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VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM VI
KCC’s annual conference examines the notion of the Upanishadic doctrine – Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The World Is One Family) and a vision of holistic development and respect for all forms of life and practice. This year, the two-day conference (24 – 25 January 2025) with the theme INTERSECTIONS & CONFLUENCES, co-programmed by Dr Shwetal A. Patel and Ushmita Sahu, brings together leading figures from the worlds of art, architecture, design, craft, music, textile, ecology, and community to explore the intersectional disciplines through design and intervention targeted to problem solving. It aims to find synergies and overlaps, whilst enquiring prevailing hierarchies and dismantling hegemonies. Converging voices and energies that can help illuminate contemporary practices, policies, while encouraging dialogue and collaboration between disciplinary siloes, VK also hopes to shed light on the intersectionality of how various forms of discrimination affect individuals and creative practitioners and offer solutions through dissemination of proven strategies at play in today's India.
VK VI is a call to action.
This event is free and open to all but with prior registration.
CO - PROGRAMMERS
Shwetal Ashwin Patel
He works at the intersection of visual art, exhibition-making, and development studies.
As a founding member of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in India, Shwetal has played a central role in shaping one of South Asia’s foremost contemporary art events. Since 2015, he has served as a consultant to the Kochi Biennale Foundation, specializing in international partnerships and program development.
In 2020, Shwetal earned a PhD from the University of Southampton with a thesis titled Biennale Practices: Making & Sustaining Visual Art Platforms, a critical work that bridges his academic and artistic interests. He also lectures at institutions such as Zürich University of the Arts, the Royal College of Art, and the University of Exeter, where he shares his research on contemporary art practices.
In addition to his academic and professional commitments, Shwetal serves on the editorial board of OnCurating.org and as a trustee for the Milton Keynes Museum, the Kakar Centre for Psychoanalysis & Culture, and the Coventry Biennial.
He divides his time between the UK, Belgium, and India, connecting global perspectives in art-making, cultural strategy, and interdisciplinary research.
Ushmita Sahu
The Director and Head Curator of Emami Art in Kolkata and is recognized as a prominent figure in the art world. With a fine arts background from Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati University in Santiniketan, she has garnered extensive experience as an independent curator, artist, art writer, and mentor before joining Emami Art in 2021. Sahu is known for her distinctive curatorial style that integrates design elements into her exhibitions, significantly contributing to the gallery's status as a vital space for cultural production and discourse within the art market. She boasts an impressive portfolio of national and international curatorial projects and has participated in seminars, symposiums, and talks at esteemed institutions, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Sahu frequently lectures at visual art and design colleges including the NIFT and NID. She is a recipient of the India Foundation for the Arts research grant, which she used for her research on Riten Mozumdar. Sahu is based between Kolkata and Santiniketan, West Bengal, India.
SPEAKERS
Abin Chaudhuri
Founder of Abin Design Studio, which explores the ‘unknown’ journey, experimentation with materials and technology, and engaging art and culture, aiming to provide a ‘soul in the shell’. The studio engages design in the urban fabric and peri-urban edge as a catalyst for deliberate change. His work focuses on holistic design, not just limiting to ideas but also physical manifestation through multi-disciplinary collaboration. His explorations intend to push the boundaries of thought, prevalent socio-cultural landscape and spatial construct, challenging the role of architecture in society by being unafraid of unfamiliar explorations. The studio is also the recipient of several national and international accolades.
Aditya Kumar Jha
He is a Consultant with the Museum Division at the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Previously, he served as an Assistant Professor of Art History & Aesthetics at the Institute of Music & Fine Arts, University of Jammu, & at the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design in Jaipur, Rajasthan. An alumnus of the School of Arts & Aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, he holds a Bachelor's degree in Fine Art with a specialization in Art History from the College of Art, University of Delhi. His research primarily explores the cultural diversity of India & its reflection in arts & crafts. He has been actively involved in art historical research with prestigious institutions such as the Parliament of India, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), The Dalai Lama Foundation, & the Aga Khan Foundation. He has also delivered lectures at national & international platforms.
Prof. Ashoke Chatterjee
Born 1935, educated at Woodstock School, St Stephen’s College Miami University, has a background in the engineering industry, international civil service, ITDC, & 25 years in the service of the NID (Ahmedabad) where he was Executive Director, Senior Faculty, Distinguished Fellow & Professor of Communication & Management. He has served a range of development institutions in India & overseas, particularly in the sectors of drinking water, sanitation, disability, livelihoods & education as well as working with artisans in many parts of the country. He was Honorary President of the Crafts Council of India for over twenty years and continues to serve CCI. He serves as Adviser to the Centre of Heritage Management at Ahmedabad University where he is Editor of the Journal of Heritage Management. An author & reporter, Prof. Chatterjee continues to assist design education & a range of development efforts. He lives in Ahmedabad
Dr. Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty
He is a IAS (retired Secretary, Govt. of India), holds M.A. (Kolkata), M.P.A. (Harvard), and a Ph.D. in Fine Arts (Harvard) and the President of the People’s Council of Education and Distinguished Professor at Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha. Formerly Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi and Director-General of the National Museum, Dr. Chakravarty has played an instrumental role in various cultural and heritage management initiatives in India and abroad. His works focus on the intersection of culture, governance, and sustainable development.
