KALA Festival Panel Exposes Gulf-South Asia Art Tensions

During the KALA arts festival in Colombo, a participant interrupted a panel discussion by asserting that the Gulf is a place where South Asians "go to die," drawing attention to the exploitation of migrant labor. The panel, which featured a curator from Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, was intended to explore the rectification of art history through the lens of South Asian artists. The session concluded unexpectedly, exposing inconsistencies in tackling historical erasure while overlooking the ongoing struggles of migrant workers. Established in 2011, the Gulf Labor Artist Coalition fights for improved conditions for laborers at Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, the MMCA Sri Lanka's 'Total Landscaping' (12 Sept–29 Mar) included T. Shanaathanan's 'Drawers of War Transactions' (2019), and the Colomboscope biennial's 'Way of the Forest' presented works by Sanod Maharjan and Saodat Ismailova.