Conversations in Collecting: AstaGuru Brings South Asian Art to London’s Global Stage

On 3 November, within the framework of Asian Art in London, AstaGuru welcomed two of the world's most discerning guardians of South Asian art to Cromwell Place for a discussion on the practice and purpose of collecting across borders. Lekha Poddar, co-founder of The Devi Art Foundation in New Delhi, and Nadia Samdani, co-founder and president of the Samdani Art Foundation and director of the Dhaka Art Summit, brought decades of curatorial vision to a conversation chaired by Georgina Adam, editor-at-large for the art market at The Art Newspaper and author of NextGen Collectors and the Art Market.

The evening examined the mechanics of building meaningful collections while sustaining the artists and ecosystems that produce them—a question increasingly vital as South Asian art finds its place in international discourse and market structures designed elsewhere.

Building Collections, Sustaining Practice

The Devi Art Foundation, established by Poddar in New Delhi, and the Samdani Art Foundation, steered by Samdani in collaboration with her husband, represent two distinct but complementary approaches to art stewardship in South Asia. Where one emphasises the scholarship and conservation of historical practice through its foundation's programming and exhibitions, the other has become instrumental in shaping contemporary discourse through the annual Dhaka Art Summit, a platform that has grown to articulate the region's creative urgency to global audiences.

The discussion moved beyond the transactional aspects of collecting to address the deeper questions that preoccupy serious stewards: how collections are formed according to vision rather than opportunity; how artists' voices remain central to institutions built around their work; and how South Asian art might circulate internationally without losing its cultural specificity. These are not abstract concerns—they shape what reaches auction houses like AstaGuru, what finds its way into institutional collections, and ultimately, which narratives endure.

London as Crossroads

That the conversation took place in London signals the city's evolution as a destination for serious South Asian collecting. AstaGuru's presence at Cromwell Place, within the broader Asian Art in London framework, underscores a market shift that has been gathering momentum. Mumbai-based since its founding in 2008, the auction house has expanded its reach internationally, recognising that collectors of South Asian work—whether diaspora collectors or those drawn to the region's artistic traditions—increasingly operate across multiple cities.

The evening drew collectors, curators and others invested in how art moves through the world, offering them direct access to voices shaping institutional responses to South Asian practice at the highest level. For those building collections today, such conversations provide essential orientation: clarity on provenance matters, on artist support mechanisms, on the difference between collecting as investment and collecting as guardianship.

The discussion concluded with a shared commitment to ensuring that South Asian art circulates not as an exotic addition to Western collections, but as a central and self-determined part of the global conversation. For collectors and institutions seeking to engage seriously with the region's artistic heritage, such gatherings at Cromwell Place offer rare alignment with those who have dedicated their working lives to that end.

Key Facts

• Event: Collecting South Asian Art in a Global Context
• Date: 3 November 2026
• Location: Cromwell Place, London
• Host: AstaGuru Auction House
• Framework: Asian Art in London
• Chair: Georgina Adam, Editor-at-Large, The Art Newspaper

The Simply Luxury View

This event reflects a maturing market. Where South Asian art was once peripheral to international collecting, it now commands attention from serious institutional stewards and private collectors alike. London's role as a neutral ground for this dialogue—neither India nor the diaspora, but a city where collectors from multiple continents converge—makes such events particularly valuable. AstaGuru's participation signals the confidence of a major auction house in London's staying power as a South Asian art hub.

For collectors building thoughtfully, the guidance offered by figures like Poddar and Samdani is invaluable. They represent an alternative to purely market-driven acquisition: the idea that collections can support artistic practice, preserve cultural knowledge, and advance the work of artists from a region whose modern and contemporary traditions remain underrepresented in major institutional collections.

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