What I Look at When I Look at Art
The Chidananda Dasgupta Memorial Lecture by Sumantra Ghosal
Venue: KCC First Floor
Date: 21st November, 2026
When we look at art, what exactly are we looking at? At this year’s Chidananda Dasgupta Memorial Lecture, filmmaker Sumantra Ghosal takes up this question in What I Look at When I Look at Art. Presented by KCC in collaboration with the Chidananda Dasgupta Memorial Trust as part of the 7th edition of AMI Arts Festival, the lecture draws from Ghosal’s work across film, music, poetry, dance and visual art to reflect on how experience, memory and perspective shape the way we encounter an artwork. OPEN TO ALL
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Kolkata Centre for Creativity and Chidananda Dasgupta Memorial Trust present What I Look at When I Look at Art, the Chidananda Dasgupta Memorial Lecture by filmmaker Sumantra Ghosal.
This programme is presented as part of the seventh edition of AMI Arts Festival.
Drawing from a career that has moved through advertising films, documentary cinema and work on the arts, Sumantra Ghosal will reflect on the different ways in which we encounter and understand artistic practice.
His own experience has brought him into sustained engagement with film, music, poetry, dance and visual art, sometimes as a creator, sometimes as a collaborator and at other times in a curatorial role. The lecture brings these seemingly different worlds into conversation.
At its centre is a simple but expansive question: what are we really looking at when we look at art, and how do our memories, experiences and sensibilities shape what we see?
Join us to find out more.
Sumantra Ghosal worked for more than 25 years in advertising film, creating several widely remembered campaigns. He later moved towards documentary filmmaking, particularly films centred on artistic practice.
His films include The Speaking Hand, on tabla maestro Zakir Hussain; The Unseen Sequence, on dancer Malavika Sarukkai; and Kaifinama, on poet Kaifi Azmi. He also directs ARTiculate, a series of short films on art for the Museum of Art & Photography.
