Indian Contemporary Art Gets an AI Guide at the Hermitage
The State Hermitage Museum has opened Of the Sweetness of the World: Contemporary Art of India, an exhibition that will run through October 4. Visitors can explore the collection with the help of a virtual AI guide.
The exhibition occupies the White Hall of the Hermitage General Staff Building. Eleven contemporary artists from different regions of India represent multiple generations, media, and artistic genres, including painting, graphic art, sculpture, installations, photography, video art, performance art, and game-based installations.
Inspired by the Classics
Mikhail Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage Museum, said the exhibition was designed around a dialogue between contemporary art and historical heritage.
“This is a distinctly Hermitage exhibition: we selected artists who fit our tradition of presenting new works in the context of existing collections and cultural traditions,” he noted.
The exhibition includes the first video game installation ever presented at the State Hermitage Museum, created by Afrah Shafiq. Several works were produced specifically for the St. Petersburg exhibition. Artists V. Ramesh, Manjunath Kamath, Gargi Raina, and Maya Krishna Rao created works inspired by the exhibition’s theme of the sweetness of the world. Anindita Bhattacharya and Sumakshi Singh developed their contributions following a residency organized last September, during which they worked with the museum’s collections. Maya Krishna Rao’s performance Horse. Woman. River emerged from her study of the museum’s archaeological collection.
A Personal Exhibition Guide and an AI-Powered Photo Zone
Moreover, interactive digital tools enrich the visitor experience. Sberbank, the exhibition’s general partner, has prepared a set of interactive services powered by its own AI models.
Guests can explore contemporary Indian art with the help of an AI guide built using GigaChat, Kandinsky, and SaluteSpeech. By pointing a smartphone camera at a QR code next to an exhibit, visitors can access information about the work. An augmented reality experience then presents stories about the artist, the artwork itself, and the cultural characteristics of the Indian region associated with it.
The organizers are also preparing additional digital services. One example is an interactive quiz in which a neural network generates personalized selections of Indian artworks and cultural recommendations. The museum will also feature an AI-powered photo zone where a neural network helps transform visitors’ photos in the style of one of the artists participating in the exhibition.
The Experience Economy and Technology-Enhanced Culture
Of the Sweetness of the World: Contemporary Art of India, together with its technological infrastructure, serves as an example of cultural digitalization while also showcasing the capabilities of Russian AI technologies in cultural settings. The project combines several classes of AI at once: a language model, image generation, speech technologies, and elements of augmented reality.
Russian experts describe a transition from traditional audio guides to AI guides capable of adding interactive features, mini quizzes, and personalized engagement with artworks. The Hermitage project reflects that broader trend, turning the digital layer into a fully fledged element of museum infrastructure that enriches the visitor experience.
Visitors are no longer limited to reading exhibit labels. Instead, they interact with a digital guide, receive recommendations, and engage with visually rich experiences. That approach broadens the audience by attracting even those who may not yet be familiar with contemporary art.
Import-independent AI solutions are helping define a new experience economy. Other major Russian museums are already experimenting with AI guides, personalized recommendations, and interactive zones built with generative technologies. The St. Petersburg project is likely to accelerate those developments.
The Hermitage Museum and Sberbank demonstrate how Russian AI can operate not only in banking, retail, or industry, but also in the humanities - helping people gain a deeper understanding of art, culture, and historical context.
