Professional Experience
2012
Listen to your Eye…, Lakereen Art Gallery, Bombay.
(EN )Counters: Land of Mine, Public Art Project, Bombay, curated by Amrita Gupta Singh, Claudio Maffioletti, Leandre D'souza
Examples to follow! Expeditions in aesthetics and sustainability, Galerie Max Muller, Studio X, PR Gallery & Museum Lawns Gallery
Maskara, Project 88, Mumbai, curator Adrienne Goehler*
Video Art India, Fundación "la Caixa", Palma, Tarragona, Spain curated Luisa Ortínez
Trespassers Only, Art Oxygen and Studio X, curated by Amrita Gupta Singh, Claudio Maffioletti, Leandre D'souza
Sub - Tropical Heat- New Art from Asia, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand, curated by Rhana Davenport
"Energy Plus" Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, co-curator Diana Campbell, Susan Hapgood, the Mumbai City Pavilion for the Shanghai Biennale* Wai, ISEA, Albuquerque, New Mexico, curated Ian Clothier
Beyond Pressure, Festival of Contemporary Art, Yangon, Myanmar, curated Moe Satt, 8th IAWRT Asian Women's Film Festival, New Delhi
8th IAWRT (curated selection) Pondicherry University, Tamilnadu
Advisor, Art 1st, Video exchange, Salon Video, Bucharest, Romania, and the Clark House Initiative in Mumbai, India. Co-curated Daniela Palimariu and Sharmila Samant
Residency at the Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand, working with the local Maori community on traditional knowledge about Wai (water)
2011
FLOW / CUT : The Fluid City, Public Art Project, Exhibition/ discussion,Studio X, Bombay, curated Amrita Gupta Singh, Claudio Maffioletti, Leandre D'souza
Recycled Utopias: Crisis/Praxis, A R T & P U B L I C - C A B I N E T, P. H , Geneva , Switzerland
Right to Dissent, Exhibition, Film Screenings, Panel Discussion, Performance, Clark House, Mohile Parikh Center,
Committee for the Release of Dr. Binayak Sen, Convener Tushar Joag
Generation in Transition, New Art from India, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw Poland, curated Magda Kardasz*
Window in the Wall: India and China - Imaginary Conversations, Pearl Lam Fine Art, Shanghai, China, co-curators: Gayatri Sinha, Gao Minglu
In Deed: Certificates of Authenticity in Art, Stichting Beeldende, Kunst Middelburg, Art in De Kabinetten van De Vleeshal , Netherlands, curators Susan Hapgood and Cornelia Lauf*
Video exchange 'Square Eyes' with an artist led group, Cornwall Autonomous Zone ( CAZ) in Penzance, Cornwall, South West England, and the Clark House Initiative in Mumbai, India. Co-curated Janet McEwan and Sharmila Samant
2010
SEZ Who, KHOJ Studios, New Delhi, curated by Tushar Joag
Video Art India, Fundacio 'la Caixa', Barcelona, Lleida, curator, Luisa Ortinez
Let's Twist Again, The Dig, co-curated by Makiko Hara, Debra Zhou and Hank Bull, Centre A: Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Vancouver, Canada
Asian Art Films, Matsushiro Contemporary Art Festival, Rokuzan Museum,
Nagano, Japan, curator Chitose Miyashita.
Collector's Choice, Collector's Voice, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, curated by Micheal Knight
Metropolis, The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall , UK, curated by Jo Digger
Public Art Workshop, Periferry, Guwahati, Assam , India
2009
Things and Stuff, the second Joburg Art Fair, South Africa curated by Christian Nerf and Kathryn Smith.
Blank Projects,Cape Town,South Africa curated by Christian Nerf and Kathryn Smith.
Expressions at Tihar, Golghar in New Delhi curated by Anubhav Nath and Johny M L.*
SEZ Who, Experimenter, Kolkata, curated by Tushar Joag
'Re-claim, Re-cite and Recycle' Bose Pacia Kolkata , curated by Bhavana Kakkar
'ALL THAT IS SOLID MELTS INTO AIR: Indian Contemporary Art in Global Times' LAKEEREN - The Contemporary Art Gallery, Mumbai
Twisty Twosty artist's workshop on Migration, Emami Chisel Art, Kolkata
Soil Bite, Khoj Bihar, International Artists workshop, Tarumitra, Patna, curated by Shambhavi Singh
Edited the publication for Soil-Bite, Bihar.
