Can Jaipur take royal patronage into the modern world?

“Why did they build grand palaces?” Sawai Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur asks rhetorically, “It’s easy to criticise or dismiss palaces and forts for their opulence and exorbitant spending, but [not if you] really understand the concept and practice of patronage. These palaces and forts don’t just stand for successive generations to enjoy; they also support an entire ecosystem of artists, architects, craftspeople, builders, performers, and so on.”

We’re seated across the grand table at Sukh Niwas, Singh’s residential wing in Jaipur’s City Palace, with its magnificent double-height ceiling, walls lined with handcrafted inlay work and glistening hand-blown glass chandeliers. It is the historical home of the Maharaja of Jaipur, today a titular epithet that might sound quaint, even irrelevant. But this Gen Z maharaja—better known as Pacho to his hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers, and called HH (short for His Highness) by his management team—is a professional polo player who absolutely loves his horses, is becoming quite the sartorial sensation, has bagged his share of lifestyle endorsements, and is now the newest art patron on the block. Singh’s latest task seems to be reworking his privilege and legacy into an updated concept of patronage suited for Jaipur today.

The palace was built by Singh’s forbear, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, in 1727, when he created and established Jaipur as capital of his kingdom. Today, like most erstwhile palaces it is a tourist attraction. But it is also gradually reclaiming its space as the hub of all things art and culture, with a heavy dose of wining, dining, and shopping thrown in. It boasts one of the city’s best restaurants, Baradari, the PDKF store that showcases contemporary adaptations of locally crafted textiles, and galleries displaying the many archives, textiles, artworks, and antiquities collected and commissioned by the Jaipur royals over the centuries. The latest add-on, helmed by Singh, comes in the form of a contemporary art institution, the Jaipur Centre for Art (JCA), which opened last weekend.

The gallery offers a 2,600sqft exhibition space

Bundled between the various museum-quality palace galleries dedicated to art, weapons, textiles, crafts, JCA is the palace’s first space dedicated to contemporary art. What spurred Singh to enter a world where duct-taped bananas are auctioned for US$6.2 million? “Jaipur was built as a city complex; it was always a contemporary city. Right from Sawai Jai Singh to my grandmother, the late Rajmata Gayatri Devi, they were all contemporary in their thought and patronage. I wanted to create a space that places Jaipur in the centre of the global discourse around contemporary art, that would go on to inspire artistic communities and foster a cultural exchange with the city.”

Bringing in the contemporary art know-how, strategy, and programming to JCA is arts specialist and JCA co-founder, Noelle Kadar. “HH and I have been talking about art for many years now,” explains Kadar. “He comes from a more traditional arts background, and I from a contemporary one. We imagined this project as a path to bridge the two. We wanted this to be a truly collaborative space. It’s more a service we provide to the city of Jaipur, to the people who live and visit here. If we do our jobs well, then this space will act as a matriarch, and become the contemporary institution of this city, and that would then give rise to various other initiatives,” adds the former international director at the India Art Fair and artistic director of The Sculpture Park at Madhavendra Palace in Jaipur.

If the inaugural exhibit, A New Way of Seeing, curated by Peter Nagy of Delhi’s Nature Morte fame, is a cue to what’s to come, expect a whole host of Indian and international artists. Some of the artists featured include Dayanita Singh, who completely stole the show with ‘Time Measures’ from 2016, comprising 34 colour prints, alongside Tanya Goel, Manjunath Kamath, Anish Kapoor, Alicja Kwade, Sean Scully, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and LN Tallur. “It really was a curation by committee. For instance, Anish Kapoor was on top of all our lists. He’s such a superstar and his art just draws you in. But we were kept abreast of the architectural plans, so that contributed heavily to our choice of artworks as well.” explains Nagy. And if the opening night is any indication of the draw of this palace art institution, then expect to spot the who’s who of India’s culture world, from Kiran Nadar to Kalyani Saha Chawla.

With the opening exhibit, Singh, Kadar, and Nagy’s main mission was to achieve a fine balance that would set the tone for their new art space—achieved by presenting diverse contemporary artists from across the globe, with a focus on Indian artists, of course. And finally, to do what contemporary art does best, which is to question its own meaning and relevance.

The gallery is a 2,600sq ft public exhibition space, modest within the larger complex, but ample enough for definitive shows. But the best part is that it swaps the blank white box with delicate arches and panel mouldings along the walls, openly embracing its palace vibes.

Mixed media, sculpture, photography, fine art, portraiture—JCA is committed to creating a platform for Jaipur to experience, showcase, and engage with contemporary art. There are also plans of running artist residencies through the year. Here, practitioners will not just have a space to create works, but will also get to delve into Jaipur’s history of art and craft, which encourages a cross-cultural dialogue.

Singh-Kadar’s partnership is not an acquisition model, or a make-your-art-in-keeping-with-my-vision model. Here, patronage comes in the form of space, resources, hospitality, knowledge, and indigenous know-how. But the real USP remains—location, location, location. “The artists will have complete access to the palace archives and to our Pothi Khana (the museum’s archives and library). They will also have access to the various crafts and communities of Jaipur. The idea is for artists to come and live here, as they explore, exchange, learn, and create,” enthuses Singh.

At the heart of this palace-based contemporary art institute is conservation, seeing the contemporary as a bridge between its heritage and craft-filled past and the city as a future cultural hub. Singh concludes, “I’m trying to fill very large shoes; there’s this huge legacy that I’ve been left with, that surrounds me, that I have taken upon myself. But at the same time, I'm a 26-year-old who’s very much a part of contemporary India. So, I want to stay true to my identity and hopefully, make a positive impact in the process.” So while Singh isn’t planning on building any new palaces, he is focussed on transforming his inherited ecosystem into a self-sustaining space where artistic and cultural endeavours can thrive.

A New Way of Seeing will be on exhibit at the Jaipur Centre for Art until March 16, 2025