An Ardee Foundation Initiative
The Ardee Foundation, known for its enduring commitment to education and philanthropy for over four decades, now presents the Centre for Culture and Art (CCA) — a space for culture, thought, and art. Located in the heart of Lutyens Delhi, CCA is designed as an intimate and immersive environment that nurtures creativity across disciplines including visual art, performance, literature, theatre, cinema, and critical discourse.
Founded in the late 1980s under the visionary leadership of Mr. Ashok Varma, CCA emerged as one of the early platforms in India to recognize and elevate contemporary artistic voices. It was a space ahead of its time — at once eclectic, rigorous, and inclusive — showcasing the work of artists who would go on to become some of India’s most iconic modern masters. Names such as Manjit Bawa, S.H. Raza, M.F. Husain, Krishen Khanna, Ram Kumar, F.N. Souza, J. Swaminathan, Arpita Singh and others found a place at CCA long before they were widely celebrated in the art world.
Nearly four decades later, the Varma family is quietly reviving CCA with renewed purpose and passion — transforming it into a first-of-its-kind collector’s home and cultural incubator. The space is conceived as a living art experience: where art lives in it’s true context and not on a white wall. Salon-style exhibitions will flow across its living rooms and corridors, rare art publications line the research library, and large sculpture gardens and an open-air amphitheatre invite performances, screenings, quiet reflections and conversations amongst it’s every changing installation.
CCA is not just a space for viewing art — it is also a space for making it. Carrying forward its legacy as a talent incubator, CCA will provide working studios, mentorship, and exhibition opportunities for young and emerging artists from across India, particularly those from indigenous and underrepresented communities. Through active patronage, dialogue, and support, CCA aims to shape the future of Indian art by investing in its most promising voices.
A vibrant annual programme of internal and external events will include exhibitions, performances, readings, lectures, residencies, art fairs and hybrid auctions— bringing together targeted audiences by invitation only. Artists, curators, museum directors, art historians, and collectors from India and around the world will interact and ideate. Each event is designed to spark meaningful engagement, deepen understanding of artistic practices, and foster long-term relationships between creators and select audiences.
In an era when India’s cultural narrative is being rediscovered and redefined, CCA offers a space where past, present, and future co-exist — deliberately, privately and purposefully.
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