FICA is pleased to present Roundtables on Research, a platform created to showcase and support our ongoing research endeavours in the arts. This year, the initiative aims to bring together FICA grantees from the years 2017 - 2020, who have been supported by the Ila Dalmia FICA Research Grant, while also offering opportunities for other scholars and researchers to connect and share their work. The platform will provide a space for sharing ongoing research and research methodologies through dialogue and discussions, with a focus on conducting primary research in the contemporary moment.
It will showcase the exemplary scholarship undertaken by recent Ila Dalmia FICA Research Grant awardees Kristine Michael, Ranu Roychoudhuri, Rigzin Chodon, and Sneha Ragavan, as they present their remarkable research projects. The Forum will take a two-pronged approach to unpacking the contemporary moment for research through a series of talks and workshops led by the grantees themselves.
The talks will be shaped as public presentations where the grantees will deliver excerpts of their research projects supported by the Ila Dalmia FICA Research Grant. Along with this, FICA is also pleased to be collaborating with the grantees to offer specialised sessions and registered workshops on research methodology, open to researchers working across disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences. These sessions and workshops will look at how research methodologies are developed while working with archives and early histories of photography and visual culture in South Asia; questions of minor and marginal histories be they inflected through questions of gender, caste, religion, ethnicity or sexuality; and social histories of design in art and architecture.
The talks and workshops as part of the Research Roundtables will be held between 30 June – 10 August 2023 at the FICA Reading Room.
The Research Roundtables forum is supported by art historian and curator Yashodhara Dalmia, whose patronage of the Ila Dalmia FICA Research Grant has encouraged important scholarship in the field of Indian modern and contemporary art.
To read more about the Ila Dalmia FICA Research Grant, click here.
#1
Dr Rigzin Chodon | Ila Dalmia FICA Research Grant 2018
Rigzin Chodon works as a Freelance Research Consultant. She is the founder of Yige Publications, based in Leh (2022 onwards). She received her doctoral degree from the Centre for English Studies; School of Language, Literature & Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, in 2018. Her research focuses on the archival study and translations of the Moravian Missionary newspapers from Kyelang (Lahoul) and Ladakh in the early 20th Century.
From 2017 to 2021, she was a Research Associate at the Ladakh Arts and Media Organization, Leh. During this time, she was the Project Coordinator and Curator for their project ‘Cultural Mapping of the Western Himalayas’ with Sahapedia; co-curated a photography exhibition, ‘Through the Travellers’ Lenses: 1847-1947’ and worked as a researcher on their UNDP project ‘Mapping Knowledge Systems in Changthang’ among other research projects.
She has published her works in books, journals online and made presentations on her research work at various national as well as international conferences. She has mentored students from Ladakh to identify future research study projects, in disciplines like English literature, Anthropology, Sociology from different universities. Rigzin is also an Editor with Stawa Publications, an Assistant Editor with Ladakh Studies Journal (the journal of the International Association for Ladakh Studies) and has recently founded Yige Publications, a publishing house that aims to bring out literary works in different genres and languages, among other creative ventures from Ladakh and the trans-Himalayan region.
WORKSHOP
Starting with Archives: Research Methodologies for Primary Sources
An interactive session with Rigzin Chodon,
Chemat Dorjey and Jigmet Yangchan Katpa
Looking closely at histories of language, print culture and translation in the context of 20th Century Ladakh and Kyelang, Rigzin will be joined by contemporary sculptor Chemat Dorjey and researcher Jigmet Yangchan Katpa who will share their perspectives and insights on the purpose and use of primary archival sources and personal histories in their work.
Date: Friday, 30 June
Time: 2 - 6 PM
Venue: FICA Reading Room, Lado Sarai
Registrations required. To register, write to us at info@ficart.org.
Open to: Researchers, scholars, artists, academics, students, curators and individuals working with archives and undertaking archival research; students working on dissertations are encouraged to apply.
Register now!
About the speakers:
Jigmet Yangchang Katpa completed her Masters in Anthropology in 2020. She is currently a freelance writer and a researcher.
Chemat Dorjey completed his BFA in Sculpture from the Institute of Music and Fine Arts, University of Jammu, in 2012, and his MFA in sculpture from the Faculty of Visual Arts, Banaras Hindu University in 2015. From 2010-13 he was Arts Officer at LAMO (Ladakh Arts and Media Organisation). Chemat has taken part in several group shows, in Ladakh and outside the region, including at LAMO, Leh; Amar Mahal Museum and Kala Kendra, Jammu; Birla Academy Kolkata, Mumbai and Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi. He work with several international organisations and companies like Fiestia holdings at Saudi Arabia and Brontosauriv Himalajich Czech Republic. He is the recipient of young artist fellowship from Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India and the All India Emerging Artist award by Parfulla Dhanukar Art Foundation, Mumbai, 2023.
