
May 1 - October 13, 2025
Curation at World Expo 2025 (Osaka, Japan)
As part of E Factor Experiences Ltd
Under the aegies of IGNCA and ITPO, Government of India
Situated in the Connecting Lives zone at World Expo 2025, Osaka, the India Pavilion (Bharat) unfolds as a curatorial passage through time—bridging India’s ancient civilisational wisdom with its contemporary global aspirations.
As Principal Curator, Nayanika led the artistic, editorial, and spatial storytelling strategy: shaping narrative arcs, selecting collaborators, and overseeing multimedia commissions and object-based interventions across thematic zones. Inspired by the figure of Padmapani, the pavilion’s lotus-shaped exterior extends inward as a conceptual stream. With the aim to invite visitors to move through experiences that emphasise empathy, oneness, and innovation.
Zones such as the Oneness Lounge, Living Heritage Corridor, and Innovative Bharat were curated to foreground India’s pluralistic identities, scientific temperament, and ecological consciousness. With over 70 exhibits—ranging from rare crafts to kinetic installations, digital displays to spiritual metaphors—the Pavilion becomes a living archive of Bharat’s layered stories. It is at once a contemplative space and a future-facing hub, where design, diplomacy, and public imagination intersect.
India Pavilion
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World Expo 2025
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India Pavilion * World Expo 2025 *
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To develop a curatorial blueprint for physical and digital content that communicates India’s pluralistic heritage and global ambitions through experiential storytelling at a world stage.
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Site-responsive curatorial strategy and spatial narrative design
Editorial lead for all exhibition texts, films, brochures, and public communications
Cross-sectoral liaison with ministries, artists, architects, fabricators, Japanese institutions, and visual design teams
Development of digital content strategy aligned with curatorial vision and stakeholder expectations
On-site oversight for fabrication, installation, and display logic
Integration of long-term maintenance SOPs for operational continuity across the Pavilion's 6-month lifespan
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Visual semiotics and mythic symbolism in contemporary space-making
Exhibition-making as diplomacy: India’s cultural soft power
Indigenous knowledge, ODOP crafts, and techno-cultural storytelling
Environmental imaginaries in exhibition architecture
Participatory curation and inclusive regional representation
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Curatorial Exhibtion label writing
Collateral/Publication Writing
Archival Records Writing
Content Brief writing
Curatorial Briefs and Reports for stakeholders
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Concept-to-execution curatorial direction across 70+ multimedia exhibits
Interpretive strategy spanning five thematic zones: entrance, oneness lounge, heritage andcraft culture, technology and innovation, governance, state representation, corporate representation.
Editorial ownership of communication tools across platforms
Pavilion positioned as a soft power landmark and international cultural interface
यत्र विश्वं भवत्येकनीडम्
(Yatra Vishwam Bhavatyekanidam)
Where the world becomes one nest
Photo Courtesy: PIB, India (Project under ITPO, IGNCA)
© India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO)
Lotus, becoming…
At World Expo 2025 Osaka, themed Designing Future Society for Our Lives, the India Pavilion stands in the Connecting Lives zone. The Pavilion reimagines India’s presence at the World Expo within the constraints of a standard modular shell, transforming it into a cultural landmark of symbolic depth. Inspired by the Bodhisattva Padmapani from the Ajanta Caves, the design anchors itself in the timeless motif of the lotus — a symbol of purity, wisdom, and compassion.
A layered façade of translucent pink petals wraps the pavilion, creating a calm yet commanding presence amidst the visual intensity of the Expo. Intelligent lighting animates the structure, shifting in mood and rhythm to reflect ceremony and celebration.
From symbol to space
Padmapani’s gesture of giving is interpreted spatially as a series of “offerings” – zones that gift the visitor knowledge of practices, indigenous and modern alike.
Fom the Lotus Courtyard and Bodhi Tree in Oneness Lounge to Heritage & Craft, and Innovation, each space unfolds as a micro-journey. A symbolic stream connected these chapters, linking ancient ethos to contemporary ambition; thereby bringing India to the world. The spatial narrative moves from the anthropological gaze of the lotus as symbol, to a biophilic experience of interconnectedness — aligning deeply with the Expo’s core theme of Designing Future Society for Our Lives
This video is produced under E Factor Experiences Ltd
This video is produced under E Factor Experiences Ltd