November 18 , 2023
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Mahalaxmi Racecourse
We are at an interesting juncture in history, where South Asia, as a whole, is rapidly gaining importance within global conversations around art and culture. The tremendous potential of the region is not to be underestimated, as the burgeoning art scene is in the process of rewriting its position on the international stage. This panel will look at the interplay of art, culture, and global influence. From a booming market to rising soft power, and its transformation into a vibrant cultural hub. The speakers will discuss their experiences around creating and/or developing a cultural bridge between South Asia and the global art community by fostering interactions and connections, creating an exchange of visual arts, and altering sites for featuring art to audiences who may not have engaged with it previously.
Rajeeb Samdani is the Co-Founder and Trustee of the Samdani Art Foundation. Together with his wife Nadia Samdani, he established the Samdani Art Foundation, the biannual Dhaka Art Summit, and Srihatta-Samdani Art Centre and Sculpture Park in order to promote Bangladesh and South Asia’s contemporary artists and architects. He is a member of the Tate International Council Board, a founding member and Co-Chair of Tate’s South Asian Acquisitions Committee, a member of Tate’s International Council, Alserkal Avenue’s Programming Committee, Delfina Foundation’s Global Council, Art Basel's Global Patrons Council and a founding member of The Harvard University Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute’s Arts Advisory Council. In 2017, with his wife Nadia, he was the first South Asian arts patron to receive the prestigious Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award.
Inakshi Sobti is the Chief Executive Officer of Asia Society India Centre, a global non-profit educational organisation that now straddles four continents, Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States. Prior to joining Asia Society she spent seven years with Harvard Business School’s India Research Centre leading Community Initiatives for them in South Asia. Before her time at HBS, she spent over 15 years with Citigroup India. Inakshi is an alumnus of Lady Shri Ram College and the London School of Economics, and an avid reader with a keen interest in art and aesthetics. Committed to inclusion and social enterprise, she serves as a mentor for a not for profit called Katalyst and has supported Ummeed and the Akanksha Foundation.
Giulia Ambrogi is a contemporary art curator. With a Master in History of Contemporary Art and Management of Cultural Heritage, she started her career at the contemporary art Museum - MAXXI, in Rome. Subsequently, she committed herself in spreading the culture of public and urban art, with a focus on the Italian and Indian landscape. She curated and initiated a few Street Art festivals in Italy and in 2014, she co-founded St+art India Foundation - India’s first platform for urban contemporary art. In 2018 she co-founded XXL Collective - an international creative agency that curates experiential art events for leading global brands as well as site-specific art interventions in private spaces. In February 2023, along with her partners, she opened Gallery XXL, a gallery space dedicated to Urban Contemporary and Post-Graffiti art. She has been lecturing in several universities both in Italy and India and has been invited as speaker in TED X talks, TV shows and relevant conferences around the themes of public art and smart cities.
