Image Credit - Stir World
Arts instructor and freelance curator Shaleen Wadhwana's work focuses on artistic reactions to current
societal challenges as well as meta-narratives in world history. Her planned 2022 exhibits, The Sindhu
Project: An Enigma of Roots at Exhibit 320 in Delhi and The Second Responder at Chemould Prescott Road
in Mumbai, illustrate this. She also collaborated on the Pollinator Interdisciplinary Lab's first virtual
artist residency in India. She recently worked pro bono with Young Art Support, Carpe Arte, and Mumbai's
Somaiya Vidyavihar University to curate IMMERSE, an exhibition of up-and-coming artists. She is the
Humanities department's curriculum designer and teaches Big History and Design Futures at MITID Pune.
The talks programme, which will be moderated by Shaleen Wadhwana and take place in the fair's Auditorium,
will delve deeply into discussions pertaining to the arts by inviting eminent artists and arts
professionals to agree on crucial issues and jointly define the future of an inclusive art scene.
The session "What Are We Causing: Ecology, Environment & Sustainability", including eco-artists Sharbendu
De, Dharmendra Prasad, Rida Gatphoh, and Nobina Gupta, is one of the highlights; two-panel design
examining "Art Historical Blind Spots," will bring up significant issues with the portrayal of LGBT,
minority, and Dalit voices in art; the Hindi-language discussion "Zabaan Aur Pehchaan", the poets Sabika
Abbas Naqvi and Pranav Kirti, the artist Shuddhabrata Sengupta, and the Gond artist Japani Shyam examine
how linguistic hurdles can hinder one's ability to be creative. "Changing Formats of Art Making: Tech,
Art, and Law", is a session devoted to understanding the rapidly changing art ecosystem via a legal lens,
while "Disability With(In) The Arts: Looking Inward" will lay the ground for a more inclusive art world.