subdued-song-of-chaa

Subdued Song of Chaā: On Nistha Thapa Shrestha’s Practice

Alfa M. Shakya May 07, 2025

Nistha Thapa Shrestha's photo series Subdued Song of Chaā (2024) pays homage to her hometown and brings to light an untold side of pottery making.

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on-publishing-at-the-chennai-photo-biennale-2025
events

On Publishing at the Chennai Photo Biennale 2025

Anoushka Antonnette Mathews May 05, 2025

Amidst the framed photographs displayed at the fourth edition of the Chennai Photo Biennale were photobooks bringing together images that spoke of intimacy and sensoriality. What happens when a photograph is not framed and exhibited? What do we feel when we encounter it in the form of a book? Can how we see an image change the way we perceive it?
in-the-wake-of-remembering
events

In the Wake of Remembering: Memories of the 1992 Burnsall Strike

Kshiraja May 03, 2025

Screened at the 2025 Kolkata People’s Film Festival, Sara Saini’s In the Wake of Remembering (2024) reflects upon three women’s memories of the 1992 Burnsall strike as it pieces together the political, personal and domestic lives of South Asian women against the history of workers’ struggles in the UK. In this interview, Saini talks about the importance of the act of remembering the strike through her film.

polarised-hatred-politicised-bodies
events

Polarised Hatred, Politicised Bodies: On Nasir and Communal Violence

Sumaiya Mustafa May 01, 2025

Arun Karthick’s Nasir (2020) is set in a working-class neighbourhood in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu’s second largest city. Screened at the PK Rosy Festival as part of the Vaanam Art Festival in celebration of Dalit History Month, the film follows a casual working day of Nasir, the protagonist, and the web of sounds that follow him wherever he goes.
the-aural-world-of-nasir
events

The Aural World of Nasir: Sound, Ritual and Identity

Sumaiya Mustafa Apr 29, 2025

Screened at the PK Rosy Film Festival 2025 as a part of the Vaanam Art Festival, Arun Karthick’s Nasir (2020), an adaptation of Dilip Kumar’s “A Clerk’s Story,” opens with the first ray of light waiting behind the sound of pre-dawn Azaan—the call for prayer that emerges loudly from the Masjid and permeates the still neighbourhood.
between-valour-and-prejudice
stories

Between Valour and Prejudice: Chhaava, Maratha History and Marathi Cinema

Prabodhan Pol Apr 27, 2025

Technically refined and stylistically innovative, Chhaava (2025) directed by Laxman Utekar, is deeply influenced by the aesthetic and ideological framework of Marathi historical cinema, particularly its portrayal of Maratha valour, regional pride, and Mughal antagonism.

WATCHLIST

The Bellefonte Art Museum is seeking artwork for its 2025 exhibition titled “Heralding Utopias – Conceptions of a caste-less, class-less, state-less world. ”Heralding Utopias”, a visionary project conceptualized by writer and co-founder of Dalit History month, Christina Dhanuja, brings together contemporary visual art created by artists, whose conceptions of a world are free from caste, class, and state divisions. Click for details.

WATCHLIST

Now in its twelfth edition and recently part of the Villa Swagatam residency programmes of Institut Francais, the Art Scribes Award invites emerging and mid-career art writers based in India, whose practice is deeply rooted in research-based critical writing, to push the boundaries of curatorial narratives. Click for details.

WATCHLIST

The Silvana S Photography Award offers an SGD$8,000 cash prize, a solo exhibition at Objectifs in March 2026, and return flights and accommodation to Singapore for the exhibition opening. It is open to photographers working in Southeast Asia or based overseas, with no restrictions on genre or technique. Click for details.

WATCHLIST

Empowerment: Art and Feminisms is a South Asian travelling exhibition, showcasing the work of 31 feminist artists and artist collectives. It looks at inclusion at all levels and showcases the voices and rights of various gender and social minorities, especially in the context of South Asia. Click for details.

