Breaking the white wall: How contemporary art galleries are evolving beyond the white cube

In 2022, when finance professional-turned-gallerist Ayesha Parikh chose an old house in Bandra for her gallery, Art & Charlie, it raised eyebrows. Far from Mumbai’s art districts of Fort and Colaba, Bandra was better known for its cafés and bars. Parikh also reimagined programming—not just talks or walkthroughs, but classical music, theatre, comedy shows and arcade nights. If something had even a 50% connection to an exhibit, she used it as a starting point, expanding the gallery into a more open, experimental cultural space.

At that time, she faced a lot of heat. People commented Art & Charlie was not a gallery because of these “cultural” programmes. But Parikh was certain that fresh programming would help her build audiences beyond the traditional collectors. “It was essential because it was a new neighbourhood and I had to build an audience from scratch.” Four years and 30+ shows later, Art & Charlie has only widened the scope of its programming.

Parikh says the typical white cube model of art gallery has been primed for change for a while now. “There was the traditional white cube—a location with four white walls. That wasn’t working. New collectors weren’t coming in. It was becoming a silo and everybody was worried.”

The white cube is the minimalist gallery aesthetic—white walls, neutral lighting, no distractions—designed to isolate and elevate art for pure viewing. Institutionalised by the Museum of Modern Art in the 1930s New York and named by art critic Brian O’Doherty, white cube was once revolutionary but is now often seen as static and even alienating. The push to move beyond it isn’t new. After the 2008 financial crisis, New York-based art curator Carrie Scott reimagined gallery as a hybrid model, arguing that art must exist in lived, real-world contexts.

Galleries in India too are busy rethinking and reinventing for the new audience. For instance, Rina Upadhyaya, a newbie artist, looks out for well-curated, solo shows. Typographer Pooja Saxena enjoys visiting contemporary art galleries Akar Prakar and Pulp Society in Delhi where the focus is on graphic arts, printmaking, independent publishing, etc.

Pulp Society claims to be an approachable, anti-white cube gallery. Approachable and accessible are two traits most galleries are pursuing. A paper on young people’s perceptions of the Auckland Art Gallery found that despite thousands passing by daily, few entered. It says cultural institutions, though publicly funded and free, often maintain the illusion of democratic access while catering to specific social groups. There may be no visible barriers, but many young people feel they do not belong.

ACCESSIBLE ART

Parikh says these young people need to be wooed. Sahil Arora, founder of Method, a contemporary art gallery in Mumbai and Delhi, agrees and adds that he never saw the space as being restricted to visual art. He says, “If we enjoy music, spoken word or theatre, there’s no reason why that can’t exist in a gallery. It wasn’t a conscious business decision as much as a natural extension of our own interests.” Most galleries, he says, become a reflection of the people running them. “In our case, that meant focusing on young, emerging practices on the art side, but also building programming around film screenings, music and literature. The idea was to create a space that feels different—not just in what is shown, but in how people experience it.”

He says that going to a gallery is becoming more of a social experience. “For us, it has always been about making art accessible to as many people as possible. Now a lot of new people are buying because they like something and it fits their budget.” Social media has become a major discovery channel. “We are seeing younger collectors, people in their 30s and 40s, entering the market, and that’s shifting how galleries think about audiences and engagement.”

What’s also changing is the nature of art, which is making galleries rethink. Roobina Karode, director and chief curator, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, says contemporary art is interdisciplinary in its outlook. Apart from painting, sculpture and print, there are video installations, immersive performances and even temporary architectural structures. “All this changes the way art is showcased and even imagined by institutions.”

GALLERY VIEW

Even traditional galleries are responding, like Delhi’s Gallery Espace that has been around since the early 1990s. Founder Renu Modi says, “The largely informal art ecosystem has matured. The segmentation between galleries, auction houses, museums and art fairs is much more distinct. Today, galleries are a key link in the ecosystem.”