TALK
Reading (with) the past: Exploring Ladakh and Kyelang through archival newspapers from the 20th Century
A public talk and walkthrough by Dr. Rigzin Chodon
with Mr. John Bray and Dr. Monisha Ahmed
As part of her research for the Ila Dalmia FICA Research Grant 2018, Rigzin will be presenting on early 20th Century newspapers of Ladakh and Kyelang, showcasing key elements such handmade sketches, facsimiles and other findings that serve up a rich history of the region. She will be joined by senior scholars John Bray and Dr Monisha Ahmed as interlocutors, sharing their insights and aligning their own research work on different aspects of the Moravian Missionaries.
Date: Saturday, June
Time: 5 - 7 PM
Venue: FICA Reading Room, Lado Sarai
Open to all. No registrations required.
About the speakers:
Dr Monisha Ahmed is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Ladakh Arts and Media Organisation, Leh. She is an independent researcher, writer and curator whose work focuses on art practices and material culture in Ladakh. Her doctoral degree from Oxford University developed into the book Living Fabric: Weaving among the Nomads of Ladakh Himalaya (2002). She has co-edited Ladakh – Culture at the Crossroads (2005), and collaborated on Pashmina – The Kashmir Shawl and Beyond (2009 and 2017), and published several articles on textile arts of the Himalayan Buddhist world, as well as other parts of India.
John Bray is an independent historian currently based in Singapore. He has published widely on the history of Christian missions in Ladakh and the wider Himalayan border regions. He is the former President of the International Association for Ladakh Studies.
#2
Kristine Michael | Ila Dalmia FICA Research Grant 2017
Kristine Michael is a Delhi-based ceramic artist and is currently pursuing her PhD at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has lectured in several national and international forums on ceramic history and is currently pursuing her PhD in the School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU, Delhi. She has a number of solo and group exhibitions to her credit and is currently the Curriculum Leader of Visual and Performing Arts, The British School, New Delhi since 2002.
TALK
Artisan to Artist: Indian Pottery in Colonial Times
An illustrated lecture by Kristine Michael
moderated by Sneha Ragavan
Tracing the formation of a critical identity of Indian ceramics through ideas, people, education and technology
Date: Friday, 14 July
Time: 5 - 7 PM
Venue: FICA Reading Room, Lado Sarai
Open to all. No registrations required.
About the moderator:
Sneha Ragavan is Senior Researcher and Projects Lead for Asia Art Archive in India, based in New Delhi. Having joined AAA in 2012, she presently conceptualises and leads it’s research initiatives on modern and contemporary art; has led projects digitising artist archives; creating digital bibliographies of art across multiple languages; co-editing a three-volume publication on 20th century art writing from the region; and co-organising with colleagues, seminars and workshops around archiving and art history. She holds a PhD in Cultural Studies from the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, for her work on the discourse of the national modern in 20th century architecture in India, and has a Masters in Art History and Aesthetics from the Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU, Baroda.
WORKSHOP
Stretching the Framework
An interactive session with Dr Annapurna Garimella, Prof Swagata Naidu, Prof Pravinsinh K Solanki and Prof Raja Mohanty
moderated by Kristine Michael
Through case studies and discussions led by a panel of senior scholars, this session will open up the ways in which research methodologies for art history, architecture and design can be cultivated and unpacked in the contemporary moment.
Date: Saturday, 15 July
Time: 11 AM - 1 PM
Venue: FICA Reading Room, New Delhi
Registrations required. To register, write to us at info@ficart.org.
Open to: Researchers, scholars, artists, academics, students, curators and individuals working at the intersection of art, architecture and design.
Register now!
Please note that this session will be hybrid, conducted out of the FICA Reading Room with the panelists joining via Zoom.
About the panellists:
Dr Annapurna Garimella, art historian, writer and designer, her research focuses on late medieval Indic Architecture and the history and practices of vernacular, visual and built cultures in India after Independence. Garimella is the managing trustee of Art, Resources and Teaching Trust (ART) based in Hyderabad and Bangalore and heads Jackfruit Research and Design. She has published widely and is currently working on her manuscript ‘Digesting The Past: The Discourse of Sacralized Architectural Renovation in Southern India (14th-17th cent)
Prof. Swagata Naidu, Associate Senior Faculty and Discipline Head, Ceramic and Glass Design, National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad is especially interested in inquiry into future practises in material, art and craft traditions of glass and ceramics in India. Swagata’s experience comes from working in different domains with a wide variety of people, craft clusters and contexts over the last decade. Her practise is rooted in working with craft communities, especially glass flame workers at Firozabad, architecture, material sciences, education and in art.
