Rootedness: Exploring The Role Of Collaboration In Contemporary Art In India

Abstract

Collaboration is the key to the creative future of South Asian Art. Artists create a sense of belonging by transforming spaces, through representation, and by helping to nurture healthy, vibrant, and joyful communities where people feel welcome. This paper reviews my teaching experience in Fall 2024 at the Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, in Bangaluru, South India titled: Collaborative Curating: Multi-Disciplinary Approaches, and its 3 group-curated exhibitions that challenge highly politicised subjects such as caste, free speech, and environmental degradation. These three exhibitions serve as case studies for three curatorial approaches: authoritarian, friendship-based, and antagonistic. All of them were most productive for rootedness and belonging.

Keywords: Indian contemporary art, artistic collaboration, rootedness, curating, graduate art education.