Hyderabad · Every January · Since 2004
Hyderabad’s oldest and most distinctive annual festival of art, culture and heritage. Founded in 2004 in memory of Shri Krishnachandra B. Lahoti, it fills the city for four or five days each January, with free entry for all.
The Festival
The Krishnakriti Foundation was founded in 2003 in memory of Shri Krishnachandra B. Lahoti, a patron of art and culture. The first festival followed in 2004, and it has returned every year since, growing from a single exhibition into a programme that spans the whole city.
It gives emerging artists, curators and heritage specialists a public stage, and it keeps Hyderabad’s own culture and traditions at the centre. Materials from the Kalakriti Archives often appear in its exhibitions.
“The festival is dedicated to bring art to the public.”
Prshant Lahoti · Founder
The Programme
Twenty to thirty events in each edition, across several venues in Hyderabad.
Exhibitions
Shows across the city, including rare material from the Kalakriti Archives.
Music & Performance
Concerts and performances that pair Hyderabad’s heritage with new voices.
Ideas
Historians, curators and artists in open conversation with the public.
On Foot
Walks through the city’s historic neighbourhoods, led by people who know them.
Making
Hands-on workshops and artist residencies rooted in local communities.
Screen & Lens
Screenings and open photography competitions for all ages.
Themes Through the Years
2024
Two decades of the festival, celebrated in January 2024.
2019
Visual Practices & Transitions, curated by Abeer Gupta.
2018
The Culture of Indian Maps.
2017
A Franco-Indian collaboration with the Embassy of France.
2016
A season devoted to Mughal music and imagination.
2004
Where it began.
Voices
Historians, critics and musicians who have joined the festival across its editions.
All Year Round
Scholarship
One of the only privately funded arts scholarships of its kind in South India, running for over fifteen years, in partnership with the Embassy of France.
The scholarship →Education
Financial assistance and networking for fine-arts students chosen on merit.
How it works →Residency
Sustained engagement with Hyderabad’s heritage and its communities.
Community
Public activities that connect residents to the history of their own city.
Visit & Collaborate
Artists, curators, organisations and institutions are welcome to exhibit, collaborate or attend. Write to ea@kalakriti.in. The festival is run by the Krishnakriti Foundation, a non-profit.
Onward
Institution
The private archive whose maps, photographs and prints often appear in the festival.
The archive →Kalakriti India
The gallery, archives, ArtCafe and foundation, and how they fit together.
Kalakriti India →The Family
How a trading house became a century and a half of giving.
The timeline →