Indian miniature painting is a practice of patience, precision, and deep material knowledge. Built through fine brushwork, layered colour, and careful composition, miniature paintings invite viewers into intimate worlds where stories unfold slowly, detail by detail. Rather than grand scale, meaning is carried through line, surface, and repetition.

In this workshop, participants are introduced to the traditional visual language of Indian miniature painting through a close engagement with its materials and techniques. Drawing inspiration from the exhibition Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters, the session workshop reflects on how stories are mapped, not only across vast landscapes, but also within contained surfaces. Just as Songlines carry knowledge through careful attention to land, memory, and movement, miniature paintings carryies narrative through disciplined mark-making and knowledge of materials sensitivity.

The workshop is led by Padma Shri awardee Jai Prakash, a master of Indian miniature painting with over three decades of practice. Renowned for his technical excellence, restoration work, and significant commissions across some of India’s most important cultural and public institutions, his approach is rooted in a deep understanding of materials, surface, and process. Under his guidance, participants gain rare insight into the patience, discipline, and precision that miniature painting demands.

Participants will understand how surface, pigment, and control shape visual storytelling. The focus remains will remain on building lines, layering colour, and responding attentively to the material itself, experiencing how meaning emerges through sustained attention rather than speed. By slowing down and working at a small scale, participants discover how miniature painting becomes a way of seeing, where every mark carries intention and care.

Artist Bio

Padma Shri awardee Jai Prakash is a renowned Indian miniature painter and master of traditional techniques with over 30 years of professional practice. He is also a recipient of the UNESCO–CCI Excellence Award (2005), the National Award in Painting (1998), and the Delhi State Award (1996), recognising his significant contribution to Indian art.

His works adorn prestigious institutions such as Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Supreme Court of India, and the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum, including landmark projects like the State Corridor Panels at Rashtrapati Bhawan and major heritage restoration works. His paintings form part of eminent national and international collections and have been presented to global leaders across the world.

This workshop accompanies Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters, the first major National Museum of Australia exhibition to tour India, presented in partnership with the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi, at the Humayun’s Tomb World Heritage Site Museum.