Art X Company and Festivals From India will host the fourth edition of CultureCon, India’s flagship multi-disciplinary conference for the creative sector, on August 6 and 7, 2026, in collaboration with the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai.
Bringing together artists, designers, writers, filmmakers, creative entrepreneurs, policymakers and industry leaders, the two-day conference aims to serve as a platform for learning, innovation, networking and cross-sector collaboration. Organisers said the event will continue the legacy of its previous editions while strengthening its position as India’s leading conference connecting ideas, people and opportunities across the country’s creative ecosystem.
CultureCon was launched in 2020 as a conference co-founded by Art X Company and Godrej India Culture Lab to examine the structure of India’s cultural sector. Across its subsequent editions in 2024 and 2025, the conference expanded its focus, with the 2025 edition exploring creative futures, policy and careers. The 2026 edition broadens the discussion to the creative economy, examining the intersection of culture, capital, commerce and careers that underpin the industry.
The conference will bring together professionals from across disciplines to discuss the future of creative work and explore how careers are built, how projects are commissioned and how capital flows through the creative sector. Through conversations, debates and masterclasses, the programme is designed to foster collaboration across genres and disciplines rather than focusing on individual sectors.
Among the key sessions is “Yeh Orange Economy Kya Hai Bhai”, a keynote address by Sanjoy Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts Private Limited, which will examine India’s emerging policy framework around the creative economy and its implications for those working within the sector.
Another keynote, “Skilling for the Creative Economy: What India Got Right, What It’s Still Getting Wrong,” will be delivered by Ashish Kulkarni, Founding Director of the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies. Drawing on three decades of experience building institutional frameworks for India’s creative industries, Kulkarni will discuss how nearly 10 million livelihoods in the country’s creative economy—many developed outside formal education systems—can be formalised.
CultureCon 2026 will also host “The Big Fight: AI and the Future of India’s Creative Economy,” a moderated debate featuring Roshan Abbas, Founder of Kommune Arts Pvt Ltd, and Vijay Subramaniam, Founder and Group CEO of Collective Artists Network. The discussion will explore artificial intelligence, creativity and ownership within India’s creative economy.
The session “Creative Skilling: A Data Intervention on Creative Education and Skills Gap” will be led by Asad Lalljee, CEO of Avid Learning and Curator at the Royal Opera House, and will examine the gap between the rapid growth of the creative sector and existing skill development systems.
Infrastructure for live performance will be the focus of “Building A Music Venue Circuit,” featuring Girish ‘Bobby’ Talwar, Founder of Rebellion Management & Entertainment; Shlipi Gupta, Founder and Curatorial Lead of CRUX; Dipti Rao, DGM-Auditorium Operations at Prestige Centre for Performing Arts; Rafael Pereira, Managing Partner at Tinnuts; Dev Bhatia, COO of Big Bad Wolf; and Jishnu Dasgupta, Bass Guitarist and Artist Manager with Swarathma. The panel will discuss strategies for developing and sustaining gig circuits across Indian cities.
In “Pricing Your Projects,” Himanshu Vaswani, Co-founder of 4/4 Experiences, will provide a practical breakdown of pricing creative projects, covering project scoping, costing, margins and quotations.
The session “Culture And The City,” presented in partnership with Crisil Limited, will examine investment in creative infrastructure and its role in building vibrant cities. Suraj Iyengar, Director and Practice Leader-Urban Consulting at Crisil Intelligence, and Bruce Guthrie, Head of Theatre and Films at NCPA, will discuss what sustained investment in creative infrastructure looks like for Mumbai and other Indian cities.
Sustainability in live entertainment will be addressed through “We Will (Sustainably) Rock You,” where Jishu Dasgupta of Swarathma will share insights into the band’s renewable energy-powered concert tour and its experience in delivering India’s first clean energy music tour.
The conference will also feature “Uncentred: Creative Economies Beyond The Metro,” a reverse-pitch session presented in partnership with Royal Enfield Social Mission, with the Australian Consulate General Mumbai as the international partner. Practitioners including Varun Chauva (Himachal Pradesh), Banyllashisha Wankhar (Meghalaya), Murup Namgyal (Ladakh), Vohbika Hrahsel (Mizoram) and Grace Lillian Lee (Australia) will each present questions highlighting issues overlooked by India’s metro-centric creative economy.
Additional speakers across the two-day programme include Tess Joseph, Co-founder of Spoken Fest and Casting Director at Tess Joseph Casting; Rohan Marathe, Lead-Digital Accessibility and Partnerships at Access For All; K V Kanchana, CEO of the Network of Indian Cultural Enterprises; singer-songwriter Geetu Hinduja; Pankaj Tak, Founder and Director of Some Good Gigs; Meghana, Head of Inclusion at the Museum of Art & Photography; and Farzana Cama Balpande, Head of BookAChange by BookMyShow Foundation.
Networking mixers will conclude each day of the conference. On August 6, Kommune will present “Don’t Worry, Ho Jayega,” a live performance by Roshan Abbas reflecting on his journey in India’s live events industry. On August 7, B-Spot Productions will present “Rang Birangi Lavani,” featuring three artists who reinterpret the folk dance tradition by exploring themes of caste, class, gender, desire and queerness through immersive performance.
Beyond these sessions, the conference will feature discussions on arts accessibility, city-building, policymaking and legal frameworks for creative businesses, alongside masterclasses focused on networking and mentorship. Organisers said the sessions are designed to generate practical outcomes, findings and actionable commitments for participants.
Talking about the latest edition of CultureCon, Rashmi Dhanwani, Conference Director – CultureCon India & Founder-Director, Art X Company and Festivals From India, said, “Building the creative economy isn’t just about funding or infrastructure – it also means making sure more people can participate in and contribute to these conversations as well as take ownership of their careers and growth. That’s what this year’s programme is designed to do. Through a diverse line-up of speakers and sessions, we’re bringing together different perspectives on creative skilling, community building, funding, collaboration, and the future of the sector in a way that’s practical, relevant, and rooted in real experience. Because culture doesn’t exist in isolation, neither should the conversations that shape it.”
On the collaboration with CultureCon, Bruce Guthrie, Head, Theatre & Films, NCPA, said, “CultureCon is such an important gathering because it brings the creative community together to share ideas, learn from one another and build new partnerships. At the NCPA, we are proud to have been a home for the performing arts in India for generations and to continue supporting the artists, institutions and ideas that will shape its future. We are delighted to be collaborating with an initiative that celebrates the strength of India’s cultural sector and encourages even greater collaboration across it.”
Organisers said CultureCon 2026 aims to build a blueprint for India’s creative economy by bringing together change-makers to define the future of the country’s creative sector. The conference seeks to provide actionable insights, tangible opportunities and measurable impact for India’s creative workforce.
Registrations for CultureCon 2026 are open through the official conference website.
