Kiran Nadar has always been singular — standing out in her designer Shantanu & Nikhil outfits, with her ready smile, and her effortless poise. Even while zipping around on an electric scooter, handpainted by London-based artist Raqib Shaw, at the India Art Fair earlier this year.
Now, the art collector, philanthropist and founder of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) is also the recipient of the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian recognitions. But she remains as accessible as ever. I am reminded of the day I first met her, in 2010, when she excitedly announced the launch of KNMA Noida. The inaugural exhibition, Open Doors, curated by the museum’s director and chief curator Roobina Karode, presented the art Nadar had collected over the last two decades.
She is as animated when we catch up recently over a phone call to discuss KNMA’s next chapter — a new museum that is due to open in 2026-27. “It will be near the Indira Gandhi International Airport, and is being designed by Adjaye Associates [the firm of renowned Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye],” she says.