WATCHLIST

The panel discussion will analyse the voices of young artists navigating the complex legacies of decolonisation and its global implications, highlighting emerging talent and fresh narratives shaping contemporary South Asian art. Click to register for the event!
marathi-cinema
stories

Marathi Cinema: Cultural Memory and Hegemonic Nationalism

Prabodhan Pol Apr 25, 2025

From the 1940s onwards, the rise of Marathi cinema played a pivotal role in popularising both the Kshatriya-Maratha narrative and a broader Marathi linguistic identity, using vivid visuals to narrate tales of regional pride, valour and historical continuity centred on the Maratha Empire and its prominent figures.
rhythms-of-revolution
events

Rhythms of Revolution: Ritwik Ghatak’s Amar Lenin

Koyna Tomar Apr 23, 2025

Ritwik Ghatak’s Amar Lenin (1970) follows a young, unnamed protagonist’s encounters with the revolutionary ideas of Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Lenin, as the former embarks on a coming-into-consciousness journey through 1960s Bengal. The documentary was thus a fitting choice to mark Red Books Day at May Day Bookstore in Delhi. Organised in collaboration with Camera Commune, the screening on 21 February 2025 opened an evening of programming to celebrate leftist books, art and people’s movements.
on-theatre-and-architecture
events

On Theatre and Architecture: Re: Staging 1990s (Delhi)

Akanksha Maglani Apr 21, 2025

On view from 1–10 February 2025 at the Triveni Amphitheatre, Triveni Kala Sangam, in conjunction with the India Art Fair, the exhibition Re: Staging the 1990s (Delhi), presented by the Alkazi Theatre Archives and the Alkazi Collection of Photography, foregrounded the use of the architectural/theatrical model as an investigative tool.
confronting-eviction-in-manjolai
events

Confronting Eviction in Manjolai: Care, Community and Resistance

Sumaiya Mustafa Apr 19, 2025

The Vaanam Art Festival is a tribute to centuries of Dalit resilience and lived experience. The festival included the PK Rosy Documentary and Short Film Festival, which screened Samuvel Arputharaj’s Manjolai (2024), the story of tea-garden workers in the hilly terrain of Manjolai in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district.

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on-manjolai-plantation-workers
events

On Manjolai Plantation Workers: Where Will They Go?

Sumaiya Mustafa Apr 18, 2025

Screened at the PK Rosy Documentary and Short Film Festival as part of the Vaanam Art Festival 2025 in celebration of Dalit History Month, Samuvel Arputharaj’s Manjolai (2024) is about five estates collectively referred to as “Manjolai”, which were once home to thousands of people in the hilly terrain of the Tirunelveli district but are now sparsely populated with only a handful of families.
the-afterlives-of-g-aravindan-s-thamp
stories

The Afterlives of G. Aravindan's Thamp̄: Parallel Cinema and Spectatorship

Sanjita Majumder Apr 16, 2025

Thamp̄ (1978) by Govindan Aravindan is a part-fictional observational documentary film following a travelling circus across a small coastal village of Thirunavaya in Kerala. Here, Aravindan sets the stage for a real-life encounter between members of the travelling circus troupe and villagers who have never witnessed a circus performance before.
it-takes-a-funeral-to-celebrate
events

It Takes a Funeral to Celebrate: On Dalit Subbaiah

Steevez Apr 14, 2025

In celebration of Dalit History Month, MKP Gridaran’s Dalit Subbaiah: Voice of the Rebels (2025) was screened at the PK Rosy Documentary and Short Film Festival as part of the fifth edition of Vaanam Art Festival, organised by filmmaker Pa. Ranjith’s Neelam Cultural Centre in Chennai. The film is a musical documentary stitched together by the slogans raised at a funeral procession.

magic-myth-and-indian-kitsch
stories

Magic, Myth and Indian Kitsch: The Spectacular Aesthetic of EXCISE DEPT

Upasana Das Apr 06, 2025

In the third installment of Upasana Das' interview series with EXCISE DEPT, they delve into their creation of a digital universe from their personal lives and performing before the very powers they critique.

staging-the-farce
stories

Staging the Farce: The Visuality of EXCISE DEPT

Upasana Das Apr 05, 2025

In the second part of an interview with Upasana Das, the members of EXCISE DEPT delve into the references behind their striking visual language.
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