Educated as an economist & developmental theorist at LSE & St. Catherine’s College [University of Oxford], Tuli returned to India in 1995 after 25 years in the West, devoting his endeavors towards his vision to build a new holistic infrastructure for the Indian arts, culture & its education, which was also financially self-sufficient and built by a unique creative process. The steps taken towards this goal have been path breaking and varied but collectively focusing upon the need to cohere the intellectual, aesthetic and economic dimensions of development.   

Established in 2000 as a pioneering arts institution in India, Osian’s is at the heart of Neville Tuli’s vision of creating a new infrastructure and model for the Indian arts and culture, whereby a merit-conscious and financially self-sufficient infrastructure is put in place, independent of traditional patronage systems but grounded in its own ability to be a part of India’s developmental framework. With its Auction House, The Osian’s Art Fund & Wealth Management Services for Art Division (WMAS), the Centre for Archiving, Research & Documentation (CARD) and the Film House, Osian’s has established itself at the highest international standards as a unique cultural institution.

The Osian’s Auction House and WMAS are generating the finance to support and subsidize the Archive and Film House which is intensively occupied with documenting, preserving and disseminating the Indian and Asian artistic and cinematic heritage while creating knowledge bases for the study of these subjects.

The Osian’s Archive spanning five major areas is collectively the world’s most comprehensive textual and visual Archive focusing on C18-20th Engravings, Lithography & Maps on India, C19th British-India photography, Modern and Contemporary Indian Art, the popular arts [including Advertising, Toys, Puppets, Playing Cards, Political Propaganda, Crafts] and the publicity material and memorabilia of World Cinema.

Recently the Collection has taken major strides into building a significant presence in the art of the Indian miniature and the Nepali & Tibetan Thangka. Further, eclectic tangents are being taken into areas such as Japanese Samurai Armour and Dolls (Ningyo) of the C18-19th century, African Tribal masks, Polish Film Posters, among many other foci of the Osian’s Archive & Library Collection.

With Osian’s acquisition of Cinefan, the Asian Film Festival and Cinemaya, the Asian Film Journal, along with the merger of Aruna Vasudev’s team of experts into Osian’s under the umbrella of the Film House, the cinematic infrastructural base has widened significantly, complementing our vast archives. The next three years will see an intensive growth in this area of work as Osian’s moves into building The Osianama (previously called ‘Minerva’ cinema), a unique integrated Arts & Cinema Resource & entertainment Centre-cum-Museum. The institutional steps required for Osian’s to enter the arena of film financing and production are also moving forward rapidly.