Exploring India’s Textile Traditions as its Pehchaan
Arundhati BhanAn ongoing show highlights Indian textiles and techniques from the historic and contemporary works from the collections of the National Museum and the Devi Art Foundation.

10 Feb 2025 | Review

The Performative Scroll Traditions of Jadopatuas
Rahul MajumderAn essay exploring the disappearing traditions of the Jadopotuas, itinerant storytellers and scroll painters deeply tied to Santhal rituals and folklore.

27 Jan 2025 | Essay

The Symbolism of Sovereignty in India according to Iconography
Jeannine AuboyerThe writer looks at the symbolism of sovereignty in India, as expressed in art and sculpture, and the significance of the parasol within this iconographical lexicon to represent the cakravartin.

25 Nov 2024 | Essay

Narrativizing Fibre and Textile
Arundhati Bhan and Radhika TulsianApparao Galleries’ latest textile exhibition, Entwined Edition 2, centralizes fabric as a medium of expression, by weaving a tale of cloth and fibre around notions of the body, mind and soul.

23 Aug 2024 | Review

Turban Jewels in the Baroda Gaekwads’ Bejewelled History
Sandhya BordewekarThe history of the sarpech reveals the special ceremonial and ornamental attention it found with the Baroda royals, who commissioned international jewellers to customize special designs for them.

23 Aug 2024 | Review

The Multifaceted Design Identity of Khurja Pottery
Dhruv Dalvi and Sharfaa HayathA centuries-old centre of traditional pottery, which works with Mughal designs and patterns, struggles to retain its heritage identity under the pressures of modern techniques and mass market demands.

24 Jul 2024 | Essay

Shadows of Japan in the Built Heritage of Tagore’s Santiniketan
Nilanjan BandyopadhyayA reflection on the design of Tagore’s Santiniketan ashram that found inspiration from his encounters with Japan’s artists, architecture and way of life.

26 Jun 2024 | Essay

In Conversation with Gunjan Gupta
Namrata Ghosh and Radhika SharmaOn the designer’s use of Indian craft traditions that inspire her works,

which aims to blur the boundaries between art and design.

23 May 2024 | Interview

Realizing a Dream: The Enduring Legacy of Bhanu Athaiya
Gayatri SinhaOn Bhanu Athaiya’s transition from art to costume design, and how, over five decades, she determined a nation’s sense of style.

23 Apr 2024 | Essay

Domestic Architecture and Mercantile Identity in Colonial Chettiyar Country
Meena AzhagappanOn the architecture of the grand residences built by the Nattukottai Chettiyars in the 19th and 20th centuries.

25 Mar 2024 | Essay

More than Meets the Eye: Reading Between the Threads
Damini KulkarniCurrently on display at Mumbai’s National Gallery of Modern Art, Sutr Santati demonstrates how threads of gentle subversion can be teased into and out of the fabric of dominant narratives.

23 Jan 2024 | Review

Changing Images of an Ideal World in Adarsh Balak
Rajni ChandiwalThis essay traces the journey of the Adarsh Balak image and the interpretation and relevance it acquired in different eras of pre- and post-independent India.

22 Dec 2023 | Essay

Interview with Vikram Goyal
Critical CollectiveKnown for his creative engagement with material, the designer talks about the inspiration behind his designs, which often transition from being furniture to becoming unique sculptural pieces.

22 Dec 2023 | Interview

Finding Durga in the Home and the World: Puja Special Anandamelas
Amreeta DasThis essay looks at the changing depictions of the goddess and her festivities in the covers and contents of a popular Bengali children’s magazine.

26 Oct 2023 | Essay

Reflecting on Chinese Reverse Glass Paintings in India
Zoya KathawalaA study of the reverse glass paintings made by Chinese artists for export to the Indian and British markets.

25 Sep 2023 | Essay

Craft Traditions in Flux: Bengal’s Partition and Beyond
Archi BanerjeeThe article describes the impact of the 1947 Partition of Bengal on the traditions of clay and shola crafts, while reflecting on the long term changes in their making and design.

25 Sep 2023 | Essay

The Gaiety Theatre, Shimla
Shailaja KhannaMapping the significance of the Gaiety Theatre, its trajectory from colonial times to present day and the efforts to restore its historical materiality.

22 Aug 2023 | Essay

Fashion in Flux: Shahpur Jat’s Dada Jungi Lane and New ‘Middlebrow’ Design
Sanchita KhuranaThe author examines the rise of a 'middlebrow' wedding couture culture while tracing a peculiar itinerary of gentrification in Delhi's Shahpur Jat.

20 Jul 2023 | Essay

A Quilt of History: Satgaon Colchas and Early Bengal Embroidery
Namrata GhoshA study of the Portuguese commissioned embroidered quilts of the 16th and 17th centuries and the fascinating amalgamation of cultures that they represent.

25 May 2023 | Essay

A Fashionably-Dressed History of Indianness
Damini KulkarniThe Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre opens with a spectacular exhibition on Indian fashion and its impact on the sartorial sensibilities of the world.

25 Apr 2023 | Review

Vasl - A Meeting Point of Extraordinary Beauty
Critical CollectiveIn the Thicket Where Birds Sing… brings together 18 artists to create a collection of jewellery based on the history, art and architecture of Pakistan.

24 Mar 2023 | Review

Review of Vayan at the National Crafts Museum
Umara ZainabVayan, a one-day symposium, put together a visual and narrative history of brocading cultures and crafts traditions of India.

23 Mar 2023 | Review