A strong representation of leading Indian galleries, enabling deeper engagement with artists from the local art scene alongside artists from South Asia will be one of the major focuses of the upcoming edition of India Art Fair in February 2018.

The organisers of the festival announced that the galleries returning to the fair include Chatterjee and Lal, Jhaveri Contemporary, The Guild from Mumbai, Threshold Art Gallery and Latitude 28 from New Delhi and Kalakriti Art Gallery from Hyderabad.

Prominent galleries showcasing the region’s Modern masters will include DAG (New Delhi/Mumbai/New York) and Dhoomimal Gallery (New Delhi). Offering insights into the region’s emerging art scene, the fair will also feature younger galleries like TARQ (Mumbai) and Anant Art (New Delhi), alongside first-time participants Samara Art Gallery and ZOCA(both Ahmedabad).

Platform, which acts as a springboard for emerging art practices and art collectives from South Asia, will welcome Tribal Art Forms and Delhi Crafts Council (both New Delhi) for the first time. Pichvai Tradition & Beyond (New Delhi) will return, making vernacular arts a particular focus. Platform will also welcome back Britto Art Trust(Dhaka), Nepal Arts Council (Kathmandu), Swaraj Art Archive (Noida) and Blueprint 12(New Delhi).

Complementing the fair’s regional perspective, carefully selected international galleries will showcase globally-recognised artists, many of whom have never exhibited in India before. David Zwirner (London/New York/Hong Kong), Blain-Southern (London/Berlin),Karla Osorio Gallery (Brasilia), Mo J Gallery (Busan) and Richard Koh Fine Art(Singapore/Kuala Lumpur) will participate for the first time.

Among influential Indian cultural organisations partnering with the fair are Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art, Floodlight Foundation and B M Anand Foundation. The fair will also engage with some leading non-profits like the Gujral Foundation, Devi Art Foundation and Khoj.

The organisers said that India Art Fair’s public events programme will feature artist talks and industry debates, live events and digital artworks. Highlights include a moving image work by Hetain Patel, alongside a new strand of talks titled “I know what you did last summer,” which will invite established artists to present on recent international projects.

India Art Fair 2018 is scheduled to take place at the NSIC grounds in the capital from February 9 to 12, next year.