MegaCity: India's Culture of the Streets

In the early 20th century, Indian artists viewed the village as the true locus for India's identity, distinct from that of the British colonial cities of Calcutta, Bombay and New Delhi. By mid-century, India had gained independence and its cities were replenished with all kinds of people fulfilling their dreams. In the cities, the drive toward modernity co-existed with the enduring presence of the spiritual in unexpected ways.

This installation includes paintings from PEM's Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection. Images of confrontation, hope, fracture and change traverse shifting grounds rich with contradictions.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website