Presenting the legacy of Tyeb Mehta, the Foundation serves as a platform where vision, form, and culture coalesce. Established in 2013, it seeks to deepen the understanding of his practice and widen the discourse around South Asian modern and contemporary art.

Tyeb Mehta’s oeuvre resonates with a vigorous intensity, distilling pain, faith, and longing into stark yet lyrical forms that speak to the universal fragility of existence. By serving as a platform for emerging voices and diverse perspectives, the Foundation seeks to sustain this spirit of existential inquiry and innovation that defined Tyeb’s passion.

Nurturing artists through a thoughtfully designed support system—including grants, scholarships, and curatorial programmes such as exhibitions, workshops, screenings, publications, dialogues, and research initiatives—the Foundation offers agency to the young and emerging.

Through Tyeb Mehta’s lens, culture and art are not reflections of one another but an aesthetic tension in an interchangeable dialogue. On the same lines, the Foundation aims at fostering symbiotic spaces where image-making, creative inquiry, and experimentation give rise to new forms of meaning.

The Tyeb Mehta Foundation (TMF) is committed to encouraging the dialogue between art and culture—between image and idea—that shapes how we understand societal change and growth. Its diverse projects highlight interdisciplinary exchanges, sustain the discourse of modernity within the contemporary, and forge enduring partnerships and collaborations.

Over the last 15 years, we have commemorated the legacy and birthday of Tyeb Mehta through an annual programme titled Conversation with Chai. Each year, the programme has invited noted theorists, scholars, and historians to embark upon critical research on Tyeb’s oeuvre, reflecting not only on the artist’s practice but also on his sensitive psyche.

As an ode to remembrance and in celebration of Tyeb’s enduring legacy, Conversation with Chai has drawn an eclectic audience—ranging from artists to students, and from collectors to connoisseurs—belonging to varied disciplines. Sparking and extending thought into new realms, the programme seeks to illuminate never-before-seen dimensions of a practice that amalgamates visual, movement, and the social.

The Foundation is committed to nurturing ideas and supporting young artists through two key initiatives: scholarships and grants. Scholarships assist students at various Indian institutes, guiding the future of art education, while Artist Grants provide essential financial support to artists under 35.

Tyeb Mehta’s own journey inspires both initiatives—his struggles to sustain himself during his formative years in London, and the breakthrough of his first solo exhibition, which strengthened his resolve and ambition. In the same spirit, these scholarships and grants aim to nurture the aspirations of young artists, providing them with platforms for exposure and encouraging them to pursue their creative dreams with confidence.

Tyeb Mehta Foundation intends to preserve and disseminate the artist’s intellectual and creative legacy through various research-based initiatives. Through catalogues, monographs, essays, and digital archives, the Foundation encourages profound engagements with Tyeb Mehta’s practice; contextualising his oeuvre not only through artistic discourse but also through the lens of interdisciplinary exchange.

As a site of reflection where new interpretations, correspondences, and perspectives emerge, the Foundation also seeks to extend its critical inquiry beyond Tyeb’s practice—engaging with broader discourses and ideas through varied forms of publication. By collaborating with scholars, writers, and institutions, it aims to publish initiatives that remain rigorous, accessible, and lasting, reaching audiences within India and beyond.