Devi Art Foundation

Join us for Collecting Culture: Art, Design and the Lives They Shape, a panel discussion presented in collaboration with India Design ID at LATITUDE 28. Presented as part of the ongoing exhibition Houses I Almost Lived In, the conversation brings together Aparna Kaushik, Bhavna Kakar, Gowri Adappa, Lekha Poddar, and Ranvir Shah, moderated by Misha Bains. Together, they will reflect on the ways art and design shape the spaces we inhabit, the cultures we build, and the lives we lead. 16 May 2026 | 5:30 PM Onwards 📍LATITUDE 28, B74, GF, Defence Colony, New Delhi [email protected] | +91 8368320353 RSVP is essential By invite only

My journey with Art Medium Circle, a collaboration deeply held between LAND and Devi Art Foundation, has been both intimate and transformative. A transdisciplinary research network and evolving think tank at the intersection of contemporary artistic practice and creative pedagogy, over 5 years, we have traced intersections across curricula in India, weaving dialogues among artists, educators, researchers, and learners. As the work extends into West Bengal, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, it has become a living ecosystem, where collectives gather, inquiries cross-pollinate, and education unfolds as a shared practice of becoming. This journey has been shaped by trust and companionship with Lekha Poddar, my co-curator Priya, Vaibhav, and a growing community of educators ( Roopali, Kush, Tandra & Sriparna) whose presence continues to sustain and expand this work. @pri_cious @vaibhavkachantani @lpoddar @kdhebar @duttasriparna @tandra.kundu.927 @paliwal.roopali @fosterandforge @vratyafoundation @chhavi_goliaa

In loving memory of Raghu Rai We are deeply saddened by the passing away of our beloved Raghu Rai, a legendary photographer who shaped our understanding of the young nation while it was moulding its shape. His spectacular style and decades of exceptional archives continue to inspire many generations of artists and photographers. Today, we pause to reflect on his extraordinary vision and engagement, honouring his enduring legacy. Raghu Rai’s ‘Arunachal, 1972’ Image Courtesy: Devi Art Foundation

As established by Eberhard Fischer and Haku Shah, this type of shoulder cloth or odhani was produced by the Muslim Khatri community of Kutch, particularly in the town of Abdasa, during the first half of the 20th century. The Khatri odhani, also known as khombi, is joined at the centre and square in form, conforming to a basic design of a central circular medallion surrounded by four smaller roundels and framed by a wide border. This border, sometimes wider than the ground, is composed of multiple decorative bands featuring scrolling designs such as aakdabel (creeper), phulbel (floral), and amba-jhar (mango tree). The cloth is folded and sewn prior to tying, ensuring mirrored symmetry of designs across both halves of the textile. A significant and rare feature is the use of thin strips of silver. These silver strips are used to join the two panels of the odhani and to highlight selected white dots created through the tie-and-dye technique. The centre of the odhani is further embellished with metallic knotted embroidery forming amba-jhar motifs around the medallion. Title: Shoulder cloth, odhani Material: Silk Technique: Tie and dye with metallic knotted embroidery Place of Origin: Kutch, Gujarat Time Period: Early 20th century From the collection of Devi Art Foundation. Text by @shivanik._ _______ Sources: 1. “Traditional Indian Handcrafted Textiles (Vol-I).” Anjali Karolia, 2019. 2. “Designed by a Reserve Technique: Tie-Dyed Silks and Cottons.” Textiles of India: The N2H Collection. Edited by Daniel Shaffer, 2020.

Roopali Paliwal has always wondered what learning could look like beyond classroom walls. This is her year long classroom journey with ArtMedium circle by LAND and Devi Art Foundation through @fosterandforge With Grade 5 learners at Government Primary School, Barola, Gautam Buddh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, she began Rangon ki Khoj: an experiential inquiry where children explored colour through their everyday surroundings. Leaves, dust, uniforms, marigolds, rusted gates, sky, and soil became entry points into observation, storytelling, and imagination. Through hands-on exploration, conversations with Gond artist Sunil Shyam, and encounters with visual narratives, children began to see colour as a language. One that carries memory, emotion, and meaning. Here, learning walked, listened, touched, and wondered. Art Medium Circle is a transdisciplinary research network positioned at the intersection of contemporary artistic practice and creative pedagogy. Supported by @deviartfoundation , with @land_art_education - LAND (Learning through Arts, Narrative and Discourse) as the knowledge partner contributing to developing its pedagogical framework. This collaboration fosters rigorous and scholarly discourse within the field of creative pedagogy. Project Lead : Vaibhav Achantani: @vaibhavkachantani ) Curated by : Kriti Sood (@kritis7 ) Graphic Design: Chhavi Goliaa

