In Ladakh’s rugged mountains, art is set to meet climate & community at the world’s highest biennale

SRINAGAR: Coming August, the Sā Ladakh Biennale, the world’s highest art biennale, will transform Ladakh’s rugged mountain landscape into an open-air gallery. The festival from August 1 to 10 will cover eight locations along the 230 km Leh-Kargil corridor bringing together 12 international and Ladakhi artists.The biennale takes place at elevations above 3,000 metres, at times reaching beyond 3,500 metres, which is why it is described as the world’s highest regenerative art biennale.Founded in 2023, sā means “soil” in Ladakhi and the organisers say the biennale is centred around climate, culture and community. The visitors can expect conversations and encounters across art, ecology and heritage.The third edition of the Sā Ladakh Biennale will unfold at Leh, Basgo, Likir, Nurla, Lamayuru, Henasku, Mulbekh and Kargil. Each site will feature two site-specific artworks in the landscape, one by a Ladakhi artist and another by an international artist. The two artists will be present at each site. The works will be installed and ready for viewing. The biennale is free to visit.The organisers say the idea of regeneration is central to the festival. Rather than simply reducing harm, the Biennale asks how cultural projects can actively contribute positively to landscapes, relationships and local ecosystems, said an organiser.Even for someone with little connection to contemporary art, the festival offers another way of seeing Ladakh: through listening, walking, conversation, landscape and shared experience.In the previous two editions, nearly 90% of the visitors were from Ladakh. The sites emerged through conversations with local communities and their interest in hosting artworks within their regions, seeing the works at Disko Valley in 2023 and 2024. The community dialogue started in 2023 in Leh and the process has been community-led from the beginning.“Artworks and concepts are discussed together with community leaders (Gobas) through our Ladakhi team, many of whom are themselves deeply connected to these places. The aim is for each work to grow out of the realities, histories and knowledge of the site itself, rather than being imposed from outside,” the organisers said.The festival hopes to create long-term cultural and educational value beyond tourism alone. It also encourages communities to use the platform to share and promote locally made products and bring greater visibility to lesser-known cultural sites and traditions. It will engage with local schools through conversations with students and teachers, artist interactions and discussions around regenerative art and ecology.A central aim is also to support and showcase Ladakhi artists internationally.“For example, we first met SKarma Sonam Tashi through his work with the Ladakh Arts and Media Organisation. He participated in the first edition of sā, after which we presented his work at the India Art Fair, and he is now representing India at the Venice Biennale. We also supported Stanzin Tsepel and Arunima Dazess Wangchuk in becoming among the first Ladakhi artists to present work in Western Australia at the Fremantle Biennale in 2025,” said an organiser.“More broadly, the Biennale is intended as a learning platform rooted in slow, long-term engagement, creating space for exchange between local knowledge, community practices and international dialogues,” the organiser added.Beyond the Biennale, among the special projects is an exhibition in Leh’s old town featuring five Ladakhi artists. The 2026 biennale is curated by Vishal K Dar, with associate curator Tsering Motup Siddho.Organisers said the 2026 edition is guided by Dar’s curatorial vision, Signals from Another Star. Dar, they said, is known for a practice that employs satire and scale to address personal and political anxieties through site-specific projects.