Geeta Kapur Discusses Curatorial Practice and Indian Art History in Afterall Interview
In an interview conducted on October 3, 2011, with Natasha Ginwala for Afterall, art historian Geeta Kapur reflects on her curatorial endeavors and the transformation of contemporary art in India. She points to the 1981 exhibition Place for People, which included artists such as Bhupen Khakhar and Nalini Malani, noting its emphasis on narrative and class issues. Among her significant projects are Dispossession at the 1995 Johannesburg Biennale, Bombay/Mumbai at Tate Modern in 2001 alongside Ashish Rajadhyaksha, subTerrain in 2003, and diVerge at Chemould Gallery. Additionally, she curated the controversial 100 Years: From the NGMA Collection in 1994. Kapur criticizes the lack of critical engagement in recent Indian art exhibitions abroad and calls for greater curatorial autonomy.
Key facts
- Geeta Kapur is a leading Indian art historian and critic.
- The interview was published on October 3, 2011, by Afterall.
- Kapur co-curated Bombay/Mumbai for Tate Modern's Century City exhibition in 2001.
- Her 1994 exhibition 100 Years: From the NGMA Collection sparked controversy and state intervention.
- Place for People (1981) involved artists like Bhupen Khakhar and explored narrativity and politics.
- Kapur's archives were digitized by the Asia Art Archive starting in January 2010.
- She critiques blockbuster exhibitions like Indian Highway and Chalo India! for superficial engagement.
- Kapur emphasizes curatorial independence and the challenges of national representation in global art.
Entities
Artists
- Geeta Kapur
- Natasha Ginwala
- Bhupen Khakhar
- Gulam Sheikh
- Vivan Sundaram
- Nalini Malani
- Sudhir Patwardhan
- Jogen Chowdhary
- Timothy Hyman
- Ashish Rajadhyaksha
- Atul Dodiya
- Jitish Kallat
- Ravi Varma
- Amrita Sher-Gil
- Jamini Roy
- Juan Guardiola
- Rashid Rana
- Anita Dube
- Hans Ulrich Obrist
- Akiko Miki
- Fumio Nanjo
- Chaitanya Sambrani
Institutions
- Afterall
- Asia Art Archive
- Tate Modern
- Johannesburg Biennale
- House of World Cultures
- Chemould Gallery
- National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA)
- Lalit Kala Akademi
- Royal Academy of Arts
- Casa Asia
- IVAM, Institut Valencià d’Art Modern
- Devi Art Foundation
- Serpentine Gallery
- Mori Museum
- ARCO
- Kasauli Art Centre
- Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda
Locations
- India
- Delhi
- Bombay
- Mumbai
- Baroda
- Johannesburg
- South Africa
- London
- United Kingdom
- Berlin
- Germany
- Valencia
- Spain
- Tokyo
- Japan
- Madrid
- Chicago
- United States
- Bern
- Switzerland
- Kasauli
- Kerala
Sources
- Afterall —