“When our lived experience of theorizing is fundamentally linked to processes of self-recovery, of collective liberation, no gap exists between theory and practice.” — bell hooks (Theory as Liberatory Practice, 1994)

Vertical Cinema (2022): Installation by Namita Avriti through the workshop on “Exhibition and Spatial Design” conducted by Ravi Kashi. Image courtesy of the artist.

Vision

The MA in Contemporary Art Practice (CAP) is rooted in making, theorizing, and researching art and cultural production in society. By working across a range of practices in the fields of fine arts including public art, performance, film, and digital humanities, students will be encouraged to explore transdisciplinary methodologies towards nurturing their own artistic and humanistic sensibilities and skills. These explorations will draw from art history, media and cultural studies, translation and literary studies, critical technology studies, and gender and sexuality studies

The program will prepare students for careers in arts and cultural institutions, academia, publishing, galleries, archives, and cultural platforms. It offers an exceptional opportunity to further studies in the historical, cultural, and political contexts of South Asia and its connections with the rest of the world. Through creative inquiry-based learning and community engagements, this program embodies the interconnectedness of the arts, technology, and society.

Photo installation by Rudradutta Ranade and Urvi Jacob at the Cubbon Park Metro Station from the site-specific final year project titled Bengaluru Narratives Festival of Stories-8 (2018). Image courtesy of Mamta Sagar.

Course Structure

MA CAP will cover studios and project-based seminars connected to creative domains such as Text and Performance; Public Art; Archives and Digital Storytelling; and Image and Form-Making (including Moving Image).

Year 1 Focus: Exploring Theory and Practice
Semesters 1 and 2:

• Cycle 1 (Seven Weeks): Core Studios (8-credits)
• Cycle 2 (Seven Weeks): Core Seminars, Electives, and Allied Courses (4-credits).

Year 2 Focus: Shaping Practice
Semester 3:

• Full Term (14 Weeks): Research Studio and Project-based Mentorship (12-credits) with integrated Academic Writing (6-credits).

Semester 4:

• PG Capstone for a period of 18 weeks (20 credits)

Learning Approach:

Weaving, coding, and storytelling from the studio on critical making in the digital humanities titled, Care Matters and Justice Dreams (2023). Image courtesy of Kush Patel.

Over the course of two years, students will learn through studios, seminars, projects, and field-based pedagogies, involving leading artists, curators, scholars, and critics. Together, these pedagogies will expose them to transdisciplinary practices in making, theorizing, and researching the intersections of the arts, technology, and society.

The learning objective of the MA in Contemporary Art Practice program is to equip students with a diverse set of transdisciplinary skills and knowledge that enable them to engage in contemporary art, cultural production, and societal issues. This objective includes fostering artistic and humanistic sensibilities, providing inter- and transdisciplinary understandings of the relationships between art, technology and society; and developing practical skills for careers in various cultural and academic sectors.

The program also aims to promote a global and historical context in art and encourages community engagement for social change, emphasizing the interconnectedness of the arts, technology, and social justice.

Program Capabilities

Archival metadata from the project titled, “The Office of Anti-Inequity and Anti-Exclusive Excellence,” Interlude: Inhabiting Learning (2022). Image courtesy of Kush Patel.

The MA CAP program will nurture students’ capabilities for:

• Public dialogue and scholarly dissemination of creative and research works.
• Analog and digital curation of cultural objects.
• Text- and performance-based engagements.
• Information access and data discernment across digital media.
• Historical inquiry though image and form-making.

Opportunities

Dot Line Circle Spiral. Thesis Project by Tanisha D’Souza, displayed at the Graduation Exhibition, July 2018.

The program is oriented to the GLAM sector, which are the Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums committed to making arts and cultural knowledge accessible to wider populations. The program’s professional promise includes practices in publishing, academia, and cultural institutions and their collective orientation follows a strong demand within the Indian and international arts communities for skilled expertise in contemporary art practices. Students of MA CAP can also further their research practice by continuing to do a PhD.

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