Surface Magazine | House of Santal Brings South Asian Design to New York 🗽

House of Santal Brings South Asian Design to New York

Harshita Jhamtani Designs is one of thirteen Indian studios in the inaugural exhibition at the first U.S. gallery dedicated solely to contemporary South Asian design.

By Elizabeth Fazzare | Surface | February 25, 2026

On February 18, House of Santal opened in an 8,000-square-foot space at Rockefeller Center, becoming the first U.S. gallery dedicated solely to contemporary South Asian design. Founder Raksha Sanikam has built a roster of talent who have mostly never exhibited in the country before, with the goal of creating a more equitable relationship between designers and artisans in the region.

The gallery’s inaugural exhibition, “At The Threshold of the Courtyard,” on view until May, presents work by thirteen designers from India who explore traditional crafts and credit the artisans who produce them.

Surface names the participants as AMH by Pallavi Goenka, Arisaa, Artisanal Abode, Beyond Dreams, Chacko, Design ni Dukaan, Harshita Jhamtani Designs, Karan Desai, Pieces of Desire, Rhizome, Sage Living, Studio Nyn, and The Vernacular Modern — studios active in what Sanikam describes as a renaissance in Indian design, “where legacy craftsmanship is embedded in the design process itself,” incorporating heritage techniques like embroidery, marquetry, metalwork, and weaving into their pieces.

Read the full article on Surface: https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/house-of-santal-new-york-south-asian-design-gallery/