Cross-Cultural Exchange on Indian Contemporary Arts

Sonika Soni

Sonika Soni is an art historian and researcher specializing in South Asian painting traditions. Based at the Museum Rietberg in Zurich, currently she is working as a Research Coordinator for the GBF Foundation, where she primarily integrates scientific and technical analysis with art historical inquiry to better understand the context and making of Indian paintings.

She enjoys rethinking traditional methods and finding new ways to study and share art. Whether it’s examining pigments up close or developing new research platforms, she shares these interests with the GBF Foundation’s mission … “making the study of South Asian paintings more hands-on, connected, collaborative, and engaging”. At the heart of it all, she’s driven by a simple idea: South Asian Paintings still have plenty of secrets left to tell.

Priyanka Sharma Wahl

Priyanka Sharma Wahl is a cultural liaison, advisor, and investor working at the intersection of art, institutions, and global markets. She builds bridges between Europe and India, supporting cross-cultural exchange, business development, and new collaborations.

She brings a global perspective informed by time across Silicon Valley, Europe, and India. Her background spans film production with filmmaker Mira Nair to leadership roles in mobile gaming and healthtech. She’s on the Board of the Stanford Club of Switzerland.

Priyanka holds a Master’s from Stanford University and an MBA from INSEAD.

Alpana Sharma Burgauer

Alpana has a background spanning finance and art, combining experience in global financial markets with engagement in the cultural sector. Originally from the Bay Area, she began her career in Fixed Income Sales at Goldman Sachs in San Francisco before transferring to the firm’s London office, where she worked across Sales and Business Management.

Now based in Zurich, she creates initiatives fostering dialogue between art, culture, and global exchange. She holds a Master’s degree in Art Market Studies from the University of Zurich.

Neeta Premchand

Neeta is a paper historian and the founder of Bombay Paperie, with a long-standing engagement with traditional papermaking and Indian miniature painting. Based between India and Switzerland for over five decades, she has been a longstanding supporter of the Museum Rietberg, as well as the CSMVS Museum in Mumbai. Her work spans the study of historical manuscripts, materials, and techniques, including the revival of a 17th-century paper mill in Daulatabad that once supplied paper to the Mughal court.