Three Men and The World's Highest Biennale: sā Ladakh

You haven't been to Ladakh, yet? It is one of those exclamations made by many Indians about one of the most breathtaking high-altitude cold deserts in the world. Often regarded as one of the must-visit places in the country, it naturally suffers from romanticisation by expectant travellers over its landscape and beauty.

But three men- a designer, a mountaineer, and an artist- who have spent years building their distinct creative identities have brought in a new vision Ladakh to the mainstream as co-founders. For mountaineer Tenzin Jamyang, designer Raki Nikahetiya, and artist Sagardeep Singh, it is a way of reframing the understanding of Ladakh; to create experiences rooted in the land and its people, rather than existing separately from their surroundings.

It is sā Ladakh Biennale that posits itself as the world’s highest regenerative art biennale at over 3,000 metres unfolded between 1 August to 10 August this year. As a journey across 230 kilometres and 8 sites along the Leh–Kargil corridor, the Biennale takes the form of a field of signals, foregrounding attentive, site-responsive practices that engage with the land, its memory, weather, trade routes, communities and histories.

With the curatorial theme Signals from Another Star, the Biennale is curated by Vishal K Dar, with Tsering Motup Siddho as Associate Curator and has brought together 19 international and Ladakhi artists and artist duos responding to land, ecology and the quiet urgencies of our time through its inaugural edition. Grounded in the meaning of ‘sā’, ‘soil’ in Ladakhi, the Biennale unfolds across eight sites along the Leh-Kargil corridor - Leh, Basgo, Likir, Nurla, Lamayuru, Henasku, Mulbekh and Kargil - activating villages, learning spaces and open landscapes at over 3,000 metres, the vision of Ladakh goes beyond the idea of the place as a holiday destination. It is a way to look at what the land gives and what it asks in return.

"We're not trying to impose an art experience on Ladakh," says co-founder and mountaineer Tenzin Jamyang. "We're trying to create situations where people can encounter the landscape differently and hopefully leave with a deeper sense of connection to it."

For the three co-founders, sā became tangible through Disko Valley Bike Park, which gave the team the space and opportunity to begin experimenting with what that relationship could look like. Bringing the vision to life has given them a unique context where landscape, culture, climate and community are deeply interconnected. "It became a way to explore how these experiences could become part of that relationship," shares Sagardeep. He also states that the process has also shifted his own understanding of design. Through sā, he says, his practice has gradually moved from that of a designer to becoming a “habitat designer” — working with land, materials, people and local contexts to create spaces and experiences that are rooted in their place.

The emphasis on the sense of rootedness distinguishes sā from the increasingly crowded landscape of art festivals that find themselves enclosed within walls. Here, Ladakh itself is the subject which offered a particularly potent context and is treated as a backdrop. sā seeks to make the place a part of the experience itself. According to Raki, we are living at a time when we are increasingly disconnected from the landscapes we depend on. We move through places very quickly, often without really seeing them. Land art can interrupt that. It brings you back to the physical world and asks you to pay attention.

“It’s a bit like seeing a deer in the forest. Of course, it’s beautiful if you do. But you don’t go into the forest only to chase the deer. You are surrounded by the magnificence of the forest itself.”

Thus, the programme also extends to three Special Projects, spanning exhibitions, residencies, workshops and community-led initiatives, alongside the Above 3000m Fellowship, dedicated to supporting Ladakhi artists. The biennale pushes a new model for art responding to climate and ecology.

Of course, a mountaineer, a designer and an artist walk into Ladakh with very different ways of seeing it. What brings them together is not only a shared discipline, but a shared discomfort with the way places like this are often experienced briefly, beautifully, and from a distance.

"What we admire most about each other is how different the three of us are. We each bring our own perspective and way of working, but somehow it comes together naturally. It’s almost like a triangle, three different points coming together to make one shape," the three co-founders agree.

sā then is a deceptively simple proposition in a culture increasingly structured around speed, visibility and instant consumption.

“This isn't a conventional biennale. It's a pilgrimage across Ladakh. You have to slow down, acclimatise, understand the landscape and let it change the way you see," says Sagardeep.

With regeneration as a guiding principle, the sā Ladakh Biennale 2026 hosted residencies, workshops and community-led initiatives, making space for art, ethical engagement with local communities, and urgent issues of global concern.