Krithika Sriram, Unknown, Home 

Present systems render beings into flattened hierarchies, constantly seeking singular narratives. What happens when these systems cannot encompass the spillages of the past? 'a matter of time' attempts historiographies of the present. The curators draw upon varying absences through the lenses of religious didacticism and food, sustenance and survival, politics of the skin, histories of measurement and mapping, familial relations and incomplete archival materials. The ten exhibitions take the form of a concoction or a recipe, held together through conversations, convergences, departures, and breathing in time and space that we claim as common. 'a matter of time' is the culmination of the fifth cycle of Curatorial Intensive South Asia.

NEW DELHI XXXX 2023: Khoj International Artists’ Association and Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi, in collaboration with India International Centre, New Delhi, is delighted to announce the opening of a matter of time - 10 curated exhibitions by the Curatorial Intensive South Asia (CISA) 2023 Fellows. The exhibitions open at 6:30pm on the 12th of December, 2023 at the Art Gallery at the India International Centre, New Delhi and will be on view until 19th December, 2023 from 11am - 7pm.

Curatorial Intensive South Asia ( CISA) is a flagship, fully-funded curatorial fellowship programme by Khoj International Artists’ Association and Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi for young curators from South Asia and Iran. CISA aims to develop a diversity of perspectives on the medium of the exhibition and to provide a structured and an experimental inquiry into the possibilities of curatorial practice today.

Following the first phase of the intensive - a combination of talks, seminars and workshops that look at histories of exhibition-making, institutions and their limitations, for the second phase the fellows are offered the opportunity to independently develop small curatorial projects over a period of four months. During this time they are mentored by the programme tutors Latika Gupta, Director, Projects at the Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation and Shuddhabrata Sengupta, artist, writer and curator.

Sahar Mokhtari, Unknown, Invitation 

Atefeh Khas (Iran)

Atefeh Khas is an interdisciplinary artist and curator lives in Tehran, Iran. She has received several residencies and awards such as the Environmental Art Residency Program in South Korea in 2012, Global Nomadic Art Project in Iran, Germany, France and Turkey in 2016 and 2017, Almaken 2 nd International Contemporary Art Festival in Tunisia in 2016, Kooshk Residency and La Friche la Belle de Mai in 2019. She was the art director of Visual Art Department in Rooberoo Mansion in Tehran and also, art director of 3 Platform in Tehran.

Bishal Yonjan (Nepal)

Bishal Yonjan is a visual artist based out of Kathmandu. He is a part of Kalā Kulo, an arts initiative, where he works on a series of archives contextualizing the contributions of artists who have been central to introducing novel artistic vocabularies to Nepal in the 20th century. Professionally, he has been involved in exhibition design, installation, and programming, including for Kathmandu Triennale 2077 and the recent retrospective of Ragini Upadhaya. His current interest includes exploring the regional histories of printed matter and book design in South Asia. He is also a member of Aṅkūra Atelier, a creative collective.

Bunu Dhungana (Nepal)

Bunu Dhungana is an artist based out of Kathmandu, Nepal. She uses photography and film to explore and question the world around her. Her background in Sociology informs her work. She is interested in questioning notions of gender and patriarchy through her practice. Her process is intuitive.

Jaisingh Nageswaran (India)

Jaisingh Nageswaran is a self-taught photographer from Vadipatti, Tamil Nadu, India, exploring themes of gender identity, caste discrimination, and rural life. Educated by his grandmother, born to working-class parents, he focuses on socially marginalized communities. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he turned his lens inward, documenting Dalit resistance and resilience in his hometown. Co-curating the Vaanam Art Festival for two consecutive years(2022 &23 ),he provided insights into the Dalit Landscape. Notably, as the first independent curator in Japan, his ‘The Lodge’ series at the KG+ Kyotography Festival in 2023 showcased his unique perspective.

Jatin Gulati (India)

Jatin Gulati is a writer and visual artist with a formal education in architecture. His works are informed by various aspects of ‘absences’, though most often driven by its traces in the immediate, personal, and lived experiences. He graduated from Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, and his interest in thinking photography stems from questioning the role of images as myth-making for socio-political and familial ideologies. His work incorporates mediums such as photographs, archives, text, architectural drawings and virtual environment.

Neda Haffari (Iran)

Neda Haffari is a short story writer and an art curator from Iran, residing in Kathmandu, Nepal since 2013. She was born in 1983 and holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering. Haffari is currently serving as the Director of Space A, an interdisciplinary art practice in Nepal, while also pursuing a master’s degree in curatorial studies at Kathmandu University Department of Art and Design. In her role as the director, she is responsible for overseeing the organization’s activities and fostering the integration of diverse art forms.

Pramodha Weerasekera (Sri Lanka)

Pramodha Weerasekera is a curator, writer, and (reluctant) lawyer based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She has an interdisciplinary educational and professional background in literary studies, visual cultures, and law. Her interests revolve around gender, emotion, visual cultures, and literary theories. Pramodha has been curating educational and public programming initiatives at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka since 2019.

Snehal Morey (India)

Snehal Morey is a museum professional. She has been working as a Curatorial Associate at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum since 2016. She coordinates the PG Diploma in Modern and Contemporary Indian Art and Curatorial Studies offered by the museum and designs and conducts education and outreach activities in both English and Marathi. Snehal graduated in Fine Arts, specializing in Sculpture, from the Sir J J School of Arts in 2011 and in Statistics, from B. N. Bandodkar College of Science in 2007. She completed the International Curatorial Program offered by NODE, Germany in 2023. She previously served as a news anchor with ABP Maza and a freelance announcer with Asmita, All India Radio.

Sukanya Deb (India)

Sukanya Deb is a writer and curator, working at the intersections of contemporary art, (digital) culture, and media studies. Since 2018, she has worked in programmes and curation within the arts sector in India. A point of convergence for her research and work is investigating images, ideas around technological surplus/ excess and its imaginary, and assemblages of power. Her writing has been featured in STIRworld, ASAP | Art, e-flux Education, The Quietus, Serendipity Art Foundation’s Write | Art | Connect, amongst others..

Umair Badheeu (Maldives)

Umair Badheeu is an artist, curator and freediver. From 2014 to 2022, Umair served as the Curator at Loama Museum, later rebranded as The Dutch Onion in Raa Maamigili, Maldives. During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in the acquisition, conservation, and establishment of the museum’s collections, as well as laying the groundwork and implementing operational procedures. Notably, he excavated two 800-year-old bathing tanks and contributed significantly to the relocation of a traditional wooden house. While maintaining an ardent dedication to the arts, Umair has also pursued his passion for the ocean through freediving, achieving five national freediving records for Maldives.