2008
Asian Hot Shots Berlin - festival for film and video art Gandhi Special 2008 curated Tina Lange*
The 2008 Biennale of Sydney exhibition, at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Revolutions - Forms That Turn, curated Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev.*
Kathajaal: A Web of Stories- survey show Co-curated by Makiko Hara (Centre A) & Haema Sivanesan (SAVAC, Toronto), Centre A: Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Vancouver, Canada
Destination Asia,-Conversations at Elementa Dubai a collaborative project co -curated with Valeria Iberava, Sorus Foundation Almaty, Quddus Mirza, Lahore,
International Artists workshop, Institute of Technology and Management, Gwalior
2007
People, Place, Nation Locating: Art & Self workshop, exhibition, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi
'Mirror Worlds' Contemporary Video from Asia, Auckland, New Zealand curated Zoe Butt, Bec Dean*
'Objects Making- Unmaking', Vadhera Art Gallery, New Delhi, curated Vidya Shivadas*
KO Video, 1st Durban Video Festival, organised by Pulse, selected 50 videos, Viewers Choice, Mexico City, Mexico.
Destination Asia: Non-strict Correspondence, Sorus Foundation Almaty, Kazakhstan curated by Quddus Mirza, Sharmila Samant*
Best of Discoveries, Sh Contemporary art Fair, Shanghai, China, curated by Pierre Huber*
HERE, THERE, NOW- Contemporary Art from India, Gallery Soulflower, Bangkok, Thailand. curated by Brian Curtin*
Rome Film Fest- PROSPECTS Contemporary Art from India, curated by Deepak Ananth
Destination Asia, a collaborative project co -curated with Valeria Iberava, Sorus Foundation Almaty, Quddus Mirza, Pakistan.
Conducted 'Experiencing a Change', video editing workshop at Open Circle with Gaurav Chandelya.
Facilitation and hosting of Novaia Liustra, artist group collaboration with the Japan Foundation and Ecole Mondial.
2006
'Rites/ Rights/ Rewrites' Mason Grove Gallery, Rutgers University, New Jersey, United States, curated Arshiya Lokhandwala.*
'Mirror Worlds' Contemporary Video from Asia, IMA, Institute of Modern Art, Australia, curated Zoe Butt, Bec Dean*
Subcontingent The Indian Subcontinent in Contemporary Art, Fondazione
Sandretto Re Rabaudengo, Torino, Italy, curated by Ilaria Bonacossa and Francesco Manacorda. *
'Satyagraha' Travancore Art Gallery, Delhi, curated Jayram Poduval
'Impossible India' Frankfurter Kunsterverein, Germany, curated Nina Montmann
'Passages' Brussels, Belgium, curated Jany Lauga and Deepak Ananth.
'Changing Currents' -a multi media, cross- disciplinary event focusing on the various water related issues conceptualized, executed by Open Circle in collaboration with the NBA and the NAPM
Curated the Indian section (Short films from India), Max Muller Bhavan, Mumbai
Collaborative work 'Portable Gurukul/ School on Wheels' Open Circle project conceptualization and co-ordination, Café 1, Vedado, Busan Biennale, KoreaBusan Biennale, Busan Modern Art Museum, South Korea.
Impossible India, group show, Frankfurter Kunstverein, curated by Nina Montmaan (Open Circle, various works , films and videos program curated by Sharmila Samant, Frankfurt, Germany
Kathajaal -A Web of Stories Open Circle project conceptualization and co-ordination, 1st biennale of the Canaries, Spain*
People, Place, Nation Locating: Art & Self workshop, exhibition, Lalit Kala Akademi, Regional Centre Bhubaneshwar*
Panelist, Ramkinker Baij Centenary International Seminar, Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan.
Speaker, Lecture Series by Renee Padt, Valand Academy of Fine Arts, Gothenberg, Sweden
HOLY DAMN IT, About the urge of radical answers Poster project to mobilize against the G-8 summit in Heiligendamm near Rostock, Germany, June 6-8,
2005
Raffel for Tsunami rehabilitation, conceptualized, executed by Open Circle.
