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Delhi is revving up for the madness of festival music and crowds. What does one do with the slower days in between? A gallery art show’s an easy way of answering this.
October this year, so far, has been quite the time to walk outside. But it’s also the month of the return of government pollution plans to our streets, the word AQI to our group chats, and conversations about how we navigate public parks and maintain our greenery to all over the city. It can’t be a coincidence, then, that many ongoing art exhibitions in Delhi deal with nature.
The best of these shows ask hard questions about our relationship with the planet – questions that are not restricted to eight views of the same sea landscape. They also use nature to talk about the human condition, whether through a state’s folklore or fungi decay.
Here are six exhibitions that approach the earth from a completely different angle, from bug-eye viewpoints and oral storytelling to scrap-metal ecosystems and sacred geometry.
BUGS! We’re All Connected | Shacoco, Shahpur Jat
This indie showcase curated by Shreya Josh zooms in on the creepy-crawlies we usually sweep away. It trades high-brow museum walls for a cozy spot next to a coffee place, combining digital/analogue printmakers with an atmospheric soundtrack recorded by Rohan Kale and Udai Sharma. It is lively and chaotic in the way the cutest bugs are. To top it off, a ceiling-mounted GoPro acts as an overhead ‘observer’ inside the tiny gallery, turning visitors into observed subjects in their own artificial habitat. Paired with a dirty coffee and panini from Shack Coffee Co, this visit promises to do the opposite of… bugging you.
Where: SHACOCO (Shack Coffee Co), Shahpur Jat
When: October 3-October 11, 2026. Open Mon-Sun, 11am-6pm.
Getting there: The nearest metro stations are Hauz Khas and Green Park. Free street parking is available, but it’s sometimes difficult to secure a spot.
Golpo Katha | Method, Defence Colony
Golpo Katha, a solo show by Debosmita Samantha, looks back to folklore and oral traditions. The exhibition in essence will explore how generations before us used local myths, region-specific fables, and oral storytelling to pass down unspoken rules about land stewardship, animals, and natural cycles. Drawing in part from Bengali fairytales, the landscape backdrops to these portraits of collective memory are equally stunning and provocative of a form of wisdom not as respected as it once was.
It opens on the eve of Mahalaya, which kicks off Durga Puja. Excellent timing (and CR Park's about a 20 minute drive away).
Where: Method Delhi, Defence Colony
When: October 9-November 8, 2026. Open Mon-Sun, 12pm-8pm.
Getting there: The nearest metro station is Lajpat Nagar. I’d advise against getting your car to this one.
Inheritors of Earth | KNMA, Saket
How have plants and ecosystems inherited this planet?
Curated by Premjish Achari, this research-backed show takes inspiration from Vaikom Muhammad Basheer's Bhumiyude Avakashikal and ecological activist Kallen Pokkudan, whose mangrove-planting work was based on Dalit history. It traces ‘colonial botanical migrations’ and honours what the show acknowledges as ‘uncredited lower-caste knowledge-keepers erased from scientific archives’.
What else to expect: massive industrial scrap-metal installations, textile landscapes by Ishita Chakraborty, and music by Ben Goldfarb, alongside an ongoing reading group curated by New York’s IMPULSE Magazine. It's easy to grab a snack from one of the many eateries inside DLF Avenue.
Where: Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), Saket
When: Until December 22, 2026. Open Tues-Fri: 10.30am-7pm. Sat-Sun: 10.30am-9pm. Closed Mondays.
Getting there: The nearest metro station is Malviya Nagar, but there’s ample parking space at DLF Avenue, where the gallery is hosted.
Earthy Expressions | Art Magnum, Yusuf Sarai
Curated by Kiran K. Mohan, this group show skips modern city perspectives to spotlight 16 indigenous and tribal artists (across Gond, Bhil, Warli, and Madhubani traditions). These artists use line work, organic pigments, and traditional patterns to reflect a world where spiritual life and physical nature were never separated to begin with. The colours are vivid at this one – as are the wooden masks.
Where: Art Magnum, Yusuf Sarai
When: Until October 31, 2026. Open Mon-Sat, 11am-7pm. You can visit on Sunday through an appointment.
Getting there: The nearest metro stations are Green Park and AIIMS, from which you’ll need auto rides. It’s best to not bring your car.
The Evolution of the Soothsayer (Part 1 and Part 2) | Nature Morte, Gulmohar Park
Marking Nature Morte’s 30th anniversary, and their new gallery in Gulmohar Park, this exhibition, in part, looks at nature through a futuristic, conceptual lens. Instead of literal green trees, artists use raw textures, geometric distortions, and organic decay to examine how natural materials age and predict future ecological shifts. Pieces like this share space with realistic depictions of the world around us, in true Nature Morte style. This is also near Art Magnum.
Where: Nature Morte, Gulmohar Park
When: Until October 10, 2026 (Part 1). October 17-December 12 (Part 2).
Getting there: The nearest metro station is Green Park.