Air India Express unveiled\u00a0\u2018The Flying Canvas\u2019<\/i>, a special art\u2011wrapped Boeing 737\u20118 aeroplane (VT\u2011BWV), extending the airline\u2019s long\u2011standing tradition of celebrating India\u2019s cultural heritage through evocative aeroplane liveries.<\/p>\n
The Air India Express fleet has served as a flying showcase of the nation\u2019s cultural and artistic legacy, with variable tail art featuring adaptations from Raja Ravi Varma\u2019s paintings to national heritage monuments and representations of classical artforms like Kathakali, Kathak and Bharatnatyam.<\/p>\n
The airline\u2019s refreshed brand identity in October 2023 marked the launch of the Tales of India initiative, a series under which every new aircraft tail of its rapidly expanding fleet features a unique artistic design, inspired by indigenous craft, textiles and traditions, such as Kalamkari, Bandhani, Kanjivaram, and Banarasi. The Flying Canvas is the latest extension and most innovative expression of this cultural design philosophy.<\/p>\n
At the heart of this creative milestone is internationally recognised multidisciplinary contemporary artist Osheen Siva, known for her distinctive practice that blends heritage, identity and speculative futures. The collaboration is a result of Air India Express\u2019 multi-year partnership with the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India\u2019s first and largest international exhibition of contemporary art.<\/p>\n
Wrapped in an original artwork created by Osheen Siva, whose work reimagines heritage as a living, evolving force, \u2018The Flying Canvas\u2019 transforms into the fastest moving cultural installation. The art livery features a Tamil figure carrying memory and heritage into the future, adorned with traditional motifs that symbolise lineage, identity and continuity. As India\u2019s first full\u2011aircraft contemporary art wrap, this initiative brings a bold new dimension to Air India Express\u2019 long\u2011standing commitment to celebrating India\u2019s culture across the skies.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the concept and campaign, Siddhartha Butalia, Chief Marketing Officer, Air India Express, said, \u201cArt is one of the most powerful universal languages – it transcends borders, cultures, and geographies to connect people in ways few things can. With the Tales of India and its extension to The Flying Canvas project, we are literally taking that idea to the skies, transforming an aircraft into a moving expression of living cultural identity. This initiative reflects how we see travel – not just as a journey between destinations, but as an opportunity to experience, interpret, and connect with culture and communities in meaningful ways. As one of the most culturally engaged airlines globally, we are proud and delighted to create spaces where art, travel, and human connection come together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas Varghese, CEO of the Kochi Biennale Foundation, said, “The Kochi-Muziris Biennale has always been a celebration of art transcending boundaries, bringing contemporary practice out of galleries and into the everyday lives of people. Through this association with Air India Express, that vision literally takes flight.<\/p>\n
As this aeroplane traverses over 60 destinations, it carries with it the soul of indigenous culture and the vibrancy of contemporary art to people far beyond our shores. It is a proud moment for us to see art soaring to the skies and igniting conversations between people and cultures – a journey that reminds us that art, like flight itself, has the power to connect the world.”<\/p>\n
During the previous edition of the Biennale, Air India Express unveiled a bespoke tail art on one of its Boeing aircraft. This association laid the foundation for deeper engagement with India\u2019s contemporary art ecosystem and now continues with a full aircraft wrapped in art for the 2025\u201326 edition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Air India Express unveiled\u00a0\u2018The Flying Canvas\u2019, a special art\u2011wrapped Boeing 737\u20118 aeroplane (VT\u2011BWV), extending the airline\u2019s long\u2011standing tradition of celebrating India\u2019s cultural heritage through evocative aeroplane liveries. The Air India Express fleet has served as a flying showcase of the nation\u2019s cultural and artistic legacy, with variable tail art featuring adaptations from Raja Ravi Varma\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23020,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23016\/revisions\/23020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}