Celebrates a new generation of creators in South Asia transforming inherited traditions into visionary responses to urgent contemporary issues
Accompanying a landmark exhibition at V&A East, Vivid Worlds is a vibrant, richly illustrated celebration of the most exciting and boundary-pushing creative work emerging from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka today. It spotlights the designers, architects, and artists reshaping South Asia’s cultural landscape and influencing global conversations about innovation, sustainability, and identity.
Long viewed primarily through a historical lens, South Asian creativity is now undergoing a powerful transformation. Contemporary practitioners are reimagining inherited craft traditions, adapting generational knowledge, and developing bold new responses to the urgent urban and environmental challenges facing the region.
From Gaurav Gupta’s gravity-defying couture worn on red carpets worldwide to Marina Tabassum’s ingenious Khudi Bari—a lightweight, flood-resilient home that can be built and rebuilt by hand—these projects reveal a region alive with experimentation. Spanning art, design, architecture, and fashion, this inspiring survey showcases creators who are embracing the richness, complexity, and contradictions of their local contexts to produce work that is as inventive as it is impactful.