When Art Basel Miami opens on Wednesday, the Indian creative arts will come to life in an event encapsulating design, fashion, poetry and dance told by its cultural pillars and prominent members of its diaspora.
Houston-based interior designer Nina Magon told WWD that she’s gearing up to unveil “Art From the Eye of India,” a global interpretation of Indian heritage. Magon, who is the event architect, cohost and curator, said the showcase will be held at the reimagined Shelborne by Proper on Miami Beach, welcoming leading voices across culture, luxury and the arts.
“Art From the Eye of India” will include the debut of a 20-piece capsule collection of clothing and jewelry by Indian fashion designer Masaba Gupta of House of Masaba; live poetry recited by renowned poet Rupi Kaur, and a theatrical dance performance by the Sa Dance Company founded by Payal Kadakia (also the founder of fitness and wellness platform ClassPass). Magon said she envisaged a dramatic “Jaipur Palace” or Mughal-style sort of setting, aglow with about 500 to 1,000 candles.
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“This is India, reimagined….A modern luxury measured not by what we possess, but by what endures — and what it awakens,” she said, adding that together participants will reframe India as a dynamic contemporary influence in the global art, design and fashion arena.
Gupta said the event is a “love letter to the India beyond.”
“India has been my biggest source of inspiration and I carry India on my sleeve, now more than ever — as we make our debut at Art Basel Miami. I am not just representing India, but unleashing it. What started as a dream to play with print and everything kitsch has grown into one of the most recognized Indian brands across fine jewelry, luxury bridal fashion and more.”
Canadian Punjab, India-born poet, Kaur, who rose to fame in 2017 when her self-published first collection “Milk and Honey” became a New York Times bestseller, underscored the power of the Indian experience in her writing.
“As artists, we carry the lands we come from in our work. Every poem I write has fragments of home stitched in it, from the rhythm, the tenderness, to its vulnerable strength. To be part of ‘Art from The Eye of India’ is to join a collective heartbeat where fashion, poetry and art come together to tell a story. Our histories shape us, and art becomes the map of where we come from and who we are becoming,” Kaur said.
This is not Magon’s first time at Art Basel Miami. In 2022 she teamed with sustainable surfaces firm Cosentino and Studio M Lighting to present “Dreamcloud,” a metaverse-inspired dream world. Magon also said the event at Art Basel is a way to underscore the power of Indian design. Its interior design industry is expected to reach $51.4 billion in revenues by 2028, according to market research firm IMARC.
“Art Basel is one of those intense global platforms where we can actually show the art and design of India and the creativity of India, which has never been done at Art Basel before on this type of scale,” she said.
Art Basel Miami will unfold at Miami’s Convention Center and close Sunday.