Dr Padmini Ray Murray
A researcher and maker whose practice focuses on challenging acts of infrastructural and algorithmic violence by creating alternative digital spaces and imaginations that are characterised by feminist values, specifically an ethics of care. To explore the possibilities of manifesting these spaces, Padmini founded Design Beku, a design and digital collective of researchers, artists, technologists and designers who work towards making design and digital practice more locally rooted, contextually relevant and ethical.
Saleem Bhatri
Saleem Bhatri, Dean, Faculty of Design, CEPT University, has 20 years of integrated experience across the domains of Industrial Design, Architecture, Interior Design, Art, and Design Education. He is also a Partner at Case Design, an international architectural and design practice based in Mumbai, and Director at Casegoods, a brand that retails furniture, lights, objects, and textiles in India and abroad. As the Design Head at Reliance Brands, Mumbai, he previously worked on various global brands including Muji. He graduated from the Academy of Architecture in Mumbai and then trained as an Industrial Designer (Furniture Design) at the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad and Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ENSAD) in Paris. He attended the founding Post Graduate Program in Modern & Contemporary Indian Art History at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum.
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Sayantan Maitra Boka
Born in Kolkata, an architect by qualification, and a career in art by choice. He is a graduate from School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi. As an architect, he has explored the realm of public art doing site specific interventions with LAYOUT Collective. He is the Chief Coordinator of NGO, Shelter Promotion Council (India) through which he has curated and produced public art festivals in Sikkim, Nagaland, Meghalaya and West Bengal as the first of its kind which comprised a melange of new media art and contemporary art addressing issues of sociopolitical and environmental nature. He is Vice President of NGO, massArt which is promoting Bengal art and architecture into newer frontiers.
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Sayantoni Dutta
The co-founder of Jaladarsha Collective, an initiative focused on eco-cultural heritage and water justice. A graduate of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Mumbai) with a specialization in urban and rural community development, her work centres on indigenous rights, gender, and environmental justice. In 2018, she published Damuda: Sacred Water, reflecting on environmental conflicts along the Damodar Valley. Jaladarsha, founded in 2019, brings together artists and community practitioners to address water preservation. The collective has led water audits in Kolkata (2021-2024) and organized community art festivals such as "Flows Beyond Barriers" and "Roots and Rights." Their initiatives prioritize youth, women, and children, focusing on conservation-based livelihoods led by rural women.
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Siddhanjan Ray Chaudhuri
He is a Civil Engineer with a Master's in Rural Development, brings 23 years of experience in culture and development. As General Manager at banglanatak dot com, he has played a key role in safeguarding art forms and developing cultural industries. Through the Art for Life model, he has empowered communities by creating sustainable livelihoods through cultural entrepreneurship, skill-building, and market linkage. Siddhanjan has been instrumental in promoting cultural tourism, designing folk art centers, and community museums in craft villages. He has also led national and international festivals and exhibitions, with expertise in heritage management, festival design, and development communication on issues like health, education, and energy conservation. He is a member of ICOMOS India.
Ujjal Dey
A contemporary artist pursuing a doctorate from Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. He studied textile and design at Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, graduating in 2017. His semi-abstract works, which explore the ideas of tradition, rituals, ecology and landscape, are inspired by several traditional techniques and practices like Alpana (floor decoration), lepas (smear) and quilt or Kantha. His doctoral research focuses on the indigenous traditions and sustainable techniques of printing and dyeing. Dey has participated in the British Textile Biennial 2023. His notable exhibitions include a solo at Emami Art 2024, Cromwell Place, UK, 2023; His works were shown at Gallery Espace, InKo Centre, CSMVS, Art Dusseldorf 2023; India Art Fair, 2023, 2024; Art Mumbai 2024 and many others. Dey has been part of many international workshops, art camps & seminars on textiles. He is the recipient of the Junior Fellowship (2018-2019) and National Scholarship (2016) by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Ujjal Dey lives and works in Santiniketan, West Bengal.
Vikash Kumar
A New Delhi-based research scholar, arts administrator, & curator with over 15 years of experience in art and culture. He holds a master’s degree from the School of Arts & Aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Since 2008, he has curated numerous exhibitions & conferences. Vikash managed over 250 cultural events at Expo Dubai 2020’s India Pavilion, collaborating with the Ministry of Commerce & the Ministry of Culture. He was part of the organizing team for the first editions of the India Art Fair & served as Curator at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi (2014-2016). He has also been a Visiting Assistant Professor at the College of Art, University of Delhi, & Contributing Editor for Art Bahrain journal. He has received multiple honours, including the UGC Net Lectureship (2013), JRF (2016-2018), & grants from the Getty Foundation. He is also the Senior Assistant Director at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI),
