Experimenter Curators' Hub 2026 in Kolkata Explores Doubt, Decolonisation and Tropical Choreographies
The fifteenth Experimenter Curators' Hub took place in Kolkata, India, emphasizing themes of doubt, decolonisation, and collaborative practices. Zoe Butt from the intangible Institute described doubt as a form of creative refusal. Sepake Angiama of iniva condemned the persistent racism within UK institutions. Shabbir Hussain Mustafa from SAM addressed the shift away from Eurocentric narratives, citing Latiff Mohidin and the exhibition 'Tropical: Stories from Southeast Asia and Latin America.' At the Third Diriyah Biennale, Sabih Ahmed explored issues surrounding refugee pathways and protests. Nikhil Chopra commented on the body's fluidity in institutional contexts. Tarini Malik examined the impact of discrimination alongside John Akomfrah. Gabi Ngcobo discussed artefacts at The Javett Art Centre, while Arnika Ahldag focused on the labor involved in curating.
Key facts
- The fifteenth edition of the annual Experimenter Curators' Hub was held in Kolkata, India
- Zoe Butt is Founder and Director-at-Large of the intangible Institute in Thailand
- Sepake Angiama is Artistic Director of the Institute of International Visual Arts (iniva) in London
- Shabbir Hussain Mustafa is Chief Curator at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM)
- Rasheed Araeen's landmark exhibition took place at Hayward Gallery in 1989
- Sabih Ahmed is Co-artistic Director of the Third Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale and Projects Advisor at the Ishara Art Foundation
- Nikhil Chopra is Curator of the sixth Kochi-Muziris Biennale and Co-founder of HH Art Spaces
- Tarini Malik worked with John Akomfrah at the British Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale
- Gabi Ngcobo is Director at Kunstinstituut Melly in Rotterdam
- Arnika Ahldag is Director of the Museum of Art & Photography, Bangalore
- Mustafa reworked Lina Bo Bardi's display designs with Singapore-based architecture firm WOHA for 'Tropical'
- The exhibition 'Tropical: Stories from Southeast Asia and Latin America' was held at National Gallery Singapore in 2023
Entities
Artists
- Hans Ulrich Obrist
- Barbara Vanderlinden
- Carsten Höller
- Samuel R. Delaney
- Zoe Butt
- Sepake Angiama
- Rasheed Araeen
- Shabbir Hussain Mustafa
- Latiff Mohidin
- Ismail Zain
- Geeta Kapur
- Ramkinkar Baij
- Jamini Roy
- R. Siva Kumar
- Victoria Edardes
- Diego Rivera
- Paul Gauguin
- Sohrab Hura
- Audrey Lorde
- Octavia Butler
- Sabih Ahmed
- Edouard Glissant
- Nikhil Chopra
- Jaisingh
- Sathish
- Nora Razian
- Shristi Gupta
- Tarini Malik
- John Akomfrah
- Okwui Enwezor
- Arnika Ahldag
- Gabi Ngcobo
- Nolan Oswald Dennis
- Phan Huang
- Homi Bhabha
- Ashish Nandy
- Lina Bo Bardi
- Aziz Hazara
- Mohammed Alhamdan (7amdan)
- Anirban Datta
- Marco Cappelletti
- Alessandro Brasile
Institutions
- Experimenter
- Experimenter Curators' Hub
- intangible Institute
- Institute of International Visual Arts (iniva)
- Hayward Gallery
- Singapore Art Museum (SAM)
- National Gallery Singapore
- Kala Bhavan
- Santiniketan
- SBC Gallery of Contemporary Art
- Ishara Art Foundation
- Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale
- Diriyah Biennale Foundation
- HH Art Spaces
- Kochi-Muziris Biennale
- British Pavilion
- Venice Biennale
- Kunstinstituut Melly
- The Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria
- University of Pretoria
- Museum of Art & Photography, Bangalore
- Sàn Art
- WOHA
- Museu de Arte de São Paulo
- Take Art Magazine
Locations
- Kolkata
- India
- Thailand
- London
- United Kingdom
- Singapore
- Negeri Sembilan
- Malaysia
- Europe
- New York City
- Manila
- Philippines
- Mexico
- Gaza
- Sudan
- Arabia
- Shaheen Bagh
- Rotterdam
- Netherlands
- Pretoria
- South Africa
- Bangalore
- Vietnam
- Brazil
- São Paulo
- Tamil