Outsider Art runs at CIMA

CIMA Gallery in Kolkata opened “Outsider Art” on April 10, a group exhibition of 21 self-taught and professionally untrained makers that runs through May 2. (indulgexpress.com) (cimaartindia.com) The Centre of International Modern Art said the show brings together people working outside formal art-school training and the usual professional art circuit. CIMA described that instinctive, uncredentialed approach as central to the exhibition. (cimaartindia.com) Indulge Express reported the exhibition includes 21 participants drawn from “past and present” and framed them as people who had artistic ability but pursued other careers. The publication said the show opened April 10 and continues until May 2. (indulgexpress.com) T2 Online identified some of the names in the lineup, including filmmaker Aparna Sen and musician Ayaan Ali Bangash. It said the participants come from varied professional backgrounds rather than conventional studio-art training. (t2online.in) CIMA’s own exhibition text says these artists work with form and color “instinctively, playfully and organically,” without the constraints of formal training. The gallery cast that approach as a contrast with its usual focus on art history and established artistic practice. (cimaartindia.com) The show also arrives in a broader market that already has a dedicated commercial platform for this category. The Outsider Art Fair, founded in New York in 1993, describes itself as the premier fair for self-taught art, art brut and outsider art. (outsiderartfair.com) That fair’s 2025 edition brought together 66 exhibitors from 40 cities in nine countries, underscoring how work once treated as marginal now circulates through an international calendar. CIMA’s exhibition places that conversation in Kolkata with a local roster and a short April-to-May run. (bluemedium.com) (cimaartindia.com) A Telegraph India review published April 25 said the exhibition’s participants communicate lived experience outside the “chains of formal training.” The review also confirmed the show remains on view at CIMA through May 2. (telegraphindia.com) For now, the facts are simple: CIMA has given a prime gallery slot to 21 makers from beyond the formal profession, and the show closes on May 2. (cimaartindia.com) (indulgexpress.com)