Last weekend, 12 of Delhi's most prominent art galleries in Defence Colony kept their doors open for visitors way past their usual closing time at 6 pm for a reason.
One of the most vibrant monthly events in Delhi’s art scene, the Def Col Art Night, has been drawing connoisseurs, critics, and collectors to the event to keep tabs on new art, though the wine, cheese, crackers, and mushroom quiches obviously did help. Launched on February 3, 2026, the Art Night is a single-event evening that comes up organically whenever the participating galleries are ready for a show. Its past editions were March 17, April 23, July 7, and August 21.
This month, eight of the participating galleries presented new shows, and three others displayed their ongoing shows in the latest edition, on Friday, August 21. Here’s what we saw, experienced, and vibed with.
Thoughtful presentations
London-based curator Lisany Young walked The New Indian Express through her curation of 'Women on the Edge of Time'. Inspired by a 1976 novel of the same name by Marge Piercy, the exhibition focused on a utopian future for women with themes of eco-feminism, climate disaster, and medical autonomy, with installations, paintings, and photography unfolding across the exhibition. The show included eight artists: Anju Dodiya, Arpita Singh, Sheba Chhachhi, Ashfika Rahman, Gurminder Sikand, Jai Chuhan, Jasleen Kaur, Leela Mukherjee, and Mumtaz Karimjee.
Chirag Thakkar, 30, who works with Bloomsbury India, was a visitor at the event. He was curious about Anju Dodiya’s show and about Sheba Chhachhi’s photography of the Women's Movement in Delhi, 1980-2000, which he was looking at then. The group show at the Method gallery was also on his itinerary. “I am going with an open mind to galleries I have not put down in my list yet and am hoping to be surprised,” he said.
Fortified with wine and cheese, the crowd kept moving from one exhibit to another—the galleries were spread across two lanes. The cofounder of the Kalakar Art Salon, Saira Sachdeva, told TNIE that the format of the event works well and has led to an increase in audience.
The multi-show bonanza
“For people who live far, who may be coming from Gurugram, Noida or other NCR areas, they have to just make a one-time visit to south Delhi to catch all the shows here. But if 12 galleries were to have a new show on different days, they might not have visited 12 times....We get around 200 to 300 people on every Art Night,” she said. This was Kalakar’s first curated show focused on contemporary artists.
At Shrine Empire, Divya Singh's solo show also drew a steady stream of visitors. Her mother, Savita Singh, a professor of gender studies at IGNOU, was active at the stand. She mentioned that, apart from buyers, connoisseurs and seasoned gallery visitors, what was very heartening was the number of young people coming in for the event.
“I think there is a general disappointment with the state system and politics; young people are coming to other areas of seriousness in life, which is art. I saw so many young people coming and appreciating work and discussing art and then relating it to other ideas,” she added.
Savita Singh spent much of the evening fielding questions from visitors about her daughter's paintings. One such painting was of a solitary car in the middle of the night. “There is light, and there is this one car, so you can even feel the loneliness of the machines; it reflects a double alienation, suggesting the mechanisation of the world as well,” she explained to a visitor. “Art can indicate society’s crises; it can alert us about its possible consequences.”
The new shows that were launched at this Art Night included 'Becoming' at Akar Prakar curated by Siddhi Shailendra; 'Women on the Edge of Time', a group show at Vadehra Art Gallery's D-53 space curated by Linsey Young; 'Nocturnal', a solo show by P.D. Dhumal at Vadehra Art Gallery's D-40 space; 'Sound from the Attic' at Shrine Empire, 'Between Dust and Distant Skies' at Latitude 28, curated by Rahul Kumar; 'Performing Belief: The Collector's Eye' at Kalakaar Art Salon, also curated by Kumar; 'Fresh Produce 3.0', an open-call group show at Method; 'Interludes' at Gallery Skye; and 'The Light Fell Differently Here', a group exhibition at Gallery Dot Walk.
The ongoing shows were 'A Slow Sip of Solitude', a group exhibition at Pristine Contemporary; 'Rajan Too' at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, curated by Grant Wilson; and 'Paper and Play' at Gallery XXL.
We now look forward to the next edition!