Ushmita Sahu (Director & Head Curator, EMAMI ART, Kolkata) will be conversing with India Art Fair Artists-in-Residence 2025 — Imon Phukan, liactuallee and Umesh S. about their artistic practices, which touch upon intangible cultural heritage, agrarian complexities of rootedness and how craft can be the language of speaking across generations. They try to understand how and why this sense of belonging is being explored across the registers of grief and memory, land and space, fluid identities & ecology.
Generously supported by JSW, the IAF 2025 Talks Series, Growing Focus, curated by independent researcher and curator Shaleen Wadhwana, examines the increasing prominence of South Asia within contemporary art, design and culture. The series highlights the efforts of People of the Global Majority — comprising more than 80 per cent of the world’s population, with roots in Indigenous, African, Asian and Latin American cultures — who are asserting their presence across arts and cultural ecosystems. Amid the ongoing decentering of dominant ‘Global North’ narratives, it frames this moment not merely as a response to decolonisation but as landmark, historic self-determination. We explore this impact for audiences today and every day.
Ushmita Sahu: Ushmita Sahu, Director and Head Curator of Emami Art, Kolkata, is a prominent figure in the art world. With a fine arts background from Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati University, she is known for her distinctive curatorial style that integrates design into her exhibitions. Before joining Emami Art in 2021, she was an independent curator, artist, and mentor. Sahu has curated national and international projects and has spoken at esteemed institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum. She is based in Kolkata and Santiniketan, West Bengal.
Imon Phukan: Imon Phukan, based in London, explores themes of loneliness, exile, and migration through her works, reflecting her personal experiences of traveling. Her practice delves into self-search via size, height, and materiality, using textiles to convey emotions. She holds a BA in Painting from MSU Baroda and is pursuing an MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art, London. Awards include the CCRT Scholarship and the Mehta Kaka Award.
liactuallee: lictuallee, a graduate of the University of Minnesota and Jnanapravaha Mumbai, is an artist known for their public murals and soft sculptures. They have exhibited at Emami Art Kolkata, Art Incept New Delhi, and held their solo show “Soft Invasions, stitchpunk visions” at Method Bandra in 2023. Recent awards include the Artdemic Textile & Fiber Art Grant 2024.
Umesh S.: Umesh S., merges art with agriculture, exploring ecological fragility and vanishing agrarian traditions. Drawing from rural India, his work celebrates rural knowledge systems and engages with the migration of laborers, traditional tools, and marginalized communities, influenced by Ramkinkar Baij and Navjot Altaf.
