An art consultancy exists to own that gap. After more than seven hundred projects since 2016 — across properties for the Oberoi, Taj (IHCL), The Leela Palaces, Marriott International, Hyatt and ITC Hotels — here is what the work actually involves, and how to brief one so the result feels inevitable rather than assembled at the last minute.
What an art consultancy actually does
An art consultancy plans, sources, commissions, frames and installs the artwork across a property as one coordinated programme — from the arrival and lobby through corridors, guest rooms, the spa and the restaurants. It is not a single sculpture in the porte-cochère; it is every wall, considered together, against the property's story and the interior scheme. The consultancy decides what is commissioned new versus sourced, briefs and manages the artists, handles framing, sizing, conservation and site-specific installation, and delivers the whole programme to the operator as a finished, documented set. Done well, the guest never sees the seams — only a building that feels as though it was always meant to hold this work.
Why a programme beats piecemeal buying
When art is bought wall by wall — a little by the designer, a little by purchasing, a little in the fortnight before opening — a property ends up with pieces that don't speak to each other or to the place. A programme gives three things piecemeal buying cannot: coherence, a single visual language across hundreds of works; narrative, art that carries the property's and the city's story; and accountability, one team answerable for budget, timeline, quality and the wall that is still empty a week before the soft opening.
How to brief an art consultancy
The brief is where a good programme is won or lost. You don't need to know what goes on each wall — that's our work. You need to bring the frame we work inside:
- Floor plans and a zoning view. Which spaces are public, guest-facing or back-of-house, and which walls are the hero moments.
- The property's positioning and story. Operator standards, the city, the building's history, and who the guest is.
- The interior scheme. Materials, palette, lighting and the designer's intent — ideally a conversation with the design team.
- A budget envelope. Not a figure per wall; the total you're working within, and where it should concentrate. The lobby usually earns the most.
- A timeline. Tied to the opening date and worked backwards through production lead times.
- Your art policy. Originals versus reproductions, conservation and insurance expectations, any cultural sensitivities, and how much Indian and local art the brand wants represented.
The process, stage by stage
- Brief & walkthrough. We read the plans, see the spaces where we can, and agree the hero moments and the scope.
- Concept & selection. A programme proposal — the direction, the mix of media, and which walls are commissioned versus sourced.
- Commission & sourcing. Work made for the property by our in-house studio and by established Indian artists — among them Paresh Maiti and Bose Krishnamachari — alongside sourced pieces, including works by modern masters such as M.F. Husain and S.H. Raza where a brief calls for it.
- Production. Typically eight to twelve weeks for commissioned work, with photographs at sketch, mid-stage and finishing.
- Installation. Packed, shipped and installed in coordination with the property's site team.
- Handover & documentation. A record of every work, artist and location for the operator's files.
Budget and timeline, honestly
The two questions every hotel asks — what will it cost, and how long will it take — share the same drivers: scale (how many works, across how many walls); the ratio of commissioned to sourced pieces (commissions ask more of both budget and time, but they are what make a property singular); framing and installation complexity; and lead time. The single most expensive mistake is bringing the art programme in late. When the walls are built, the lighting is fixed and there is no time left to commission, you are reduced to buying what is available — not what is right for the space.
The India question
A property in India can hold work that is genuinely of its place — contemporary Indian art alongside living traditions such as Pichwai and Madhubani — rather than pieces ordered from a global catalogue. Working from our studio in Kolkata, we commission, frame and ship across India, which lets a hotel in any city carry art with a real sense of where it stands. At The Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur, the works were composed to sit within the resort's heritage register; at The Oberoi, Nariman Point in Mumbai, the suite artworks drew on Bombay's lifestyle alongside a custom map of South Bombay. For an international operator, it is often the most direct way to make a property feel local without feeling like a theme.