What does learning look like when it begins with trust? In this year-long intervention, Sriparna Dutta as part of ArtMedium Circle by LAND and Devi Art Foundation. She worked with women and children in 91C Khalpar Basti, West Bengal, building a shared space through stitching, conversation, and time spent together. The outcome was not a finished object or a perfected skill, but a living journal: an archive of stories, pauses, and shared presence. This work reminds us that learning does not always announce itself. Sometimes it unfolds when people feel safe enough to stay, speak, and be seen. Art Medium Circle is a transdisciplinary research network positioned at the intersection of contemporary artistic practice and creative pedagogy. Supported by @deviartfoundation , with @land_art_education - LAND (Learning through Arts, Narrative and Discourse) as the knowledge partner contributing to developing its pedagogical framework. This collaboration fosters rigorous and scholarly discourse within the field of creative pedagogy. Project lead: Vaibhav Achantani (@vaibhavkachantani ) Curated by: Kriti Sood ( @kritis7 ) Graphic design by: Chhavi Goliaa

In a classroom in Panchkula, Haryana, at a Girls’ care home under the Department of Women and Child Development, learners are engaging in one of the oldest human languages: storytelling, as part of the Art Medium Program by LAND and Devi Art Foundation. Guided by educator and archaeologist Dr Kush Dhebar (PhD, Ancient Indian Culture, History & Archaeology, Deccan College, Pune), learning unfolds through making. The students explore prehistoric rock art, hieroglyphs, Harappan pictographs, Brahmi script, numismatics, and symbolic systems as living tools of communication. They begin by visualising Mahabharata scenes and sculpting them in clay. They go on to design their own personal iconographies with four ayudhas each. They conduct excavations, study ancient coins, and learn how images carried meaning long before scripts were born. Over time, the classroom transforms into a creative studio. A collective takes shape. Roles emerge organically: designers, illustrators, researchers, and storytellers working together. What grows from this process is way more than a series of lessons. It becomes a publishing project in the making. A comic book created collaboratively. A return to the earliest form of human expression, reimagined for the present. When learning is rooted in art, it remembers where humanity began. Art Medium Circle is a transdisciplinary research network positioned at the intersection of contemporary artistic practice and creative pedagogy. Supported by @deviartfoundation , with @land_art_education - LAND (Learning through Arts, Narrative and Discourse) as the knowledge partner contributing to developing its pedagogical framework. This collaboration fosters rigorous and scholarly discourse within the field of creative pedagogy. Project Lead - Vaibhav Achantani (@vaibhavkachantani ) Curated by - Kriti Sood (@kritis7 ) Graphic Design- Chhavi Goliaa

Tandra Kundu began her Art Medium Circle journey by bringing images from the Devi Art Foundation collection into the classes 5 through 8 at Jougram High School in Burdwan, West Bengal, the children looked closely. They wondered. They asked questions. They imagined. classroom in West Bengal as worlds to enter. The children looked closely. They wondered. They asked questions. They imagined. What stories live inside an image? What happens when colour begins to speak? What kind of characters emerge from a gesture? From there, they began to build. Newspaper turned into bodies. Cloth became skin. Thread became voice. The puppets were not just characters. They carried memory, emotion, humour, fear, courage. They carried the children’s worlds. Art Medium Circle is a transdisciplinary research network positioned at the intersection of contemporary artistic practice and creative pedagogy. Supported by @deviartfoundation , with @land_art_education -LAND (Learning through Arts, Narrative and Discourse) as the knowledge partner contributing to developing its pedagogical framework. This collaboration fosters rigorous and scholarly discourse within the field of creative pedagogy. Project lead - Vaibhav Achantan ( @vaibhavkachantani ) Curated by -Kriti Sood ( @kritis7 ) Graphic design - Chhavi Goliaa

