArtBeat of New India at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai

Mumbai’s Terminal 2 isn’t just a space that houses art, it is art. ArtBeat of New India fills all four levels of the terminal with thousands of curated works, capturing the evolution of Indian creativity.

While the monumental ‘Fortress of Clay’ draws the eye, the experience extends far beyond a single centrepiece. Paintings converse with sculptures; traditional craftsmanship meets contemporary installations. Through the “Jaya He” initiative, site-specific works respond to the terminal’s soaring architecture, transforming functional corridors into a living gallery.

Every escalator ride, every walk toward baggage claim becomes an opportunity for discovery. Here, art enriches the journey, merging cultural experience with the rhythm of travel.

'AIRAVAS' Installation at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad

 

Hyderabad's airport honours regional heritage through MeMeraki's 'AIRAVAS', a contemporary reinterpretation of Tholu Bommalata, Andhra Pradesh's centuries-old shadow puppetry tradition. This isn't preservation for preservation's sake—it's living culture, reimagined for modern eyes.

The installation captures the delicate interplay of light and shadow that defines the art form while scaling it to monumental proportions appropriate for the airport's architecture. For travellers unfamiliar with this regional tradition, it serves as an introduction; for those who grew up with these stories, it's a homecoming. The airport has committed to this regional focus throughout its terminals, ensuring that every visitor understands they've arrived somewhere specific, somewhere with its own artistic vocabulary and cultural memory.

Art Galleries at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport functions as India's front door for many international arrivals, and its artistic offerings reflect that responsibility. Across its terminals, the airport has curated a collection that balances contemplation with spectacle.

Terminal 1 welcomes passengers with Paresh Maity's 'Sound of Silence'—an arresting installation composed of approximately 4,000 brass and copper bells designed to evoke serenity amid the chaos of travel. Maity's presence extends throughout the terminal with additional works, including 'Life's Journey' and 'Sanyog', both rendered in fibreglass with his signature bold palette. The terminal also champions sustainability through its "Art Inspires Change" initiative, featuring installations crafted from plastic waste—a powerful statement about transformation and environmental consciousness.

Terminal 3 houses the iconic Wall of Mudras, a monumental installation by sculptor Nikhil Bhandari and Ayush Kasliwal Design Studio. Originally commissioned for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, this expansive wall showcases hand mudras—sacred gestures that communicate India's spiritual and cultural ethos without words. The 'Surya Namaskara' statue adds another layer of contemplative beauty to the terminal's spaces.

Beyond these permanent installations, the airport maintains a rotating exhibition schedule developed in collaboration with cultural institutions, ensuring freshness for frequent travellers while offering depth for those passing through.

The Impact and Future

India's airport galleries have fundamentally reimagined the relationship between travel and culture. What was once dead time—hours spent in terminals, wandering between gates—has been transformed into something unexpectedly enriching. These spaces quietly work on multiple levels: they showcase Indian creativity to international visitors, provide platforms for artists to reach audiences they'd never encounter in traditional galleries, and offer weary travellers moments of genuine connection amid the sterility of modern air travel.

As new terminals rise across the country, curators and artists are being brought into conversations alongside architects and engineers. In bringing art out of museums and into these liminal spaces, India's airports have made a quiet but powerful statement. Culture shouldn't require a special trip or prior knowledge to appreciate. It can meet you where you are—between flights, carrying luggage, thinking about what's next.

Lead image: Getty Images
 

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