Yokohoma Triennale, Yokohama , Japan, (Collaborative work by Open Circle)
Selection of videos from India and Pakistan (by Open Circle) for KO Video, 1st Durban Video Festival, organised by Pulse, Durban, South AfricaVideo Art from India, SESC, Pinheiros, Sao Paulo, Brazil
'Rites/ Rights/ Rewrites' JHF Centre for Interdisciplinary and International Studies, Duke University, United States, curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala.*
'We are like this only', Vadhera Art Gallery, New Delhi, curated by Vidya Shivadas*
'Mirror Worlds' Contemporary Video from Asia, ACP, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney, Australia, curated Zoe Butt, Bec Dean*
'Present Future' National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, curated Dr. Sarayu Doshi
'Natural Selection', Linden-St Kilda Centre for Contemporary Arts, curated by Christine Clark and Lisa Byrne*
'Indian Summer' Ecole nationale superieure des beaux-arts de Paris, Paris, curated Hry-Claude Cousseau, Deepak Ananth, Jany Lauga*
KO Video, 1st Durban Video Festival, organised by Pulse, Durban, South Africa*
2004
'Home With No Walls', 'Cabin Baggage', 'Open Call', visual art exhibitions for the World Social Forum, conceptualized, executed by Open Circle.
'Shifting Maps', Rain Publication, book release, at the B- Book, Berlin, for Open Circle.
Bottle Neck Jamming-(Collaborative sound installation by Open Circle),
'Edge of Desire: Recent art in India', curated by Chaitanya Sambrani.
2003
Curated an international show with 10 artists, Video Works, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai.
Co-curated the Indian section (In Our Times), Prince of Wales Museum, Max Muller Bhavan, Mumbai
2002
Curated, Video Works, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai. Co-curated the Indian section for Short and Sweet, German Short Film Festival, Prince of Wales Museum, Max Muller Bhavan, Mumbai.
Reclaim Our Freedom, a week long public awareness event, conceptualized, executed by Open Circle.
Curated Art Installation and Video Festival of the India Sabka Youth Festival.
2000
Participated and organized International workshop on displacement, The View, Mumbai. Participation from (16 artists and 1 theorist) India, Pakistan, Netherlands, Ecuador, Indonesia, Israel, South-Africa, Mexico, Canada and Australia.
Seminar at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai
Exhibitions
Gallery Chemould, Tao Art Gallery, Lakeeren Gallery for Contemporary Art, Pundole Art Gallery and The View (in-situ works). For Open Circle
1998
Founder, Member of Open Circle,(1998-2008) an artists' initiative for the organization and development of interactive platforms for artists in Mumbai.
1997
Conducted the Introduction workshop for Kamala Raheja Vidhyanidhi, Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies, Mumbai.
1996
Ceramic Studios, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal.
Conducted the Introduction workshop for Kamala Raheja Vidhyanidhi, Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies, Mumbai.
1992-93
Sculpture Studios, The Kanoria Centre for Arts, Ahmedabad.
1990-01
Sculpture Studios, Lalit Kala Academy, Chennai.
Select Publications
Publications available for all activities marked with *
Pdfs of some publication can be downloaded from www.sharmilasamant.in
National and International Recognition
2013 - Residency at the Powis Castle, National Trust, Meadow Arts, UK
2012 - Residency at the Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand
2008 - Research and Artist- in- Residency at Centre A, Vancouver incollaboration with South Asian Visual Arts Centre, Toronto, and the Art Gallery of Missassagua, Canada
2006 - Pilot project Gropiusstadt, Berlin Germany.
2001 - Gasworks Residency, London, UK.
1999 - Purchase Committee, Rijksakademie Collection, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
1994 - Bendre Hussain Scholarship for Sculpture
1989 - Maharashtra State Award
1988 - Merit Award for Sculpture Sir J.J. School of Arts, Mumbai, India
Executive Summary
Sharmila Samant has currently joined as an Associate Professor in the Department of Art, Design and Performance at the Shiv Nadar University. She graduated in Sculpture from Sir J. J. School of Arts, which was followed by a diploma in Interior Design, a Fellowship at the Kanoria Center for Arts, Ahmedabad, and artist-residencies at Rijksakademie in Amsterdam and at Gasworks in London. Samant was one of the founders of the Mumbai-based collective, Open Circle that sought to engage with contemporary socio-political issues via an integration of theory and practice. Negotiating in both private and public spheres, Samant has engaged in collaborative and participatory art projects with various communities while exploring ideas of exchange, accessibility and authorship. Her installations and video works have been part of many prominent exhibitions in biennales, museums, artist-led spaces and alternative venues in India and abroad. Samant has curated international events, screenings and exhibitions individually and in collaboration. To know more about Sharmila Samant, visit www.sharmilasamant.in
