London's British Museum rolls out pink carpet in nod to colours of India

British Museum said its inaugural fundraising ball not only celebrated London's status as one of the world's leading cultural capitals but also the colours and light of India, rolling out the pink carpet to hundreds of celebrities from around the world.

The glittering gala over the weekend, co-chaired by Reliance Group's Isha Ambani, was presented in conjunction with the museum's Ancient India: Living Traditions' exhibition that explored how Hindu, Jain and Buddhist sacred art lives on for thousands of years.

Ticket sales to the so-called Pink Ball alone are believed to have raised around 1.6 million pounds, with the museum set to unveil the full extent of the fundraising efforts in the coming weeks.

 

In India, pink is the colour of warmth, welcome and joy. It evokes a spirit of openness and grace integral to our culture, said Isha Ambani, who showcased Indian artisanship in a custom-made gown by design duo Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla.

Isha was supported at the event by her mother Nita Ambani, both as patrons of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai. They described the event as a celebration of age-old creativity to bring global communities closer, fostering deep mutual respect and understanding.

The ball attracted over 800 creatives, collectors, cultural visionaries and prominent leaders from across the world, including former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty, musicians Anoushka Shankar and Janet Jackson, and fashion icon Naomi Campbell, among others.

For both of us, as supporters of the arts and heritage, it was a reminder of why great institutions matter: each artefact, each story, each gallery opens doors to new possibilities, Murty said in a social media post, sharing images from the ball.

Seated at tables amid some of the most spectacular objects in the museum's collection across its ground floor galleries, the celebrity guests were served a menu inspired by the flavours of India which was served in artisanal hand-painted tiffin tins.

The British Museum Ball was intended to celebrate London a city renowned for its arts, culture, creativity and style, said Dr Nicholas Cullinan, British Museum's Director.

The event did just that by bringing together the actors, artists, collectors, creatives, designers and writers that make our city a cultural powerhouse. In doing so, we continued in the footsteps of the many cultural icons who have come to the British Museum over the past 275 years, from Mozart to Karl Marx, Oscar Wilde to Virginia Woolf, he said.

The funds raised at the ball, through tickets and a silent auction, are intended to support the British Museum's international partnerships including co-curated projects with Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS).

The British Museum, host to one of the world's largest permanent collections of around 8 million works, is London's top tourist attraction.

The fundraising ball, set to become an annual feature in the museum's calendar, witnessed a brief disruption as a climate protester rushed on to the stage to protest against fossil fuels.