On December 7–8, 2018, the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, the Department of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University, and the Harvard Art Museums organized “TRACE: Artisanal Intelligence, Material Agency, and Ritual Technology in South Asian Art” — a symposium that brought together scholars of South Asian art, history, and culture.
2018 Visiting Artist Imran Channa is a contemporary artist from Pakistan. His art practice interrogates the intersection between power and knowledge. Channa’s primary focus is on the documentation and dissemination of historical narratives and events. He explores how fabricated narratives can override our collective memory to shape individual and social consciousness and alter human responses. In this interview, we discuss how he first became interested in installation artwork and the benefits of making art abroad.
As part of our deep commitment to South Asian art, The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard University partnered with Mumbai’s most important museum, the Chhattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangralaya (CSMVS), to host a two-day event around art and heritage conservation in India.
Milan Rai is a Nepali artist whose media span painting, installation, and artistic intervention. Rai came to The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University, in Spring 2016 as part of the Visiting Artist Fellowship (VAF).
Curious about how artists make traditional Indian Miniature paintings? Check out our video of the demonstration and workshop led by artist and art historian Murad Mumtaz Khan, organized as part of Professor Jinah Kim’s Painting in India Course (HAA184x Painting of India) at the Harvard Art Museums Materials Lab.
Mittal Institute Visiting Artist, Faiham Ebna Sharif is a freelance journalist and photographer focusing on social issues in his home country of Bangladesh. During his time at Harvard, Faiham has been researching the world tea trade in Harvard’s museums and libraries
On April 17, The Mittal Institute hosted an opening reception and seminar for the exhibition, “Revelations: Reclaiming South Asian Narratives.” By exhibiting pieces from this year’s Visiting Artists, the show aims to unravel challenging social issues that often fall outside the limelight.