Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) is thrilled to announce a transformative art installation housed in the KNMA Art Passage, the skybridge connecting Nexus Select CITYWALK and DLF South Court Mall – ‘Slow Is The New Urgent’, curated by Avik Debdas. The location of the exhibition adheres to KNMA’s mission of integrating meaningful artistic experiences into everyday public spaces. 

A colorful trail of turtles sets the pace, inviting visitors through an immersive passage of artistic contemplation. Featuring eleven contemporary artists—Anshu Jakhar, C.K. Rajan, Hifzul Kabeer, K.M. Madhusudanan, Manveer Singh, Mohd. Intiyaz, Pallavi Singh, Schön Mendes, Slipa Sheeja, Sonam Chaturvedi, and Tahsin Akhtar— an environment that gradually shifts from digital and commercial sensory stimulation to quiet introspection, encouraging ‘slow looking’. The visitor then crosses a sanctuary of muted birds, televisions that blare a chorus of toxicity, rivers dyed in synthetic excess, and many other such markers of the rampant consumerism that litter the wider world. 

The ‘thinking passage’ also goes on to bring to the forefront the omnipresent digital surveillance that pervades modern life. The works illuminate how our every choice, pause, and click is methodically recorded, monetized, and fed back into algorithms that curate our next impulse. The exhibition confronts visitors with the unsettling reality that our desires are increasingly engineered rather than authentic—optimized, and resold to us through the manipulative language of urgency, transforming even our attention itself into a marketable commodity. 

This exhibition is an extension of KNMA’s ongoing commitment to democratizing art. By establishing this thoughtful corridor in one of Delhi’s busiest commercial centers, the museum invites diverse audiences to experience how art can create moments of pause within our increasingly urgent world. Each segment of the passage encourages visitors to engage with what literary scholar Arden Reed describes as art that “waits mutely—patiently—for us to animate them.” 

“Slow is the New Urgent” will be open daily from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM, from 1 April 2025 onwards. Admission is free, making this thoughtful art experience accessible to all mall visitors.

NOTES TO THE EDITOR

About KNMA

Established at the initiative of avid art collector Kiran Nadar in 2010, KNMA is a pioneering private museum of modern and contemporary art in South Asia, with branches in New Delhi and Noida. Supported by the Shiv Nadar Foundation, the not for-profit organization produces rigorous exhibitions, educational and public-focused programs, and publications. Through its rigorous and multiple programs, KNMA emphasises its commitment to institutional collaborations and support-networks for artists and creative communities, while extending its reach to diverse audiences. The museum houses a growing collection of more than 15,000 artworks from South Asia, with a focus on the historical trajectories of 20th century Indian art, alongside the experimental practices of young contemporaries. The new standalone building of KNMA is due to open in the next three to four years, near Delhi’s Indira Gandhi international airport.

www.knma.in