“It’s an incredibly timely collaboration"
Several major London museums will collaborate for a South Asian arts festival in June 2027.
Taking place from June 19 to 27, the festival will be organised by the Great Exhibition Road Festival (led by Imperial College London), Serendipity Arts, an Indian arts nonprofit, and several leading London museums.
Museums include the Science Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), Natural History Museum, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Geographical Society, Royal College of Music, Royal College of Art and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.
Events will take place across South Kensington, transforming galleries, concert halls, cafés, foyers and outdoor spaces into venues for art, science, music, film and design.
The programme will bring established South Asian artists and diaspora talent into conversation with the collections and expertise of its partner institutions, with London’s South Asian communities at the heart of the festival.
An intergenerational, all-women curatorial team will lead the programme, bringing together Veeranganakumari Solanki, Nancy Adajania, Latika Gupta, Preethi Athreya, Sneha Khanwalkar and Elizabeth Yorke.
The festival will also coincide with a period of renewed attention to South Asian culture at the V&A, including the planned spring 2027 exhibition ‘South Asia Now: Fashion. Art. Design.’ at V&A East Museum and the reopening of the South Asia Gallery at V&A South Kensington in spring 2028.
Kristian Volsing, senior curator at the V&A South Kensington, said:
“It’s an incredibly timely collaboration, setting the stage for the museum’s upcoming focus on the region, with V&A East Museum’s spring 2027 exhibition ‘South Asia Now: Fashion. Art. Design.’ and spring 2028 reopening of the South Asia Gallery at South Kensington.
“I hope the festival will bring an exciting moment of cross-cultural exchange, creating a vibrant, immersive experience for our audiences at the V&A.”
The London launch follows an initial exchange in June 2026, when Serendipity Arts presented two public projects in collaboration with the Science Museum and Great Exhibition Road Festival.
The partnership will also extend to India, with London institutions contributing to the 11th edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival in Panjim, Goa, this December.
Founded in 2016, Serendipity Arts has attracted more than one million visitors and supported over 10,000 artists through free, citywide programming.
As a result, it has established itself as a major platform for multidisciplinary arts in South Asia.
Sunil Kant Munjal, founder and patron of Serendipity Arts, said:
“For over a decade, Serendipity Arts has created spaces for South Asian artists to experiment, exchange ideas, and find new ways of experiencing culture.
“Bringing that vision to London…marks a significant new chapter for us.”
