As the only Asia Society Centre in South Asia, our commitment extends beyond India to span the subcontinent. We instituted the annual Asia Arts Game Changer Awards India with the Asia Society Museum in 2017 to honour scholarship in contemporary South Asian art, and to draw recognition to the work done by groundbreaking artists and art professionals. These awards are in keeping with a decades-long tradition of Asia Society identifying and fostering contemporary Asian artists, and engaging new audiences with their work.

The awards change form every year to reflect shifts within the South Asian art world. Among our first honorees were the artist Krishen Khanna, who drew from his experience of the Partition of India and Pakistan, and teamLab, an interdisciplinary art collective that believes digital technology can expand art. The next year we honoured new media artist Sun Xun and the Kochi Biennale Foundation. In 2023, we paid tribute to Bangladesh and gave the Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts our Asia Arts Future Award for their work in uniting communities through multidisciplinary art.

Our award categories, namely the Asia Arts Vanguard Award, Asia Arts Future Award (India), Asia Arts Future Award (South Asia) and the Asia Arts Pathbreaker Award, are designed to pay tribute to people who have made a significant contribution modern and contemporary art in South Asia. We see in these awards our mission to build communities that transcend borders and create new identities, new meanings in the world and South Asia. The awards also pay tribute to artists in every season of their career; the Asia Arts Vanguard Award recognises accomplished artists with practices built over a lifetime, the Asia Arts Future Award (India) is for artists who are carving new paths and show immense promise - and the Asia Arts Future Award (South Asia) is for an exceptional young artist from South Asia. The Asia Arts Pathbreaker Award recognises the next generation of vanguards in the making - a mid-career artist whose practice stands out as impactful and lastingly influential.

The gala is an invite-only event that takes place annually. Read more about previous editions of the awards through the links on the left.