SHAPE CULTURE
Public Engagement
A year-long programme of exhibitions, public programmes and publications, all free and open to anyone with a question to bring.
Free to register
Every programme is free to participate, register, and visit.
15-30 years old
Our participatory programmes and other open calls are designed with young adults as the primary audience.
48 weeks a year
Our programming is across weekdays and weekends to fit around work, study, and everything else.
EXHIBITIONS
Exhibition-Seasons
Each August, SGB launches a new exhibition-season: a year-long research festival built around a single theme, exploring interdisciplinary perspective. Our evolving exhibitions bridge practices around science and art and become starting points for new experiments.
8*
Exhibition-seasons, 2019 to 2026, over 120 exhibits
450
Public programmes delivered
12.6L+*
Visitors, onsite and online
270
Artists and scholars engaged
*including digital exhibitions and online visits, but excluding travelling exhibitions
Our exhibition-seasons are built to travel
Recent Venues
PSYCHE was shown at the Wellbeing Summit in Bilbao, Spain (2022), and the season’s Exhibition-In-A-Box was displayed at the India Science Festival, Pune, India (2024).
CARBON was shown at the Serendipity Arts Festival (2024) and the University of Glasgow (2025), and was featured in The Economist (2024).
ELEMENTS was shown at the India Science Festival, Hyderabad, India (2022).
CONTAGION was selected as a Falling Walls Winner in the Science Engagement category (2021) and reviewed in The Lancet.
Select works from our seasons are installed at partner venues across India and abroad, extending the reach of our research and bringing SGB's work to audiences well beyond Sanjaynagar.
We collaborate with partner institutions in India and abroad to present travelling versions of our exhibitions. Since 2019, components of our seasons have been installed at over 25 venues.
Travelling Exhibitions
Science Gallery Bengaluru serves as a dynamic hub for travelling exhibitions, hosting showcases from global institutions that explore the intersections of science, art, and society. From multimedia installations to cutting-edge space collaborations, these exhibitions bring diverse perspectives and innovative storytelling to the city. Each exhibition is accompanied by a series of public engagement programmes ranging from lectures and workshops to film screenings and performances.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMMES
Alongside each exhibition-season, SGB hosts a series of public programmes across 48 weekends unpacking the research behind the annual theme and encourage deeper engagement with the public. All our programmes are free to register and participate.
Annual Festivals
SGB organises annual film and food festivals, attracting audiences to engage through different mediums:
Film Festival, our annual film festival brings together emerging young filmmakers to showcase work that reflects the year’s exhibition theme. A key highlight of the festival is an SGB-commissioned film, created by a young adult over the course of the year with dedicated mentorship.
Namma Oota (Our Food) Festival, a farmer’s market-inspired festival presented alongside organisations and brands working on sustainable food practices. Together, we explore how science and innovation shape food systems—from farming practices to cooking methods and lifestyle choices.
Weekend Programmes
Each year, we programme activities across 48 weekends to make them accessible to people with work or study commitments during the week. They include:
Public lectures linked to exhibition themes, where general public engage informally with experts about their research.
Lab, field and studio visits, offering behind-the-scenes access to scientific and artistic research.
Events, performances and quizzes, that unpack research processes in accessible formats.
Themed Walkthroughs that offer a new lens to continually reinterpret an exhibition-season.
Participatory Programmes
Each exhibition-season, we issue an open call inviting young adults to respond to the season’s themes through various forms of artistic expression. These programmes are designed to position them as emerging practitioners rather than merely as audiences. The selected participants receive mentorship and space to create, reflect, and share their work through public showcases.
We currently deliver the following three participatory programmes:
Through Your Eyes (Photography)
In Your Words (Writing)
Between 2019 and 2026, we conducted:
450 Public Programmes that reached 53,281 participants
11 Participatory Programmes
5 Festivals
PUBLICATIONS
SGB's publications extend the life of each exhibition-season beyond its closing date.
Exhibition Brochures document the exhibits and programmes presented during the season.
Exhibition Readers feature invited contributions in various formats, by artists and researchers, alongside work developed through the participatory programmes.
Our mediators also author blogs and articles reflecting on visitor engagement and exhibition themes.