Culture - India
TheThe Netherlands has a long and many-faceted relationship with India, going back over 400 years. Culture remains an important thread connecting both countries. From architecture, the performing arts, design, fashion, to literature the universal tapestry of arts is seen as way to strengthen the foundation between both countries. Mutually enriching cultural exchanges continues to build people-to-people connections. Whether it was Rembrandt who, at the peak of his career created 23 drawings inspired by Mughal miniatures, Marius Bauer (1867–1932) who captured his visit’s to India on multiple paintings, Dutch Sanskrit scholar Jean Philippe Vogel who worked for 13 years with the Archeological Survey of India, Dutch modernist architect Willem Dudok who designed Calcutta’s iconic Lighthouse cinema in 1936, the Bollywood hit-movie Silsila that immortalized Keukenhof and tulips in the imagination of Indians, to Dutch DJ’s captivating young urban Indians today. Connecting through cultures has always been a powerful way to build trust, shape mutual understanding and inspire people, even in challenging times. Deepening cultural collaborations is therefore an important tenet of the bilateral relationship.
Cultural exchange between India and the Netherlands
Image: ©Dutch embassy India / Ministry of Foreign Affairs
India is a priority country under the International Cultural Policy, which means that the Dutch government is committed to strengthen cultural exchange and cooperation with India. Knowledge exchanges, creative collaborations, and cultural partnerships are important building blocks to enhance mutual understanding and foster an alignment of values and interests. The priority areas identified are design, performing arts, cultural heritage and museum collaboration. Emphasis is placed on exchange, innovation and sustainability. Overall, the cultural activities aim to:
• To facilitate creative collaborations that are mutually beneficial, this will truly support the Dutch creative sector (alignment of interests)
• To encourage long-term partnerships and knowledge exchanges ensuring durability and visibility
• To promote an alignment of values (sustainability, diversity, fair-pay, equity)
• To strengthen the bilateral relationship .
Unravelling the cultural portfolio, spotlight on a few activities: Warp Weft Wool
Image: ©Caption text here
Wool is a material deeply rooted in the tradition of the Netherlands and India. In both countries, however, local wool is discarded due to cheaper alternatives, high production costs and lost knowledge. Two parallel design trajectories have been set up in which Dutch and Indian designers and weavers work together exchanging knowledge and researching sustainable alternatives for discarded wool. The project explores the rich tradition of dhurrie weaving with local wool between India and The Netherlands. A part of this project connects Indian weavers from Rajasthan to Dutch designers.
Re-imagine, Re-trofit and Re-use: An Indo Dutch Perspective
Image: ©Caption text here
This two-year project focuses on the adaptive reuse of historical buildings through creativity and innovation. While the Netherlands is leading the way, India has a more complex context with more challenges. These factors require fast, creative, and contextual solutions, which challenges Dutch professionals to think outside their familiar frameworks. Knowledge exchange, co-creation and partnerships are therefore at the core of this project. From 2024, Dutch and Indian experts and students have started sharing knowledge on policies, approaches and practices, resulting in a mobile exhibition, publication and symposium that will be presented in the second half of 2025. This project creates an opportunity for sustainable collaboration between Dutch and Indian architects, urban planners, designers, academics, and heritage institutions. The project offers space for a training program that contributes to SDG 4, 9, 11, 16, and 17.
Cotton Trails – From Madras to Marken
Image: ©Caption text here
The project explores the historical and cultural heritage between India and the Netherlands through checked and striped cotton patterns and trade routes. It also looks at Indian cotton lifecycle and value chain and experiment with reconsidering using naturally coloured indigenous cotton varieties through a collaboration between designers, farmers, weavers, wearers, historians, museum curators and experts of traditional costumes. This research investigates ancient knowledge and practices of organic cotton cultivation, extraction and fabric conversion and aims to gain more insights into how Indian textiles influenced the Dutch market material preferences in the 17th and 18th centuries. In collaboration with experts, museums, and artisans, the origins and techniques of Indian checked fabrics are examined. Online sessions and field visits are organized to exchange knowledge and develop an exhibition featuring a tapestry that represents various cotton types. The exhibition, starting at the DakshinChitra Museum followed by the Dutch Design Week, includes narrative cloths that reveal the stories of cotton routes from seed to fabric, promoting cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the two countries.