She says even the physical space has changed as art requires more space. Espace, for instance, now occupies a three-storey space. It is also looking at virtual spaces. In 2020, it held its Instagram-only exhibition “Abstract Notations”. “During Covid, online viewing rooms or digital exhibitions were quite the trend. That hybrid model is here to stay.”

Online community is the next hunting ground for collectors. Bhavna Kakar, founder of Latitude 28, says social media is important. With over 20,000 Instagram followers for the gallery, social media is critical not just for outreach but for shaping audience behaviour. At one of their recent openings, nearly 30% of the 500+ guests came through social media. “Digital platforms bring in a more diverse audience and change the energy of the space. While programming is not conceived for Instagram, there is an awareness of how work is encountered, shared and extended online. It is an added layer of visibility that galleries cannot ignore.”

Kakar notes that gallery programming is conceptualised keeping the younger, under-45 audience in mind, but not at the cost of rigour. “The focus is on creating multiple entry points rather than simplifying content. The intent is not dilution but demystification.”

Varun Nayar, director of Impart, an online art history platform by the Art & Photography Foundation, Bengaluru, says, “People engage with art in very different ways. Some prefer to read, others listen or watch, while some look for more interactive or hands-on experiences. What is important is to create multiple entry points to the same material.” There’s also a move towards participation. “The audiences are looking for ways to contextualise, question and build relationships with what they see,” he says. Nayar says the big shift is that digital spaces have come into their own: “Digital allows for more flexible and ongoing engagement.”

EXTENDED ROLE

The gallery has moved from being a site of exhibition to an institutional role with residencies, publications, outreach, collaborations and programming. Roshni Vadehra, director of the Vadehra Art Gallery, Delhi, says contemporary practices have pushed galleries to become more flexible and col-laborative. “There is a strong move toward creating immersive environments, and artists often look to galleries as partners in enabling engagements and experiences,” she says. The new art audience, according to her, seeks greater context and education.

Mumbai’s legacy gallery Chemould Prescott Road has seen the artscape change since 1963. Creative director Shireen Gandhy says the experience of viewing is enhanced when art is seen in the company of poetry, prose, music and talk. Art galleries, she believes, are becoming spaces that people want to visit for a day out. “A city like Mumbai is thirsty for interactions. When we animate exhibitions in ways appropriate to them, we keep alive the habit of coming to galleries.”

Galleries are no longer confined to being transactional venues. Sunaina Anand, director of Art Alive Gallery, Delhi, says galleries have institutional presence in the art ecosystem, blurring the boundaries of exhibition, retail, performance and community. “Art is not just a commodity; it is an experience.” She adds, “Collectors nowadays are also researching art to make informed decisions and seeking deeper understanding of the works.”

As audience looks for experience beyond just exhibitions, Richa Agarwal, CEO of Kolkata’s Emami Art, says, “If we want art to remain relevant, we must allow it to grow beyond traditional formats and become part of a larger cultural conversation. Art should be an emotional and lived experience, not something that feels distant or academic.”

STEP OUT OF THE FRAME

The very idea of a gallery is changing. Sikao is a nomadic art gallery with no fixed home. It thrives on the idea that each time it arrives in a new city, it brings the same works into an entirely different context.

However, unlike Sikao, location is important for others. Ashish Thapar, founder of the Thapar Gallery in Delhi, says location plays a role in shaping their programme: “It’s not just the location— the character of the building also matters.”

He says galleries are not obligated to follow a pattern of engagement to stay relevant. “Some galleries respond more closely to collectors, while others are led by artists. But the growing emphasis on programming and experience raises an important question of what is being gained and what might be lost.” He says galleries need to walk a fine line. “Not everything needs to serve interpretation. Perhaps enjoyment plays a more central role now than it once did. The risk, however, is that art becomes just one element in a broader spectacle, rather than its primary focus.” Kakar disagrees as she says that meeting audiences where they already are has worked for her. The modern-day art gallery wears many hats, including a hangout. There’s no one traditional model to follow, it is a spectrum. As Parikh says, “It’s not just about art anymore, it’s about hanging out, immersion, community.” The walls are still there, but the door is wide open.