In a polarised world, artists allow us to see beyond the surface level – to think more deeply and be challenged, and to create spaces for kinship and solidarity across borders and generations. In keeping track of how the world has evolved, artists punctuate these moments with their art and bridge cultural ecosystems which is the DNA of BMW’s role in art and culture. This talk allows for a deeper introspection into the practices of artists Shirazeh Houshiary, Bharti Kher and Pushpamalla N. with moderator Prof. Dr. Thomas Girst, Head of Cultural Engagement, BMW Group.
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.
Shirazeh Houshiary: Shirazeh Houshiary, a Royal Academician since 2022, is an Iranian-born artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, painting, installation, and film. Exploring perception and transformation, her work draws from Sufism, Renaissance art, and contemporary physics. She has exhibited globally, including the Long Museum, Shanghai (2023), Tate Liverpool (2003), and Venice Biennale (2013)
Bharti Kher: Bharti Kher was born in the United Kingdom in 1969 and studied Art and Design at Middlesex Polytechnic London and then received a BFA in painting, with honors, from Newcastle Polytechnic. The daughter of Punjabi immigrants to the UK, she has been based in New Delhi since 1993. Amongst Kher’s signature materials, loaded with symbolism, is the bindi. First appearing in her work in 1995, she has since inherited its aesthetic and cultural dualities, using it to mix the everyday with the sublime. Kher’s recent solo exhibitions include: Alchemies, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK (2024); Bharti Kher, Arnolfini, Bristol,UK (2022); A Consummate Joy, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2020); Chimeras, Centre Pasqu’Art, Biel, France (2018);
Pushpamalla N: Born in Bangalore, 1956, Pushpamala N has been called “the most entertaining artist-iconoclast of contemporary Indian art”. In her sharp and witty work as a photo- and video-performance artist, sculptor, writer, curator and provocateur, and in her collaborations with writers, theatre directors and filmmakers, she seeks to subvert the dominant cultural and intellectual discourse. She is known for her strongly feminist work and for her rejection of authenticity and embracing of multiple realities. As one of the pioneers of conceptual art in India and a leading figure in the feminist experiments in subject, material and language, her inventive work in sculpture, conceptual photography, video and performance have had a deep influence on art practice in India.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Girst: Thomas Girst is the global Head of Cultural Engagement at the BMW Group, a position he has occupied since 2003. Formerly the head of the Art Science Research Laboratory in New York under the directorship of Stephen Jay Gould, Harvard University, Girst studied art history, American Studies and German literature at Hamburg University and New York University. In 2016, he was made the recipient of the “European Cultural Manager of the Year” award. His prominent publications include Art, Literature, and the Japanese American Internment, The Indefinite Duchamp, The Duchamp Dictionary, BMW Art Cars, 100 Secrets of the Art World.
