Isha Ambani and NMACC Celebrate in Venice the Indian Pavilion

On May 7, 2026, in the gilded interior of Venice’s Scuola Grande della Misericordia, Isha Ambani — together with Pavilion of India curator Dr. Amin Jaffer — hosted a dinner that affirmed India’s deepening dialogue with the global art world. The occasion: the opening week of the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, and the unveiling of the Pavilion of India and its exhibition Geographies of Distance: Remembering Home, presented by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, in partnership with the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) and Serendipity Arts. Nita Ambani, NMACC’s founder and chairperson, joined her daughter for the evening.

A Defining Moment for India at the 61st Venice Biennale

India’s presence at the world’s most prestigious art forum has been growing year by year, and the 61st Biennale marks what NMACC describes as a defining moment of cultural pride. Geographies of Distance: Remembering Home brings together five Indian artists — Asim Waqif, Ranjani Shettar, Alwar Balasubramaniam (Bala), Sumakshi Singh, and Skarma Sonam Tashi — whose work moves between intimate memory and territorial scale. Waqif and Shettar have both previously exhibited at Art House, NMACC in Mumbai, underscoring how the institution’s domestic programming feeds directly into India’s international representation.

An Evening at Scuola Grande della Misericordia

The choice of venue was no accident. The Scuola Grande della Misericordia, one of Venice’s most spectacular Renaissance buildings, became the stage for a dinner that put India’s heritage in deliberate conversation with Venice’s own. Chef Ritu Dalmia curated the culinary experience as a traditional Indian thali — a quiet, considered gesture that brought the subcontinent’s culinary intelligence into the heart of the Veneto. Every element of the evening, from the floral compositions to the rhythm of the courses, reflected what Isha Ambani and Dr. Jaffer envisioned as a dialogue between India’s artistic heritage and the elegance of Venice.

A Gathering of Global Cultural Leaders

The guest list read as a who’s-who of contemporary cultural leadership. From the museum world, Sir Nicholas Cullinan (Director, British Museum), Sir Gabriele Finaldi (Director, National Gallery), Dr. Tristram Hunt (Director, Victoria and Albert Museum), Mariët Westermann (Director and CEO, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum), and Gregor Muir (Director of Collections, Tate) were joined by Jessica Morgan (Director, Dia Art Foundation), Bettina Korek (CEO, Serpentine Galleries), and Hans Ulrich Obrist (Artistic Director, Serpentine Galleries).

Fashion and creative leadership turned out in force: designers Diane von Furstenberg, Dries Van Noten, and Giambattista Valli; Yana Peel, President of Chanel; Edward Enninful, founder of E72 and former Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue; Margherita Missoni, creative director and Missoni heiress; legendary luxury communications founder Karla Otto; fashion consultant Coco Brandolini d’Adda; Diego Della Valle, President of Tod’s; cultural figure Noëlle Kadar; and Nathan Clements-Gillespie, founder of Violet Book.

Italian patrons, collectors, and cultural figures grounded the evening in its host city. Among them: Venetian architect and UNA/UNLESS founder Giulia Foscari; collector and philanthropist Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo; Princess Bianca Valenti Gonzaga Arrivabene, Deputy Chairman of Christie’s Italy, with entrepreneur and hospitality founder Count Gilberto Arrivabene; cultural patron Georgina Brandolini d’Adda alongside producer and cultural entrepreneur Marcantonio Brandolini d’Adda; collector Nicoletta Fiorucci Russo and entrepreneur Giovanni Russo; artistic director Servane Giol with Giovanni Giol, President of the Venice Benedetto Marcello Music Conservatory; Altagamma co-founder and design patron Laura Sartori Rimini; and Princess Frances Maria Chiara di Borbone-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Castro.

A circle of Indian cultural and luxury figures completed the picture: entrepreneur Kalyani Chawla; Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor; Jaya Asokan, Director of the India Art Fair; entrepreneur Parambir Kella; Caroline Sarkisyan; Anu Menda, co-founder of Aza Fashions; and Tahira Tara Chawla. The convergence of these worlds — global museums, international fashion, Italian aristocracy, and the Indian luxury circle — read as a deliberate statement of where India intends to position its cultural diplomacy.

Isha Ambani’s Cross-Cultural Platform

“NMACC was created by my mother, Nita Ambani, to serve as a dynamic force for the fine and performing arts in India. From the beginning, our vision has been to foster a global cultural dialogue that transcends boundaries, bringing the best of India to the world and the best of the world to India. Supporting the India Pavilion is therefore a natural extension of that commitment — an opportunity not only to celebrate artistic excellence, but to affirm India’s cultural confidence at a pivotal moment in our nation’s evolution.” — Isha Ambani

Isha Ambani’s cultural diplomacy is by now well established. Her recent collaborations with the Serpentine Galleries and the British Museum, and her support for landmark exhibitions including Ancient India: Living Traditions (2025), have built the relationships and the trust that made an evening of this scale possible. The Venice dinner is best understood not as a one-off but as another node in a larger architecture: a sustained, multi-year platform for Indian arts on the international stage, anchored by NMACC and articulated in conversation with the world’s leading cultural institutions.

The Pavilion of India remains on view through the run of the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.