Art medium Conclave Edition III Presented by LAND and Devi Art Foundation Engaging with our educators learning journeys through the Art medium Circle Grant. Learning their year long research and practice while deep diving into context and complexity. Kush Dhebar @kdhebar presents a year-long project culminating in a student-authored comic publication, where archaeology, ancient scripts, numismatics, rock art, and visual storytelling become tools for understanding how humans communicated before written language. Sriparna Dutta @duttasriparna presents a stitched archive and creative journal that documents memory, care, dialogue, and intergenerational learning through embroidery, material practice, and collective storytelling. Joining them on the panel: Dr. Banani Bhattacharya - Archaeologist, Former Deputy Director, Dept. of Archaeology & Museums, Haryana Dr. Dimple Bahl - Graphic Designer & Academician, NIFT Delhi Princess Pea - Artist Tanishka Kachru - Senior Faculty, NID Ahmedabad A discussion of shared inquiry into art, pedagogy, and knowledge-making. The Art Medium Circle is a transdisciplinary research network positioned at the intersection of contemporary artistic practice and creative pedagogy. Supported by Devi Art Foundation, with LAND (Learning through Arts, Narrative and Discourse) as the knowledge partner contributing to developing its pedagogical framework. This collaboration fosters rigorous and scholarly discourse within the field of creative pedagogy. Creative design - @chhavi_goliaa Project lead - @vaibhavkachantani Curated by - @kritis7

Art medium Conclave Edition III Presented by LAND and Devi Art Foundation Two educators share their year-long classroom journeys research, learning methodology and system thinking through the Art medium Circle Grant. Roopali Paliwal @paliwal.roopali presents Rangon ki Khoj, an experiential learning project where children explored colour through observation, play, storytelling, and sensory engagement, building colour as a language of memory, feeling, and imagination. (Learning community from Delhi NCR) Tandra Kundu @tandra.kundu.927 presents a theatre and puppetry-based learning project where students built narratives, characters, and performances using everyday materials, guided by traditional storytelling and artist-led exchange. (Learning community from West Bengal) Joining them in conversation: Maithrayee Nair - Educator, Teach for India Pooja Chopra - Senior Director Program, The Circle India Priya Chauhan - Curator & Educator Sumakshi Singh - Artist, Curator, Writer & Educator An evening of listening, reflection, and dialogue on how art reshapes learning. The Art Medium Circle is a transdisciplinary research network positioned at the intersection of contemporary artistic practice and creative pedagogy. Supported by Devi Art Foundation, with LAND (Learning through Arts, Narrative and Discourse) as the knowledge partner contributing to developing its pedagogical framework. This collaboration fosters rigorous and scholarly discourse within the field of creative pedagogy. Creative design by @chhavi_goliaa Project Lead @vaibhavkachantani Curated by @kritis7

Kya Kehte Hain Rang by Roopali Paliwal for Art Medium Circle by LAND X DAF Before colour becomes a word, it is felt. In Roopali’s classroom, colour drifts through maps, stories, light, and memory. It moves slowly through geography, through Gond forms, through moments of pause allowing children to notice how colour lives in landscapes, materials, and emotion. Kya Kehte Hain Rang listens closely to these encounters, treating colour not as something to be named, but as something that speaks if we stay with it long enough. The Art Medium Circle is a transdisciplinary research network positioned at the intersection of contemporary artistic practice and creative pedagogy. Supported by Devi Art Foundation, with LAND (Learning through Arts, Narrative and Discourse) as the knowledge partner contributing to developing its pedagogical framework. This collaboration fosters rigorous and scholarly discourse within the field of creative pedagogy.

The girls at the Ashiyana Children’s Care center learnt basic Brahmi Script today. They learnt how to write their names. This class was a part of the greater topic on Communication Design and Visualising that the girls have been studying with their teacher Dr Kush Dhebar. The girls began with understanding the origins of finer forms of art in the Indian Archaeological record, then they understood semiotics through interpreting popular logos and they also created a logo for their own Art Collective called Asha ki Kirane Art Collective. The girls picked three themes and created comics on them right from the ideation, visualization to illustration/production phase. Kush will publish this anthology of their comics as a part of his showcase as a Shapeshifter for Art Medium Circle. The Art Medium Circle is a transdisciplinary research network positioned at the intersection of contemporary artistic practice and creative pedagogy. Supported by Devi Art Foundation, with LAND (Learning through Arts, Narrative and Discourse) as the knowledge partner contributing to developing its pedagogical framework. This collaboration fosters rigorous and scholarly discourse within the field of creative pedagogy.