Kangra Painting Revival
For decades, Kangra painting survived on reverence alone. Admired for its lyrical beauty and emotional depth, the art form remained confined to museums, private collections, and the memories of a dwindling number of practitioners. While its cultural value was never in doubt, its economic future was.
What Kangra painting lacked was not talent or tradition - it lacked a system that could help it survive in a modern economy.
That is where IRHPL stepped in.
Through its cultural initiative, ARTPORT, IRHPL has emerged as a central force in the revival of Kangra painting, building a sustainable model that connects heritage with livelihood, and tradition with contemporary consumption.
IRHPL operates at the intersection of travel, retail, and hospitality - sectors where consumers increasingly seek products with depth and cultural meaning. It was in these environments that the company identified a critical gap: while demand for authentic Indian art existed, access to genuine, ethically sourced work was limited and fragmented.
"Kangra painting is not just art," says Naresh Sharma, CEO of IRHPL Group of Companies. "It is a cultural legacy that was slipping away because it lacked visibility and consistent market access. At IRHPL, we saw an opportunity to bring this art back into everyday life, not as an antique, but as something people can live with and value."
Kangra painting, with its refined aesthetics and emotional storytelling, had immense cultural worth. Yet limited market access and declining patronage meant only a handful of artists continued to practise it - often unable to earn a stable income from their craft.
Rather than treating the art as a relic, IRHPL chose to make it relevant again - both culturally and economically.
Unlike conventional retail approaches, IRHPL understood that heritage crafts cannot be forced into fast-fashion timelines. Through ARTPORT, the company built a system where artists work at traditional speeds, while IRHPL handles everything else - pricing, assortment planning, inventory flow, and consumer engagement.
This separation of roles proved critical. Artists retained complete creative integrity, while IRHPL ensured the art reached the right audience in the right way.
The result is a rare balance: commercial sustainability without artistic compromise.
One of IRHPL's most important interventions has been moving Kangra painting out of static spaces and back into everyday environments. The belief is simple - art survives only when people live with it.
Through ARTPORT, Kangra paintings are now featured in curated retail environments, hospitality spaces, and travel hubs. These settings introduce the art to diverse audiences who may otherwise never encounter it.
Each piece is positioned not as décor, but as a cultural artefact - hand-painted, limited in number, and deeply rooted in tradition. This shift has redefined how consumers perceive Indian art: not as souvenirs, but as meaningful, lasting acquisitions.
At the heart of IRHPL's initiative is a strong commitment to artisan welfare. All sourcing under ARTPORT is direct. Payments are assured, transparent, and timely. Middlemen - long a source of exploitation in the craft ecosystem - are completely eliminated.
This has had a tangible impact.The change is not merely financial. With stability has come confidence. Younger family members are choosing to learn the craft instead of leaving in search of work elsewhere. What was once a fragile tradition is slowly becoming a viable livelihood again.
Artists like Master Dhaniram represent this transformation. Once limited to sporadic local sales, his work now reaches national and international audiences through IRHPL's retail network. His role has evolved from a struggling artisan to a recognised practitioner of Kangra painting.
More importantly, his success has created employment within his community, helping revive interest in the art form at the village level.
IRHPL's involvement goes beyond sales. Its category teams train retail staff to communicate the history and significance of Kangra painting, ensuring customers understand the value of what they are purchasing. A dedicated product strategy team works closely with artists to develop offerings that remain true to tradition while appealing to contemporary sensibilities.
Airport retail platforms, in particular, have become powerful enablers - offering global visibility and introducing Indian heritage art to international audiences.
Together, these efforts are building something larger than a supply chain: a cultural economy where heritage, livelihood, and commerce reinforce one another.
IRHPL's work with Kangra painting demonstrates what is possible when corporate capability is aligned with cultural responsibility. By creating access, ensuring fair value, and respecting tradition, the company has positioned itself not just as a retailer, but as a custodian of heritage.
In doing so, IRHPL has shown that preservation does not mean preservation in glass cases. It means enabling art to live, breathe, and evolve - carried forward by the very people who have safeguarded it for generations.
And in the delicate brushstrokes of Kangra painting today, one can see not just history, but a future carefully being restored.
