Highlights
- 12-year-old Singapore-based artist selected again for the Salon des Artistes Français
- New graphite self-portrait signals shift from environmental themes to introspection
- Participation comes within a professional gallery framework in Paris
A rare return to a historic platform
Singapore-based artist Aaradhya Sunder, 12, has been chosen for the second consecutive year to exhibit at Art Capital Paris, hosted within the Salon des Artistes Français, one of Europe’s longest-running art institutions founded in the 17th century.
Her selection follows her 2025 presentation of The Eye of Tomorrow at the Grand Palais Éphémère, where the work was assessed through the same jury process applied to established artists. The painting received a formal written evaluation from Alain Bazard, who noted its compositional structure and symbolic reading of nature’s future.
A shift towards introspection
For the 2026 edition, Aaradhya presents a graphite self-portrait titled The Girl Who Paints Her Soul. The piece moves away from environmental commentary towards questions of identity and emotional depth, reflecting a more introspective direction in her practice.
Her participation in Paris is supported by Galerie Linda Farrell, placing her work within a professional gallery context rather than a youth showcase.
The Great Wave's SpiritDream Art Cove
Training shaped across continents
Born to Indian-origin parents and raised in Singapore, Aaradhya balances school with structured artistic training. She studies at Little Artists, her primary art school, alongside study pathways linked to the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Her development has been guided by long-term mentorship emphasising technical discipline and visual literacy.
Her work has also appeared at the National Gallery Singapore Children’s Biennale (2025–26) and in an international juried exhibition in Beijing.
Recognition beyond the studio
Aaradhya’s participation at Art Capital Paris was acknowledged in official communications by Narendra Modi, highlighting the presence of young Indian-origin talent on a major European cultural stage.
For the South Asian diaspora, her return to the Salon reflects not only early recognition but continued institutional assessment, pointing to a trajectory built on sustained practice and global exposure.
Agatha Christie boarding the EET Salon at lunchtime on the train from Bulawayo to the Cape. In 1922 Agatha Christie set sail on a 10-month voyage around the world. Her husband Archie had been invited to join a trade mission to promote the British Empire Exhibition and Agatha was determined to go with him The Christie Archive Trust
Agatha Christie under a tree on Honolulu beach after surfing, 1922. Agatha and her husband Archie were permitted to take a short holiday away from the 1922 trade mission and chose Honolulu where they learnt how to surf on longboards. Here Agatha purchased a surf suit in the local style, better suited to the demands of surfing than her swim attire for bathing in Torquay. The Christie Archive Trust
Agatha Christie relaxing during a sightseeing tour, Tajoura, Libya, 1955. Agatha and her second husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan had invited Agatha's daughter Rosalind and grandson Mathew to join them on a tour of the ancient sites of Leptis Magna and Sabratah during December 1955. The Christie Archive Trust
Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express, 201720th Century Studios
Still from Murder on the Orient Express, 201720th Century Studios
Still from And Then There Were None, 2015, BBC Agatha Christie Limited
Still from And Then There Were None, 2015, BBCAgatha Christie Limited
Still from And Then There Were None, 2015, BBCAgatha Christie Limited
Agatha Christie’s Remington typewriter from 1937 The Christie Archive Trust
Agatha Christie’s Remington typewriter from 1937The Christie Archive Trust
Agatha Christie’s study notes for her pharmaceutical exam taken in 1917The Christie Archive Trust
Letter from Agatha Christie to her second husband Max Mallowan, in December 1930. Agatha writes to Max describing her return home from their honeymoon, on the Orient Express. Documenting how the train had been halted by floods and her fellow travellers' reactions, this event would inspire her to write Murder on the Orient Express a few years later.The Christie Archive Trust
Cover of typescript ofHouse of Beauty, Agatha Christie’s first short story written when she was just a teenager.The Christie Archive Trust
Box for Tabloid Veronal tablets,1910-1940 Science Museum Group
Chemical storage bottle and glass stopper, labelled ‘POISON phosphorus P’,1907-1912Science Museum Group
Empty poison bottle for aconite, iodine and chloretone solution,1925-1960Science Museum Group
Newby Teas