Prof. Pravinsinh K Solanki, Associate Senior Faculty and Designer at National Institute of Design ( NID) Ahmedabad, currently heads the Skill Development and Design Innovation in Crafts Labs. His bamboo products with craftsmen of North East India Center for Bamboo Initiatives has found a proud place in World Bamboo Museum, Damyong, South Korea 2015. His important projects include "Nakashima at NID" exhibition 2016, on the life and work of Japanese-American craftsman George Nakashima, and ‘Legendary Architect, Furniture Designer and Design Catalyst Gajanan Upadhyaya’s work at Pune Design Festival 2018.
Prof Raja Mohanty, faculty at the IDC School of Design at IIT Mumbai. He has a keen interest in understanding how individuals strike a balance between body and mind and how societies respond to the need for manual and mental effort. Indian society is pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial in the same breath. Excellence in making with hands can be found in many artisanal and pre-industrial crafts of India. A similar degree of excellence is however rarely encountered in its industrial sector. His search includes the understanding of how privileged individuals and post-industrial societies can forge new models to ensure sustainability and equity.
#3
Ranu Roychoudhuri | Ila Dalmia FICA Research Grant 2020
Professor Ranu Roychoudhuri is Assistant Professor of Performing and Visual Arts at Ahmedabad University. Her research focuses on modern and contemporary art in South Asia with emphasis on photography, print history, intellectual histories of art, art historiography, and postcolonial studies. Her work foregrounds the historical interconnectedness of visual cultures that exemplify cosmopolitan artistic practices. She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes, and other online and offline platforms, curated shows for private and public institutions, and taught in the US and Indian higher education institutions.
WORKSHOP
Navigating Archives
A workshop with Ranu Roychoudhuri
This session will look at a wide range of archives and their nuances, to think about methodologies for art historical scholarship. It will particularly focus on the interpretive challenges posed by primary sources and how one might navigate them.
Date: Tuesday, 19 July
Time: 2 - 6 PM
Venue: FICA Reading Room, New Delhi
Registrations required. To register, write to us at info@ficart.org.
Open to: Researchers, scholars, artists, academics, students, curators and individuals working with archives and undertaking archival research; students working on dissertations are encouraged to apply.
Register now!
TALK
An Intellectual History of Pictorialism in India
A public talk with Ranu Roychoudhuri
moderated by Suryanandini Narain
By looking into Bangla periodical press, this talk will reflect on the early-twentieth century discourses on Pictorialism and their implications for writing global histories of photography. In doing so, the talk will underscore how histories of Pictorialism in India complicate the processes of canon formation in Indian art.
Date: Wednesday, 18 July
Time: 6 - 8 PM
Venue: FICA Reading Room, Lado Sarai
Open to all. No registrations required.
About the moderator:
Suryanandini Narain is Assistant Professor of Visual Studies at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has written extensively on photography in India, especially around themes of women, the family, the home and studio photography, in publications including Marg Magazine, Art India, Visual Anthropology Review, Trans Asia Photography Review and others. She has submitted a co-edited manuscript of a book bearing 21 essays on family photographs in India to Zubaan Books (due 2023), titled Framing Portraits, Binding Albums: Family Photographs in India. At JNU, she teaches courses on Indian visual culture, photography, aesthetic theory and critical writing, and supervises research students working on photography, graphic novels, digital visual cultures, and popular art. Her next project is a monograph on domestic visual culture as shaped by middle class women in India for which she has received the IFA Arts Research Grant and the 10 x 10 Photobooks Award.
#4
Sneha Ragavan| Ila Dalmia FICA Research Grant 2019
Sneha Ragavan is Senior Researcher and Projects Lead for Asia Art Archive in India, based in New Delhi. Having joined AAA in 2012, she presently conceptualises and leads it’s research initiatives on modern and contemporary art; has led projects digitising artist archives; creating digital bibliographies of art across multiple languages; co-editing a three-volume publication on 20th century art writing from the region; and co-organising with colleagues, seminars and workshops around archiving and art history. She holds a PhD in Cultural Studies from the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, for her work on the discourse of the national modern in 20th century architecture in India, and has a Masters in Art History and Aesthetics from the Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU, Baroda.
WORKSHOP
Critical Readings and Confabulations: Art Historical Research with and against the Archive
A workshop with Sneha Ragavan
Drawing on Saidiya Hartman’s ‘Venus in Two Acts’ (2008), this workshop explores possible methods of engaging with archives when attempting to write and research minor/marginal art histories. Be they inflected through questions of gender, caste, religion, ethnicity, or sexuality--how do we critically read and 'strain against the limits of the archive' to use Hartman's phrase, in order to produce counter-histories. How might research with and against the archive enable us to write marginal and intersectional histories, and at the same time, amplify the impossibility of its telling.
Date: Thursday, 10 August
Time: 2 - 6 PM
Venue: FICA Reading Room, New Delhi
Registrations required. To register, write to us at info@ficart.org.
Open to: Researchers, scholars, academics and individuals working with archives and undertaking archival research; students working on dissertations are encouraged to apply.
Register now!