Something you should know about me

As an independent curator and art critic working between Bombay, India, and Chicago, in the U.S., I find myself at an interstice almost all the time. Between the East and West, between Art and Design pedagogies, between ever-shifting ideas around the ‘Self’ and the ‘Other’. For this reason, a lot of my work avoids didacticism, yet is hardly ever from a point of complete ‘neutrality’ or scientific objectivism. Serving local and global communities through exhibitions, strategic organizational design, creative problem solving, and literary and visual criticism, I aspire to draw apparently ‘disconnected’ fields of practice and artistic research into proximity. Expanding the historical context around work being received in the West and led by Feminist principles, I write as a transnational Indian woman reading Art from a specific yet hybrid cultural standpoint. In my spare time, I enjoy live music, the ocean, culinary exploration & yoga.

About my work, unique skills, and the types of environments I thrive in

Highly collaborative, open-structured, solidarity economies, grassroot capacity building organizations, and artist-run and led collectives are where I thrive and can offer my best! I’m a lateral thinker, can approach complex problems with ease, and believe in encouraging teams and colleagues to support each other (beyond the workplace) along the way. Living and working at a time of great conflict and suffering, I value inculcating work environments that are open to constructive criticism, multiple viewpoints, function from a place of kindness. Skills I have fostered over the years include (but are not limited to) Exhibition Design, Visualization for Film, Production for large-scale events/exhibitions, Project Management, Artist Liaison, Commercial Gallery management, and Editorial & Writing for Arts & Culture. I have served as Director of two 501 (c) 3 organizations and hope to continue learning and developing my skills, both on and off the field.

Projects, people, and/or organizations I’ve worked with

Shortly after graduating from SAIC with a Masters in Arts Administration and Policy, I worked collaboratively with a team of 5 other independent curators to present a 24 hour activation of SAIC’s MFA Show in 2017, titled ‘LASTING: On Artistic Endurance’. Working mostly with artist-run spaces, I shepherded a collaboration between Monaco (St.Louis) and Julius Caesar (Chicago), and have worked with Ads Donna (Chicago) to curate ‘Lost Intimacies’ , highlighting the evolution of artistic practices over the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, I spearheaded a solidarity platform ‘by & for’, bringing together emerging curators and their artist communities to raise funds through art sales, equally shared between participating artists. 20% of each ‘auction’ was given to grassroots social justice organizations to return a lost sense of agency in the Arts during a global pandemic. ‘by & for’ is an adaptable, open model that I’d like to revive with the right partners and fiscal support.

Gigs and opportunities I'm open to

I currently work as a full time Arts Writer, publishing work with national and regional publications like Sixty Inches from Center, Chicago Reader, Brooklyn Rail, and Tussle Magazine. I have alcontributed to Frieze Online, Hyperallergic, and Cultured Magazine. I’d like to take on more essays and long-format writing for artists & exhibitions. I’d like to conduct more interviews with artists & professionals ‘not from here’, as a lot of my work centers ideas of ‘Otherness’ and how it operates within society. As an independent curator, I’d like to align with local, commercial galleries to produce exhibitions to pair international artists with local arts communities. As Chicago defines it’s place as an ‘Art-World’ center, influencing other worlds along the Coasts, I think it’s imperative to shine a light on emerging and mid-career immigrant artists living and working in the city. I’d also like to develop a better sense of what defines the Midwest through research trips & writing.