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 Pushpamala N. with moderator Prof. Dr. Thomas Girst, Head of Cultural Engagement, BMW Group.
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 was born in Iran, 1955 and moved to London in 1974. She was awarded the title Professor at the London Institute and was short listed for Turner Prize at the Tate Gallery, 1994 and awarded the Asia Arts Game Changer Award Hong Kong, 2018. Her major projects and commission include Rice Public Art, Moody Center for Arts Houston; East Window, St Martin–in–the-Fields London; Sydney Biennale, Australia; Kiev Biennale, Ukraine; Camden Arts Centre, London; ‘Breath’ Torre di Porta Nuova 55th Venice Biennale; Tate Liverpool; Villa Stuck Munich; Bonnefanten Museum Maastricht; International Biennale of Contemporary Art Cartagena Colombia.
Bharti Kher: Bharti Kher’s art gives form to quotidian life and its daily rituals in a way that reassesses and transforms their meaning, with her own personal language of alchemy and mythology. Among Kher’s signature materials, loaded with symbolism is the bindi, which first appeared in her work in 1995. 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 (2020). Her works are in various global collections, like, the Tate and the British Museum, UK; the National Museum of Canada; the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi; amongst others.
Pushpamala N.: In her strongly feminist and subversive practice as a photo and video artist, sculptor, performer, writer and curator, Pushpamala N. seeks to intervene in the dominant cultural and intellectual discourse. Her work is often polemical, looking at the idea of the nation state in an age of globalized ‘neo-liberalism’ and using the idea of cultural memory to explore history and contemporary society with irony and wit.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Girst: Prof. Dr. Thomas Girst, Global Head of BMW Group Cultural Engagement, is an award-winning cultural manager, journalist and author. Formerly head of the Art Science Research Laboratory in New York, his most recent books include “The Duchamp Dictionary”, “100 Secrets of the Art World” and “Esther Mahlangu: A Life in Color” (with Azu Nwagbogu and Hans Ulrich Obrist). His “Cultural Management: A Global Guide” will be published with Thames & Hudson in 2025.
