Alka Pande Introduces Art of K G Subramanian: Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi

Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi honored Dr. Alka Pande for her distinguished contribution to the visual art, with Amrita Sher-Gil Samman on 19th January 2015.

ALKA PANDE
Art, it is said, is for all time; its beauty and relevance spans across the borders of time and space. Thus one may gaze with the same wonder as countless others have, over ancient Grecian sculptures and Indian miniature paintings or over multimedia installations and canvases that hold sway in galleries of contemporary art. However, the journeys of exploration into the realms of time and space that their creators belonged to, and the endeavours to understand the nuances of aesthetics are equally fascinating. This is where art historians such as Dr. Alka Pande step in, illuminate the behind-the scenes activities and the aesthetic consciousness that led to creations from varied lands, cultures and eras.
Currently a Consultant Arts Advisor and Curator of the Visual Arts Gallery at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi, Dr. Pande has been passionately involved with the world of art and art history for nearly three decades.
Born in an illustrious family of writers, artists and academicians, Dr. Pande imbibed its love of learning and the fine arts. She studied for two post graduate degrees: History, from Bombay University, and Fine Arts from Panjab University, and subsequently having won the Charles Wallace India Trust Award, she did her postdoctoral research in Critical Art Theory at Goldsmiths College, University of London.
Her career began with teaching for a number of years at the Department of Fine Arts, Panjab University and also as Director of the Museum of Fine Arts there. She has been a visiting faculty, teaching art and aesthetics at Delhi College of Art and the DJ Academy of Design, Coimbatore.

Dr. Pande has curated several exhibitions in India and abroad, and brought on the international map some of our most upcoming and influential artists, photographers and sculptors. Some of her recent special projects have been the Delhi Photo Festival; the Akshara Project under the Dastkari Haat Samiti, ‘Pageants of the Raj’ showcasing the art work of photo media artist Devangana Kumar, ‘The life and Times of Ismat and Manto’, ‘Red Strings Through My Hands’ depicting the performative art of Swiss artist Nesa Gschwend, and ‘India Awakens Under the Banyan Tree’, a collective featuring 38 contemporary artists to highlight the wonder that Is India.
A prolific writer on Indology and art history, Dr.Pande has published a wide range of academic papers and lectures and is the author of several well acclaimed books, some of which have been translated into foreign languages. She is presently working on a series of commissioned books related to Indian Art, Culture and Heritage.
Her special interest in issues of gender, identity and Ancient Indian Erotic Literature and Art has led to her curated project, The Kama Sutra: Spirituality and Eroticism in Indian Art that concluded just last week at Pinacothèque de Paris, in France.
An innovative venture has been the idea of displaying art in public spaces. The India Habitat Centre in collaboration with the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation has just launched a display of lightboxes at the Jor Bagh Metro station under the theme, ‘Long Exposure—The Camera at Udaipur, 1857-1957’, and photographs by Tarun Chabbra and Robin Beeche in tune with Holi-Basant Utsav, at the Mandi House Metro station. These exhibitions will run till March 2015, so art lovers travelling to Delhi know where to head.
In recognition of Dr. Alka pande’s outstanding contribution, the French Govt. conferred on her the distinction of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, in 2006. In 2009, she received the Australian Asia Council Special Award for contribution in Indian Arts. The Chandigarh Lalit Kala academy is proud to honour Dr. Pande, significantly the only woman among its honours list today.

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