Basu Foundation for the Arts ( BFA ) is a not-for-profit, philanthropic organisation established in 1911 and revived in 2014 to encourage and support innovation, experimentation and potential in the arts. Placing the artist at the core, the foundation facilitates a programme of dance, music, sound, performance art, theatre and visual arts exhibitions and residencies both in India and internationally.
From its base in Kolkata, the foundation runs an international residency programme for curators and artists. The aim of the residencies is to provide an innovative forum for contemporary performance and visual practices, one that is totally committed to the artists and their creative endeavor whilst encouraging cross-cultural dialogue and sustained discourse with the local community. Central to the foundation’s philosophy is a commitment to public benefit through the arts and this is realized through community led initiatives such as workshops, talks, screenings and events. The diverse programming involves and draws a range of audiences – from recent arts graduates to practicing artists, emergent writers to established curators and from schools to university students and lecturers.
Founded on a strong desire to advance public appreciation of contemporary art, the foundation works closely with collectors based in India and abroad to establish connections with foundations and institutions for the loans of works for exhibition internationally.
The Gallery of the Basu Foundation exhibits the works of the artist in residence with the mission to create an awareness of the works and the artist by curating exhibitions in a vibrant contemporary art space in Kolkata and across India and connecting these artists with international collectors, galleries, foundations and museums and provide them with the necessary exposure among the right networks.
